Davisv.Greensboro Estates, LLC
A large oak fell on William Davis’s mobile home in a Georgia park, destroying it and injuring several occupants; it had dropped two large limbs in the preceding nine months, including one that injured Davis, and the defendants had called the tree dangerous and marked it for removal. The trial court granted summary judgment to the park owner and manager on negligence and negligent-misrepresentation claims, plus derivative punitive-damages and fee claims. The Court of Appeals held that evidence of recurring water around the tree, prior limb failures, nearby tree failures, and the defendants’ actual knowledge created a jury question on whether the tree was dangerous and whether they knew it. But the promise to remove the tree did not support negligent misrepresentation without evidence that the manager made it with a present intent not to perform. The court reversed summary judgment on simple and gross negligence and the derivative claims, affirmed it on negligent misrepresentation, and left the case for further proceedings.
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