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Davisv.Greensboro Estates, LLC

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Docket No.A22A1166
DecidedJanuary 10, 2023
Reporter366 Ga. App. 383; 883 S.E.2d 63; 2023 Ga. App. LEXIS 11; 2023 WL 141223
JudgesMcFadden, P. J.; Gobeil and Land, JJ., concurring.
Tags
CivilNegligencePremises LiabilityDangerous TreeLandlord LiabilityPunitive DamagesNegligent Misrepresentation
Case Summary

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.

Opinion

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