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Williams v. Georgia Dep't of Transportation8/11/2005
BLACKBURN, P. J., MILLER and ADAMS, JJ.
Following the dismissal of her personal injury claim against the Georgia Department of Transportation due to defective ante litem notice (see OCGA § 50-21-26), and the entry of summary judgment on her related claim against Riverdale Paving Company, Vanessa Williams appeals both orders. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm both rulings.
Summary judgment is proper when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. OCGA § 9-11-56 (c). A de novo standard of review applies to an appeal from a grant of summary judgment, and we view the evidence, and all reasonable conclusions and inferences drawn from it, in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Matjoulis v. Integon Gen. Ins. Corp.
Construed in favor of Williams, the allegations and evidence show that on March 2, 2002, Williams was driving her vehicle when she went onto the road's shoulder. As she attempted to return to her lane, she lost control of her vehicle and swerved into oncoming traffic, striking a second vehicle and suffering significant injuries.
Williams sued DOT and Riverdale Paving Company, alleging that under the supervision of DOT, Riverdale had re-surfaced this section of the highway and had negligently allowed the drop-off at the road's shoulder to exceed the acceptable standard of two inches, which caused her to lose control when she attempted to return to her lane from that shoulder. Although the other driver sent DOT an ante litem notice within 12 months of the accident, Williams sent no notice until May 9, 2003, more than 14 months after the accident. See OCGA § 50-21-26 (a) (1) (" notice of a claim shall be given in writing within 12 months of the date the loss was discovered or should have been discovered").
DOT moved to dismiss the action for want of jurisdiction on grounds that the ante litem notice had not been timely sent, which motion the court granted. Riverdale moved for summary judgment, arguing that long before the accident, it had completed and turned the project over to DOT, which had accepted the project. The court granted this motion also. Williams appeals both orders.
1. We review de novo a trial court's ruling on a motion to dismiss based on sovereign immunity grounds, which is a matter of law. Dept. of Human Resources v. Johnson. Factual findings are sustained if there is evidence supporting them, and the burden of proof is on the party seeking the waiver of immunity. Id.
Sovereign immunity applies to the State and its departments and agencies except to the extent that the legislature enacts a specific waiver. Ga. Const. 1983, Art. I, Sec. II, Par. IX (e). OCGA § 50-21-23 waives the State's sovereign immunity as to torts by State employees, but only to the extent and in the manner provided in the Georgia Tort Claims Act. OCGA § 50-21-26 (a) of the GTCA requires that notice of a claim be given in writing and in a certain manner within 12 months of the date the loss was discovered or should have been discovered. Until such a written notice of claim has been timely presented to the State as provided in OCGA § 50-21-26 (a), " o action against the state under this article shall be commenced and the courts shall have no jurisdiction thereof." OCGA § 50-21-26 (a) (3). "Thus, failure to give the requisite notice routinely results in dismissals for want of subject matter jurisdiction." Dempsey v. Bd. of Regents of the Univ. System of Ga.
It is undisputed that Williams sent no notice of her claim to DOT until 14 months had passed after the date she suffered the injuries for which she seeks recovery. Nevertheless, Williams se
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