Fields v. Spencer
Fields v. Spencer
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff appeals from an order dismissing his complaint against defendants. The trial court granted the dismissal, with prejudice, on two grounds, one of which was that the plaintiff’s complaint under 42 USC § 1983 was frivolous. This second ground is in the nature of a judgment for failure to state a claim, OCGA § 9-11-12 (b) (6), and is not subject to OCGA § 9-11-41 (b)’s non-finality policy. The judgment, insofar as it is based on this second ground, is validly with prejudice.
Judgment affirmed.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
In my opinion, the trial court’s order should be affirmed, but only with direction that it be amended to reflect that the dismissal of appellant-plaintiff’s complaint is without prejudice. Accordingly, I must respectfully dissent to the majority’s mere affirmance of the trial court’s order.
The majority concludes that the trial court ordered the dismissal “on two grounds, one of which was that [appellant’s] complaint . . . was frivolous.” However, there was no written motion to dismiss and no transcript of the hearing on the motion and, although the trial court’s order does make a reference to appellee-defendants’ assertion that appellant’s claims were “frivolous,” it nevertheless states only
In my opinion, the only valid ground for dismissal of appellant’s complaint would be his failure to prosecute. A dismissal on that ground should be without prejudice. Accordingly, I would affirm with direction that the trial court amend its order to comport with the applicable provisions of OCGA § 9-11-41 (b), and I must respectfully dissent to the majority’s failure to give such direction.
I am authorized to state that Presiding Judge McMurray, Presiding Judge Banke and Judge Pope join in this dissent.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.