City of Brunswick v. Smith.
City of Brunswick v. Smith.
Opinion
This appeal arises from the trial court's denial of a motion for summary judgment in a premises liability lawsuit. Calvin Smith sued the City of Brunswick (the City), alleging that the City was liable for the injuries he sustained when he hit a pothole and fell from his bicycle. Smith claimed the City had constructive knowledge about the pothole and negligently failed to maintain its roadway. The City filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that Smith was a licensee and that there was no evidence that the City wilfully or wantonly caused his injuries. The City also argued that even if Smith was an invitee, the City could not be held liable for his injuries because the condition of the pavement was an open and obvious defect. The trial court denied the City's motion, finding that summary judgment was not warranted because an issue of fact remained as to whether the City had superior knowledge of the pothole and, if so, whether that knowledge constituted wilful and wanton conduct. Because there was no evidence that the pothole was created, concealed, or maintained wilfully or wantonly by the City, and because the alleged defect was open and obvious to Smith prior to the fall, we reverse.
Summary judgment is proper when the moving party shows that no genuine issue of material fact exists, and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. We apply a de novo standard of review to an appeal from a grant or denial of summary judgment and construe the evidence most favorably to the nonmovant. However, summary judgment cannot be avoided based on speculation or conjecture; once the pleadings are pierced with actual evidence, the plaintiff must point to admissible evidence showing a genuine issue of fact. As our Supreme Court explained, while the evidence of the nonmovant is to be believed, and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in his favor, that does not mean that a plaintiff may defeat a defendant's properly supported motion for summary judgment without offering any concrete evidence from which a reasonable juror could return a verdict in his favor and by merely asserting that the jury might, and legally could, disbelieve the defendant's denial of wrongdoing.
City of Macon v. Brown
,
So viewed, the evidence shows that shortly before noon on May 3, 2015, Smith was riding a bicycle to a nearby gas station after leaving a friend's house. The weather was clear and sunny. While traveling down Johnston Street in the City of Brunswick, Smith made a left turn onto Second Street, then turned right down an alleyway in order to *783 take a shortcut to the back of the gas station. As he made the right turn, Smith, who had not traversed the alley way previously, hit a pothole in the road and fell. Photographs of the alley way depict uneven pavement where Smith fell. According to Smith, the pothole was larger at the time of the accident than depicted in the photographs admitted into evidence. As a result of his fall, Smith sustained a broken bone and had to have a rod and plate implanted in his hip. Smith sued the City for damages arising from his fall, alleging the City negligently failed to maintain its roadway and knew or should have known about the pothole. The City filed a motion for summary judgment which the trial court denied. The trial court issued a certificate of immediate review and this Court granted the City's application for interlocutory appeal. This appeal followed.
The City contends that the trial court erred in denying its motion for summary judgment because Smith was an licensee with equal knowledge of any hazards and thus the City only owed him a duty to avoid wilfully or wantonly injuring him. We agree.
In its order denying the City's motion, the trial court concluded that Smith was a licensee because he was using the alley way for his own convenience to reach the back entrance of the gas station.
See
Georgia Dept. of Transp. v. Strickland
,
Here, Smith contends that he fell from his bicycle due to a pothole in the pavement. However, the trial court did not find, and the record does not reflect any evidence that "the pothole was created, concealed, or maintained wilfully or wantonly, that is, with an intent to injure or with any conscious indifference as to infer an intent to injure."
Strickland
,
By statute, a municipality is relieved of liability resulting from a defect in a public road or sidewalk when it has no actual notice thereof or when such defect has not existed for a sufficient length of time for notice thereof to be inferred. Implied or constructive notice of a defect may be shown in a variety of ways; for example, testimony as to how long the defect had existed prior to the accident, objective evidence that the defect had existed over *784 time, or evidence that other persons had also fallen as a result of the same condition over a period of years. Notice may also be imputed to the city from the knowledge of its own agents or employees.
Crider v. City of Atlanta
,
The trial court, taking judicial notice of a 2014 Google Street view photograph of the alleged defect as evidence to suggest that the City had inferred or constructive knowledge of the pothole's existence, determined that disputed material facts remained as to whether the City's knowledge of the pothole was superior to that of Smith. However, as this Court held in City of Macon v. Brown ,
[w]hile the photographs may provide some basis for inferring age, without context or explanation, any conclusion as to the age of the alleged defect in the [alley way] would be mere speculation. The photographs only show the condition of the alleged defect in the [alley way] at one point in time ... [before] the accident. The trial court's analysis was based on its review of the photographs. But, the photographs alone do not establish how long the alleged defect took to develop and worsen, and [Smith] has not brought forth any additional evidence to contextualize or lend support to his arguments regarding the length of time this area of the [alley way] had this defect.
Additionally, Smith did not allege that his view of the pothole was obstructed or that it was concealed prior to his fall. Given the undisputed evidence, we find that the City's motion pierced the pleadings, putting the burden on Smith to come forward with specific facts showing a genuine issue remained for jury resolution.
See
Crider
,
Judgment reversed.
Doyle, P. J., and Markle, J., concur.
In its brief on appeal, the City contends that constructive knowledge cannot give rise to wilful and wanton conduct. While there is some support for the City's argument in case law, under OCGA § 32-4-93 (a) which applies to "public roads," "municipalities generally have a ministerial duty to keep their streets in repair, and they are liable for injuries resulting from defects after actual notice, or after the defect has existed for a sufficient length of time for notice to be inferred."
Roquemore v. City of Forsyth
,
Although
LeCroy
considered the property owner's duty to an invitee, the same reasoning applies to Smith, a licensee.
Cf.
Brazier v. Phoenix Group Mgmt
.,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.