Court of Appeals

of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A17A0169. HANS G. REID v. WASTE INDUSTRIES USA, LLC et al.

Plaintiff Hans G. Reid appeals the trial court’s orders denying his motion for

sanctions and granting the defendants’ motions for summary judgment on his claims

for malicious prosecution and other torts.

1 For the reasons discussed below, Reid’s

appeal is hereby REMANDED to the trial court to determine whether the complete

trial transcript and exhibits from Reid’s prior criminal case should be included in the

appellate record. 

Central to Reid’s malicious prosecution and other tort claims and to the issues

raised by the parties in the present appeal are the prior criminal proceedings initiated

against Reid in Douglas County that culminated in his acquittal following a jury trial

in September 2013.2 See State of Georgia v. Hans Gerald Reid, Douglas CountyCase

No. 12CR00937. See also OCGA § 51-7-45 (authorizing admission of evidence from

prior criminal prosecution in civil case for malicious prosecution). The same trial

judge who presided over Reid’s criminal trial presides over his malicious prosecution

case. 

The appellate record in the present malicious prosecution case does not include

a complete, certified copy of the transcript of Reid’s prior criminal trial or of the

1The defendants are Waste Industries USA, Inc., Waste Industries, LLC, Waste

Industries Atlanta, LLC, Winn A. Bearden, Tony J. Gouldthorp, Michael J.

Harrington, and Carlos Pichardo.

2 Additionally, several charges against Reid were nolle prossed before the

criminal trial. 

December 06, 2016
criminal trial exhibits, including an audio recording of the central encounter between

Reid and several of the defendants that led to the criminal charges. Instead, the

appellate record contains scattered excerpts from Reid’s criminal trial transcript that

were attached to the parties’ briefs supporting or opposing summary judgment filed

in the trial court. 

However, in their briefs filed in the trial court, the parties cite to portions of

Reid’s criminal trial transcript that were not included in the excerpts attached to their

briefs, quote statements allegedly made in the audio recording, and refer to the

transcript of Reid’s criminal trial as being “part of the record here.” Subsequently, in

granting summary judgment to the defendants, the trial court noted that itsruling was

“[b]ased upon the numerous transcripts, affidavits and documents provided by the

parties,” but also stated that it would “take[] judicial notice of its own records” from

the criminal proceedings. Additionally, now on appeal from the trial court’s rulings,

the defendants note in their appellees’ brief that portions of the criminal trial

transcript cannot be located in the appellate record, and Reid states in his reply brief

that his “criminal trial transcript appears to be missing from the record but the [trial

court] took judicial notice of it.” 

Questions regarding the correctness and proper inclusion of materials in the

record must be resolved in the trial court under OCGA § 5-6-41 (f). Based on the

current state of the record, it is unclear whether the trial court had before it the

complete trial transcript and exhibits to Reid’s criminal trial when it rendered its

summary judgment rulings or instead limited its consideration to the excerpts of the

trial transcript attached to the parties’ briefs filed in support of or in opposition to

summary judgment. Consequently,this appeal is herebyREMANDED to the Superior

Court of Douglas County, pursuant to OCGA § 5-6-41 (f), for the trial court to clarify

whether the complete transcript of Reid’s prior criminal trial and the exhibits thereto

should be included in the appellate record. Upon resolution of this issue by the trial

court, the record may then be re-transmitted within 30 days of the trial court’s order

and the case re-docketed with the Court of Appeals. Upon re-docketing, briefing by

the parties should proceed in accordance with Court of Appeals Rule 23.
Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________

I certify that the above is a true extract from

the minutes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia.

Witness my signature and the seal of said court

hereto affixed the day and year last above written.

, Clerk.

12/06/2016