Opinion ID: 2505697
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Right to Jury Trial and Unresolved Jury Issues

Text: One obvious conclusion that a reader will likely draw after reading this dissenting opinion and the majority opinion is that summary judgment is simply inappropriate at this juncture. The Georgia Constitution enshrines the right to a jury trial in cases such as this where a jury trial has been demanded. Ga. Const., Art. I, Sec. I, Para. XI(a) (The right to trial by jury shall remain inviolate, except that the court shall render judgment without the verdict of a jury in all civil cases where no issuable defense is filed and where a jury is not demanded in writing by either party. . . .). Today's majority opinion, like the trial court and the Court of Appeals, resolves this case on the basis of summary judgment without ever mentioning, let alone discussing, the disputed facts in need of jury resolution. The only rationale that I can fathom for this omission by the majority is that any detailed discussion about the sacrosanct right to a trial by jury would show, without question, that CCS is entitled to a jury trial in this case. Generally speaking, summary judgment is proper under Georgia law, OCGA § 9-11-56(c), only . . . if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law; but nothing in this Code section shall be construed as denying to any party the right to trial by jury where there are substantial issues of fact to be determined. . . . (Emphasis added.) Because there are genuine issues as to one or more material facts here, listed below, the majority opinion errs in affirming the grant of summary judgment in favor of the National Church and the majority opinion compounds its error by its denial of the local church's constitutional right to a jury trial. (1) Summary judgment is inappropriate, where, as here, many questions of material fact remain about the intentions of CCS and the National Church regarding a trust. See Holcim (US) Inc. v. AMDG, Inc., 265 Ga. App. 818, 821, 596 S.E.2d 197 (2004) (Because questions of fact remain as to the parties' intent, the trial court erred in granting AMDG's motion for summary judgment.); see also Warner Robins Supply Co. v. Malone, 143 Ga.App. 332, 335, 238 S.E.2d 709 (1977) (In this case there was a substantial and material issue of fact as to the meaning and intent of the parties in the preparation and execution of the receipt or release. Accordingly, the trial judge erred in granting appellees' summary judgment.). Here, there are questions about the intentions of the parties in signing and drafting certain administrative forms. Did the National Church intend to deceive by its misuse of the word `canon' when it secretly intended for canon to mean trust? Did CCS understand the National Church's ploy, or was it deceived? Did the National Church's silence since its creation about its claimed trust interest reveal that it did not intend to form a trust on CCS's property? Alternatively, did the National Church intend by its lengthy silence to lay low so as to spring its claimed trust on CCS when it was too late? Did the enactment of the Dennis Canon reveal that the National Church did not claim any trust interest on CCS's property prior to its enactment in 1979? What did CCS intend when it signed certain administrative forms prepared by the National Church after the enactment of the Dennis Canon? These factual questions surrounding the intention of the parties would, standing alone, mandate a jury trial in this case. (2) Summary judgment also is inappropriate based on the affidavit of the National Church's expert witness, a church historian, who did not claim to be an expert in law so as to know whether the facts gathered through multiple layers of hearsay and the opinions of unidentified sources should have been found to be a trust of any sort according to the laws of Georgia or any other state. The expert witness's extrapolations from opinions and hearsay appear to set forth the facts found to be essential for a grant of summary judgment by the majority. Yet, an affidavit proffering one expert's opinion, standing alone, cannot be legally sufficient to make any finding of fact without giving a jury the opportunity to weigh all of the evidence and evaluate the expert's credibility. See Ginn v. Morgan, 225 Ga. 192, 193-194, 167 S.E.2d 393 (1969) ([W]e reach the solid conclusion that a summary judgment can never issue based solely upon opinion evidence.). Therefore, the affidavit submitted by the National Church's expert witness would necessarily be a defective factual basis for finding any such trust. (3) Any issues involving the alleged ratification of the Dennis Canon or prior church canons by CCS are jury issues and not matters for summary adjudication. See Brock, 287 Ga. at 854, 700 S.E.2d 583. (Whether ratification occurs is usually a fact question for the jury.). Similarly, there is no reason to assume that ratification was intended by such menial actions as CCS buying prayer books from the National Church. There does not appear to be any possible connection between a local church buying prayer books and a manifestation of one's intention to transfer its valuable title to a trust for the benefit of another entity. In my view, these and similarly strained claims of actions by CCS tending to support ratification made by the National Church are so incredible that it creates a jury issue about the National Church's sincerity in any of its claims. (4) It is worth emphasizing that the balance of equities in this case strongly favors CCS since there is no claim by the National Church that CCS has done anything secretive, deceitfully, in bad faith, or failed to disclose anything to its confidential relation, the National Church. I would therefore permit a jury to resolve these and other genuine issues of material fact after first having an opportunity to review all of the admissible evidence, hear testimony, and make credibility determinations. In addition, I would hold that the majority errs by denying CCS its constitutional right to a jury trial.