Court Opinion

ID: 9560363
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 17:48:19.622114+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:12:52.736211
License: Public Domain

McMurray, Presiding Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I fully concur in Case No. A95A2199 and all that is said therein, and the partial reversal of summary judgment because the three prior daytime burglaries were sufficiently similar for purposes of putting the landlord on notice. In Case No. A95A2200, I fully concur with Division 3 and all that is said therein, that the conflicting evidence requires jury resolution as to the landlord’s culpability, if any, for the alleged failure to act on plaintiff’s oral notices regarding the kitchen window through which plaintiff’s assailant gained unlawful entry. But I further conclude from that same evidence that the jury would be authorized to award punitive damages and so I respectfully dissent from Division 4.
“ ‘Under OCGA § 51-12-5.1 (b), which is applicable in the instant case, it remains the rule that something more than the mere commission of a tort is always required for punitive damages. There must be circumstances of aggravation or outrage. There is.general agreement that, because it lacks this element, mere negligence is not enough.’ (Citations and punctuation omitted.) Ivey v. Golden Key Realty, 200 Ga. App. 545 (1) (408 SE2d 811).” Roseberry v. Brooks, 218 Ga. App. 202, 209 (4) (461 SE2d 262). In the case sub judice, both plaintiff and Mary Ann Wheat testified that defendants failed to repair broken latches on kitchen windows, after the tenants had complained. Specifically, that evidence shows that the landlord failed to heed plaintiff’s first and second complaints. “ ‘(T)he purpose for having secure locks on the [windows and] door to the plaintiff’s [ground-floor] apartment was to prevent [exactly this type of] unauthorized entry thereto and the accompanying wrongful criminal acts.’ Warner [v. Arnold, 133 Ga. App. 174, 179 (210 SE2d 350)].” Demarest *42v. Moore, 201 Ga. App. 90, 92 (2) (410 SE2d 191). In my view, the trial court correctly perceived that the landlord’s dilatory response to plaintiff’s request to secure the ground-floor window, a matter directly affecting the safety of the premises, is sufficiently outrageous to create a jury question as to whether defendants exhibited that entire want of care as would authorize punitive damages. As my colleagues in the majority would nevertheless reverse that correct determination, I respectfully dissent from Division 4 in the cross-appeal, Case No. A95A2200.
I am authorized to state that Presiding Judge Pope joins in this opinion.