Gateway Community Service Board D/B/A Gateway Behavioral Health Services v. Frank A. Bonati

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: October 25, 2016
• Docket: A16A1120
• Status: Published

Opinion

FIFTH DIVISION PHIPPS, P. J., DILLARD and PETERSON, JJ.

NOTICE: Motions for reconsideration must be physically received in our clerk’s office within ten days of the date of decision to be deemed timely filed. http://www.gaappeals.us/rules

October 25, 2016

In the Court of Appeals of Georgia A16A1120. GATEWAY COMMUNITY SERVICE BOARD v. BONATI.

PHIPPS, Presiding Judge.

In January 2015, the trial court entered a final judgment in favor of Frank

Bonati on a petition for declaratory judgment filed by Gateway Community Service

Board (“Gateway”) and in favor of Bonati on his counterclaims for damages and

attorney fees. Gateway filed a motion for new trial, which the trial court denied. On

appeal, Gateway claims, inter alia, that the trial court erred in failing to hold a hearing

before denying its motion for new trial. We agree.

1. “Uniform Superior Court Rule 6.3 requires, unless otherwise ordered by the

court, that a motion for new trial in a civil action shall be decided by the trial court only after an oral hearing, even if the moving party does not request such a hearing.”1

Where “the trial court denies a motion for new trial in a civil case without issuing an

order excepting the motion from this procedural case, and without holding the

mandatory hearing,” we must reverse the case and remand for the trial court to

comply with Rule 6.3 before disposing of the motion.2

The record contains no evidence of a hearing in this case, and Bonati does not

contend on appeal that a hearing was, in fact, held. Moreover, the order denying the

motion for new trial does not reference Rule 6.3 or Gateway’s right to an oral hearing,

and the court did not enter any other order excepting the motion from oral argument.3

We must therefore reverse and remand for further proceedings.4

2. Given our ruling in Division 1, supra, we do not address Gateway’s other

enumerated errors.5

Judgment reversed and case remanded. Dillard and Peterson, JJ., concur.

1 Triola v. Triola, 292 Ga. 808 (741 SE2d 650) (2013) (citations and punctuation omitted). 2 Id. (citation and punctuation omitted). 3 See id. 4 See id. 5 See Kuriatnyk v. Kuriatnyk, 286 Ga. 589, 592 (2) (690 SE2d 397) (2010).