Ivey v. McCorkle

806 S.E.2d 231, 343 Ga. App. 147
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedOctober 13, 2017
DocketA17A0796
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 806 S.E.2d 231 (Ivey v. McCorkle) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ivey v. McCorkle, 806 S.E.2d 231, 343 Ga. App. 147 (Ga. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

Ellington, Presiding Judge.

*147George Ivey, in his official capacity as mayor of the City of Warrenton, filed a complaint seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against the Appellees in their official capacity as City councilmembers.1 Ivey contended that the City's council (the "Council") had enacted or amended certain City ordinances in an attempt to usurp the powers of the City's mayor (the "Mayor") as set forth in the City's charter (the "Charter"), and that those ordinances are inconsistent with the Charter and therefore void. Following a hearing, the trial court found portions of two of the City's General Ordinances to be inconsistent with the Charter and enjoined the Appellees from enforcing them. The trial court found that the other challenged ordinances did not conflict with the Charter, although it ordered that the Appellees rescind two of them. The trial court also awarded Ivey attorney fees. On appeal, Ivey contends that the trial court erred in concluding that certain of the City's General Ordinances did not conflict with the Charter. He also claims that the trial court failed to *148award reasonable attorney fees. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm in part, reverse in part, vacate in part, and remand the case with direction.

The relevant facts are not in dispute. Section 2.10 of the Charter provides that the governing authority of the City is "vested in a city council be composed of a mayor and five councilmembers, one of whom shall be the mayor pro tempore." Ga. L. 1990, p. 4631.2 Further, under Section 2.16 (b) of the Charter, "the council shall have the authority to adopt and provide for the execution of such ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations not inconsistent with [the] charter, the Constitution and laws of the State of Georgia[.]" Ga. L. 1975, pp. 3970, 3981. The Mayor, under Section 3.10 of the Charter, is the City's chief executive officer, and possesses "all the executive and administrative powers contained in [the] charter." Ga. L. 1975, pp. 38970, 3986.

At issue is whether certain of the City's General Ordinances and attendant policies, as amended or enacted by the Council, conflict with the Charter. Under OCGA § 36-35-3 (a), "[t]he governing authority of each municipal corporation shall have legislative power to adopt clearly reasonable ordinances, resolutions or regulations ... which are not inconsistent with ... any charter provision applicable thereto." An ordinance enacted in violation of OCGA § 36-35-3 (a) is void. See Georgia Branch, Associated General Contractors, Inc. v. Atlanta, 253 Ga. 397, 399 (2), 321 S.E.2d 325 (1984) ; City of Buchanan v. Pope, 222 Ga. App. 716, 718-719 (1) (b), 476 S.E.2d 53 (1996).

"The interpretation of statutes, ordinances, and charters presents a question of law for the court," and is subject to de novo review on appeal. Lue v. Eady, 297 Ga. 321, 326 (2) (a), 773 S.E.2d 679 (2015). See *234Expe dia, Inc. v. City of Columbus, 285 Ga. 684, 689 (4), 681 S.E.2d 122 (2009).

In construing a legislative act, a court must first look to the literal meaning of the act. If the language is plain and does not lead to any absurd or impracticable consequences, the court simply construes it according to its terms and conducts no further inquiry. Further, statutes are to be construed in accordance with their real intent and meaning and not so strictly as to defeat their legislative purpose, and statutory construction must square with common sense and sound reasoning.

*149(Citations and punctuation omitted.) City of Atlanta v. Miller, 256 Ga. App. 819, 820 (1), 569 S.E.2d 907 (2002). The rules of construction apply to the interpretation of ordinances as well as statutes. City of Buchanan v. Pope, 222 Ga. App. at 717 (1), 476 S.E.2d 53.

1. Ivey contends that the trial court committed reversible error in finding that Section 2-104 of the General Ordinances did not conflict with Section 3.12 (a) (12) of the Charter.3 Although the trial court found that there was no conflict with the Charter, it also held that the parties had agreed that the ordinance was no longer necessary and ordered that it be rescinded. The Appellees represent, and Ivey does not dispute, that the Council has complied with the trial court's order and rescinded the portion of Section 2-104 of the General Ordinances with which Ivey took exception. A reversal of the trial court's finding that the now repealed ordinance did not conflict with the Charter would have no practical benefit to the parties with respect to Ivey's claims for injunctive and declaratory relief, nor, in light of our findings in Division 7, infra, as to Ivey's claim for attorney fees, and the issue is moot. See, e. g., Babies Right Start v. Ga. Dept. of Pub. Health, 293 Ga. 553, 555 (2) (a), 748 S.E.2d 404

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Bluebook (online)
806 S.E.2d 231, 343 Ga. App. 147, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ivey-v-mccorkle-gactapp-2017.