JOHN DARDEN v. PT HILLS CONDO, LP

Court of Appeals of Georgia·Decided June 24, 2025·No. A25A0221·Published

Opinion

THIRD DIVISION

DOYLE, P. J.,

MARKLE and PADGETT, 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.

https://www.gaappeals.us/rules

June 24, 2025

In the Court of Appeals of Georgia A25A0221. DARDEN et al. v. PT HILLS CONDO, LP et al.

PADGETT, Judge.

John Darden and others (“Buyers”) appeal from the trial court’s dismissal of their claims for fraud and non-disclosure against PT Hills Condo, LP and PT Hills Place Club, LLC (together, “Defendants”), arising out of their purchase of condominium units in a senior retirement community. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm in part, vacate in part, and remand with direction.1 On appeal, we apply a de novo standard of review to a trial court’s grant of a motion to dismiss. Weathers v. Dieniahmar Music, LLC, 337 Ga. App. 816, 817 (788 SE2d 852) (2016). We “construe the pleadings in the light most favorable to the

1 Oral argument was held in this case on February 26, 2025. A link to the video can be found on this Court’s website.

appellant with all doubts resolved in the appellant’s favor.” Id. (citation and punctuation omitted). A motion to dismiss may be granted “only where a complaint shows with certainty that the plaintiff would not be entitled to relief under any state of facts that could be proven in support of his claim.” Goldston v. Bank of America, 259 Ga. App. 690, 690-691 (577 SE2d 864) (2003) (citation and punctuation omitted).

So viewed, the record shows that Buyers, most of whom are over 75 years old, separately bought condominiums at Peachtree Hills Place, a senior retirement community owned and operated by Defendants. Buyers signed separate purchase agreements between 2016 and 2022 and closed between 2019 and 2022. A mandatory one-time entrance fee of $100,000 provided them access to recreational facilities (the “Club”) as well as to a separate medical facility (“The Terraces”) offering assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing on a fee-for-service basis. Buyers agreed to pay monthly Club fees that were “subject to increase if ‘necessary’ in order ‘to meet the financial needs of operating the Community.’” As part of the sales process, Buyers signed acknowledgments of receipt of a disclosure package which they allege was incomplete. In November 2023, Buyers sued Defendants asserting claims including that Defendants were fraudulently concealing conflicts of interest and self-

dealing during the purchase process in violation of the Georgia Condominium Act (the “Condominium Act”), OCGA § 44-3-111 (Count I) and failed to provide disclosures required by continuing care providers and facilities under OCGA § 33-45-10 (Count II). Buyers also sought a declaration that provisions of undisclosed lease agreements pertaining to the Club and Terraces were illegal and unenforceable because they required Buyers to pay higher monthly fees without their consent (Count IV(A)). In addition, Buyers claimed PT Hills Condo’s permanent control of the condominium association (to the exclusion of the residents) is unlawful and unconscionable, entitling Buyers to declaratory relief, reformation, and/or rescission (Counts IV(B) and V).2 Defendants moved to dismiss these counts for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted under OCGA § 9-11-12 (b) (6), arguing that (1) the Condominium Act claim was barred by the applicable one-year statute of limitation, (2) Defendants provided any disclosures under OCGA § 33-45-10, (3) Buyers could not rescind their purchase agreements because there was no offer to tender, and (4) Buyers did not have standing to assert the declaratory judgment and reformation

2 The original complaint asserted five Counts. It was later amended to add a Count VI for breach of tolling agreements. Defendants sought to dismiss only Counts I, II, IV, V, and VI; Count III remains pending. Buyers do not challenge the dismissal of Count VI with this appeal.

claims. One of the Buyers, Candace A. McNair, moved for partial summary judgment as to Counts I, II, and IV(A). The trial court granted Defendants’ motion to dismiss , and Buyers filed a motion for reconsideration. In a separate order, the trial court denied McNair’s motion for partial summary judgment as moot. Following a hearing, the trial court denied Buyers’ motion for reconsideration but issued certificates of immediate review of that order and the order denying summary judgment. This Court granted Buyers’ applications for interlocutory appeal , and this appeal followed.

1. In their first enumeration of error, Buyers contend that the trial court erred by granting Defendants’ partial motion to dismiss on Counts I, II, IV, and V and in denying their motion for reconsideration. (a) Count I - Georgia Condominium Act Claim Buyers contend that the trial court erred in dismissing the Condominium Act Claim because (i) the applicable limitations period was controlled by OCGA § 44-3- 111 (i) (4) and (ii) Defendants’ fraud tolled the statute of limitation. We disagree.

Under the Condominium Act, any action against the seller for missing or misleading information under OCGA § 44-3-111 must be made

at any time prior to the expiration of one year after the date upon which the last of the events described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of this subsection shall occur:

(1) The closing of the transaction;

...

(4) As to claims relating to the common elements and other portions of the condominium which are the responsibility of the association to maintain, the date upon which the declarant’s right to control the association terminates as provided in Code Section 44-3-101 . . .

OCGA § 44-3-111 (i).

(i) Here, Buyers do not dispute that they filed the lawsuit more than a year after closing. They argue, however, that the Club and Terraces qualify as “other portions of the condominium which are the responsibility of the association to maintain”3 and

3 Buyers do not seem to contend that the Club and Terraces be considered as common elements, but the same logic applies. “Common elements” of a condominium are defined by the Condominium Act as “portions of the condominium other than the units.” OCGA § 44-3-71 (4).

therefore, the statute of limitation does not begin to run until PT Hills Condo’s rights under OCGA § 44-3-101 have terminated.4 OCGA § 44-3-111 (i) (4). We disagree.

“Condominium” is defined as “the property lawfully submitted to this article by the recordation of condominium instruments pursuant to this article.” OCGA § 44-3-71 (7). And, “[n]o property shall be deemed to be a condominium within the meaning of this article unless undivided interests in common elements are vested in the unit owners.” Under the plain meaning standard5, if ownership is required for property to be deemed a condominium, ownership would also be required for property that is a “portion” of the condominium. Consequently, “association” in OCGA § 44-

4 According to Buyers, these rights will never terminate because PT Hills Condo, LP “is both the Declarant and the Owner of the Club and Terraces and therefore controls the Master Association into perpetuity.”

5 “Under our well-established rules of statutory construction, we presume that the General Assembly meant what it said and said what it meant.” Patton v. Vanterpool, 302 Ga. 253, 254 (806 SE2d 493) (2017) (citation and punctuation omitted). Therefore, “[w]hen presented with a question of statutory interpretation, we begin by examining the statute’s plain language, reading the text in its most natural and reasonable way, as an ordinary speaker of the English language would . . . [W]e must afford the statutory text its plain and ordinary meaning, viewed in the context in which it appears. If the statutory text is clear and unambiguous, we attribute to the statute its plain meaning, and our search for statutory meaning is at an end.” Sosebee v. State, 317 Ga. 424, 427 (1) n.2 (893 SE2d 653) (2023) (citations and punctuations omitted).

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