KIERRA DATES v. CITY OF ATLANTA

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: July 11, 2023
• Docket: A23A0783
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ July 11, 2023

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A23A0783. KIERRA DATES et al. v. CITY OF ATLANTA.

Appellant Kierra Dates, individually and as parent and natural guardian of her minor son, Jeremiah Dates, sued the City of Atlanta after her son was injured by a large tree limb that fell on him at a park. Dates now appeals the trial court’s order granting the City of Atlanta’s motion to dismiss based on Dates’ alleged failure to comply with the requirements of the ante litem notice statute applicable to municipalities, OCGA § 36-33-5. In her second enumeration of error, Dates argues that the trial court erred in rejecting her argument that the lack of a tolling provision in OCGA § 36-33-5 (b) and (e) is discriminatory and violates the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Georgia. The Supreme Court of Georgia “has exclusive jurisdiction over all cases involving construction of the Constitution of the State of Georgia and of the United States and all cases in which the constitutionality of a law, ordinance, or constitutional provision has been called into question. Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. II (1) of the Georgia Constitution.” Atlanta Independent School System v. Lane, 266 Ga. 657 (1) (469 SE2d 22) (1996). While the Supreme Court does not have exclusive jurisdiction over cases that “involve merely the application of well-known constitutional principles,” Turner v. State, 176 Ga. 823, 824 (169 SE 21) (1933), it does not appear that the Supreme Court has addressed the discrete constitutional question presented in this case. As the Supreme Court has the ultimate responsibility for determining appellate jurisdiction, Saxton v. Coastal Dialysis & Med. Clinic, 267 Ga. 177, 178 (476 SE2d 587) (1996), this appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court for disposition.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 07/11/2023 I certify that the above is a true extract from the minutes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia. Witness my signature and the seal of said court hereto affixed the day and year last above written.

, Clerk.