Background

• MMT Holdings, LLC filed a putative class action seeking refunds of a 2.25 mill ad valorem tax it says was illegally assessed and transferred to the City of Dublin School District (School District).
• MMT sought an injunction preventing the City from paying collected taxes to the School District and a refund from both the City and the School District.
• MMT moved for partial summary judgment; the School District moved for summary judgment arguing sovereign immunity barred MMT’s claims against it.
• The trial court denied the School District’s motion and granted MMT’s motion; the School District appealed and the Supreme Court transferred the appeal to the Court of Appeals.
• The Court of Appeals reversed, holding the School District is protected by sovereign immunity because the refund statute relied on by MMT (OCGA § 48-5-380(a)(1)) waives immunity only for counties and municipalities—not school districts.

Issues

Key Cases Cited

• City of Tybee Island v. Harrod, 337 Ga. App. 523 (discussion of sovereign immunity and threshold issue)
• Tift County School Dist. v. Martinez, 331 Ga. App. 423 (statutory language can waive immunity for entities beyond those listed when expressly included)
• Gilbert v. Richardson, 264 Ga. 744 (sovereign immunity protects governments from unconsented legal actions)
• Everson v. DeKalb County School Dist., 344 Ga. App. 665 (party asserting waiver bears burden to establish it)
• Hunt v. City of Atlanta, 245 Ga. App. 229 (school districts are political subdivisions entitled to sovereign immunity)
• Davis v. Dublin City Bd. of Ed., 219 Ga. App. 121 (school districts protected by sovereign immunity)