Clayton County v. City of College Park
301 Ga. 653
Ga.2017Background
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport lies mostly within Clayton County; portions fall inside the City of College Park. Businesses in the Airport sell alcohol in both unincorporated county areas and within the City limits.
- OCGA § 3-8-1(e) (enacted 1983) governs taxation and division of alcoholic beverage taxes collected at public airports; parties dispute its proper construction and effect on division of proceeds.
- College Park sued Clayton County and two airport vendors seeking declaratory relief, injunctions, accounting, unjust enrichment, damages, and related relief, alleging the County directed vendors to remit 50% of alcohol-tax receipts to the County even for sales within City limits.
- Clayton County moved for judgment on the pleadings asserting sovereign immunity, laches, OCGA § 36-1-4, and OCGA § 36-11-1 (12-month presentment/statute of limitations) as bars. College Park moved for partial summary judgment on declaratory claims.
- Trial court denied the County’s judgment-on-the-pleadings motion (finding sovereign immunity inapplicable), and granted College Park partial summary judgment construing OCGA § 3-8-1(e) to (1) limit each taxing authority to its own jurisdiction (city vs. unincorporated county) and (2) require equal division of collected proceeds between the two after proper imposition/collection.
- On appeal the Supreme Court vacated and remanded because it had not addressed whether sovereign immunity applies to suits between political subdivisions — a complex threshold question not briefed below — and because a subsequent Georgia authority (Lathrop v. Deal) held constitutional-violation claims against the sovereign are barred by sovereign immunity.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Applicability of sovereign immunity to College Park’s claims | College Park: sovereign immunity does not bar its claims alleging constitutional infringement and related relief. | Clayton County: sovereign immunity bars the suit; counties cannot be sued except as provided by statute. | Supreme Court: Trial court erred to the extent it relied on College Park’s constitutional-violation theory; but remanded for trial court to decide threshold question whether sovereign immunity applies between political subdivisions with full briefing. |
| Proper construction of OCGA § 3-8-1(e) (who may tax and how proceeds divide) | College Park: City may tax sales within its limits, County may tax only unincorporated areas; once each taxes within its jurisdiction, § 3-8-1(e) requires equal division of proceeds. | Clayton County: § 3-8-1(e) entitles County to 50% of alcohol tax revenues from within the City and 100% of revenues from unincorporated areas. | Trial court (not finally resolved on appeal): granted summary judgment to College Park adopting City’s construction; Supreme Court vacated and remanded due to unresolved sovereign-immunity threshold. |
| Effect of OCGA § 36-11-1 (12-month presentment) and OCGA § 36-1-4 on claims | College Park: statute may limit damages window but does not wholly bar suit. | Clayton County: statutes bar or limit College Park’s claims against the county. | Trial court ruled statutes did not bar all relief; Supreme Court did not resolve these issues on appeal because sovereign immunity remand could be dispositive. |
| Taxpayers’ interpleader/cross-claims for indemnity/contribution and related relief | Taxpayer defendants: sought interpleader and declaratory relief; cross-claims against County for contribution/indemnity. | County: sovereign immunity and statutory bars apply to these cross-claims. | Trial court allowed some cross-claims to proceed; Supreme Court remanded for further consideration in light of the sovereign-immunity question. |
Key Cases Cited
- Lathrop v. Deal, 301 Ga. 408 (holding that sovereign immunity bars claims alleging violations of the Constitution other than inverse condemnation for just compensation)
- SJN Props. v. Fulton County Bd. of Assessors, 296 Ga. 793 (sovereign-immunity jurisprudence discussed below trial court decision)
- Dep’t of Nat. Res. v. Ctr. for a Sustainable Coast, Inc., 294 Ga. 593 (sovereign-immunity principles applied in recent Georgia decisions)
- Fulton County v. City of Atlanta, 299 Ga. 676 (example of intergovernmental dispute decisions involving Georgia Supreme Court)