55 F.4th 1304
11th Cir.2022Background
- Dalton-area carpet manufacturers used PFAS, which entered Dalton Utilities’ wastewater system and accumulated in the Riverbend Land Application System, migrating into rivers that supply Rome, Georgia’s drinking water.
- Rome implemented emergency and planned permanent filtration for PFAS and imposed a water surcharge on ratepayers.
- Jarrod Johnson (a Rome resident) sued on behalf of a class, alleging contamination caused health and property harms and seeking damages and injunctive relief; nuisance abatement (injunctive) claim against Dalton Utilities remained at issue.
- Dalton Utilities moved to dismiss, asserting Georgia municipal immunity bars Johnson’s nuisance abatement claim (relying on Ga. Dep’t of Nat. Res. v. Ctr. for a Sustainable Coast).
- The district court denied dismissal; Dalton Utilities appealed interlocutorily arguing municipal immunity.
- The Eleventh Circuit considered (1) whether the denial was immediately appealable and (2) whether Georgia municipal immunity shields municipalities from nuisance claims for personal injury (injunctive relief).
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the denial of Dalton Utilities’ motion to dismiss on municipal immunity grounds is immediately appealable | Johnson: collateral-order doctrine does not apply; order is not final | Dalton Utilities: municipal immunity is immunity from suit under Georgia law so denial is immediately appealable | Court: appealable under collateral-order doctrine; municipal immunity regarded as immunity from suit and the immunity question is separable from merits |
| Whether Georgia municipal immunity bars a nuisance-abatement (injunctive) claim for personal injury from proceeding against a municipality | Johnson: Georgia law (as interpreted in Phillips and Gatto) allows municipal nuisance liability for personal injury; he adequately alleged such a claim | Dalton Utilities: Sustainable Coast limits municipal liability to takings/damage to property and precludes suits for personal-injury nuisance or injunctive relief | Court: Following Georgia Supreme Court in Gatto and Town of Fort Oglethorpe v. Phillips, municipal immunity does not bar nuisance claims for personal injury; liability may attach and dismissal denied |
Key Cases Cited
- Ga. Dep’t of Nat. Res. v. Ctr. for a Sustainable Coast, Inc., 755 S.E.2d 184 (Ga. 2014) (held sovereign immunity waived only by legislature and questioned judicially created exceptions)
- Gatto v. City of Statesboro, 860 S.E.2d 713 (Ga. 2021) (explained scope of municipal nuisance doctrine and affirmed personal-injury liability under Phillips)
- Town of Fort Oglethorpe v. Phillips, 165 S.E.2d 141 (Ga. 1968) (expanded municipal nuisance liability to include personal injuries not tied to property)
- Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511 (U.S. 1985) (collateral-order doctrine permits immediate appeal of immunity questions separable from merits)
- Griesel v. Hamlin, 963 F.2d 338 (11th Cir. 1992) (order denying state sovereign immunity is immediately appealable)
- McGroarty v. Swearingen, 977 F.3d 1302 (11th Cir. 2020) (standard that court assumes complaint allegations true on motion to dismiss)
- Green Leaf Nursery v. E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co., 341 F.3d 1292 (11th Cir. 2003) (discusses appellate divestiture of district court jurisdiction after notice of appeal)