McDonald v. Silver Hill Homes, LLC., 343 Ga. App. 194

McDonald sued Silver Hill Homes, LLC in DeKalb County over a boundary line dispute; claims included trespass, nuisance, punitive damages, and attorney fees.
Silver Hill moved for summary judgment; trial court denied summary judgment on trespass and nuisance but granted as to punitive damages and attorney fees.
On appeal, McDonald challenges the trial court’s rulings on punitive damages and attorney fees.
Evidence shows alleged runoff, discharge of construction materials and debris onto McDonald’s property, and ongoing nuisance from ravine excavation and runoff.
Court reverses the grant of summary judgment on punitive damages and attorney fees, finding genuine issues of material fact for trial.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether there are genuine issues of material fact on punitive damages	McDonald argues acts were repeated trespass and continuing nuisance with conscious indifference	Silver Hill contends no clear and convincing evidence of willful misconduct	Yes; material facts remain for jury to decide
Whether attorney fees were properly left for jury consideration	Bad faith in continuing intentional torts supports attorney fee recovery	Trial court correctly resolved on summary judgment before trial	Yes; jury should decide bad-faith question

Tyler v. Lincoln, 272 Ga. 118 (Ga. 2000) (conscious indifference can support punitive damages in trespass/nuisance contexts)
Weller v. Blake, 315 Ga. App. 214 (Ga. App. 2012) (jury may consider punitive damages where facts show repeated acts)
Camp Cherokee v. Marina Lane, LLC, 316 Ga. App. 366 (Ga. App. 2012) (reversing grant of summary judgment on punitive damages)
Schinazi v. Eden, 338 Ga. App. 793 (Ga. App. 2016) (bad-faith questions generally resolved by jury)
Haarhoff v. Jefferson at Perimeter, 315 Ga. App. 271 (Ga. App. 2012) (same law on attorney fees involving bad faith)