STEVENS Et Al. v. FOOD LION, LLC
341 Ga. App. 644
| Ga. Ct. App. | 2017Background
- Adrienne and Roy Stevens sued Food Lion after Adrienne fell in a Food Lion store; suit filed November 26, 2012.
- Food Lion served an OCGA § 9-11-68 offer of settlement for $25,000 on November 26, 2013; plaintiffs rejected it.
- Jury awarded Adrienne $25,000 but found her 30% contributorily negligent; judgment entered July 2, 2015 for $17,500. Roy’s consortium claim failed.
- Food Lion moved (July 30, 2015) for attorney fees and costs under OCGA § 9-11-68 and to amend the judgment to add those amounts; supporting affidavit and invoice were attached.
- Plaintiffs filed a motion for new trial but later dismissed it; a hearing on fees occurred June 21, 2016 (plaintiffs declined to present evidence on fees).
- On June 22, 2016 the trial court amended the judgment to add $58,548 in attorney fees and $4,127.70 in costs; plaintiffs appealed, arguing the amendment was untimely (outside the term of court).
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether trial court could amend the judgment to add fees outside the term when the motion was filed during the same term | Amendment was improper because order was entered in a later term (June 2016), so court lacked power to modify judgment outside the term | Motion to amend was filed during the same term as the original judgment (July 2015, June 2015 term), preserving the court’s inherent power to amend under OCGA § 15-1-3(6) | Court affirmed: amendment valid because motion was filed in the same term as the original judgment, so court had power to amend |
Key Cases Cited
- De La Reza v. Osprey Capital, LLC, 287 Ga. App. 196 (discusses limitation on modifying judgments outside the term of court)
- City of Cornelia v. Gunter, 227 Ga. 464 (establishes that courts generally may not modify judgments after the term in which they were entered)
- Piggly Wiggly S. v. Snowden, 219 Ga. App. 148 (holds that a motion made in the same term preserves the court’s power to amend judgment)
- Floyd v. Springfield Plantation Property Owners’ Assn., 245 Ga. App. 535 (notes OCGA § 15-1-3 has no time limitation for moving to amend a judgment)
- Capitol Cargo, Inc. v. Port of Port Royal, 261 Ga. App. 803 (distinguished because there the motion to amend was filed outside the term of court)