Williams v. Georgia Department of Corrections, 338 Ga. App. 719

Mario Williams, an attorney for several inmates at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison, sued the Georgia Department of Corrections (DOC) alleging a corrections officer opened, read, took, and kept privileged attorney-client mail between Aug. 8–11, 2012.
Williams sued in federal court against individual officers and initially sued the DOC in federal court but later filed a renewed action against the DOC in Fulton County Superior Court asserting conversion and invasion of privacy.
The DOC moved to dismiss under the Georgia Tort Claims Act (GTCA), arguing exceptions to waiver of sovereign immunity and that Williams lacked any possessory interest in his clients’ unmailed letters.
The trial court granted dismissal on sovereign immunity grounds, relying on the GTCA inspection exception (OCGA § 50-21-24(8)), an exception the DOC had not expressly raised below.
On appeal, the Georgia Court of Appeals reviewed de novo, declined to consider the inspection exception sua sponte because the DOC had not raised it below and the record was undeveloped, but upheld dismissal on an alternative ground: Williams lacked title or a right to possession in his clients’ unmailed letters, so conversion and invasion-of-privacy claims fail.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether DOC is immune under GTCA inspection exception	Inspection exception doesn't apply because injury arose from reading/confiscation, not inspection	DOC invoked GTCA exceptions (and other defenses) to bar suit	Court declined to decide inspection exception (DOC failed to raise it below; record undeveloped)
Whether Williams can state a conversion claim	Williams contends DOC unlawfully took privileged mail; he suffered harm	DOC argued Williams had no possessory interest or title in clients' unmailed letters	Conversion dismissed: Williams lacks title/right of possession in unmailed letters
Whether Williams can state an invasion-of-privacy claim	Williams claims intrusion into his private affairs via seizure of privileged mail	DOC argued no protectable privacy interest in unmailed letters	Invasion-of-privacy claim dismissed for lack of protectable interest
Whether dismissal should be reversed because trial court relied on an unraised exception	Williams argued court erred to rely on inspection exception not raised by DOC	DOC relied on alternative grounds below (no possessory interest)	Court affirmed under "right for any reason" rule, upholding dismissal on alternative ground (no possessory/privacy interest)

Laskar v. Bd. of Regents of the Univ. System of Ga., 320 Ga. App. 414 (standard of review for sovereign immunity motions)
Ga. Dept. of Natural Resources v. Center for a Sustainable Coast, Inc., 294 Ga. 593 (sovereign immunity and waiver principles)
Ga. Dept. of Corrections v. James, 312 Ga. App. 190 (burden on plaintiff to show waiver of sovereign immunity)
Rivera v. Washington, 298 Ga. 770 (trial court may hear evidence on sovereign immunity challenges)
Grant v. Ga. Forestry Comm., 338 Ga. App. 146 (need for developed record when resolving GTCA exceptions)
Ratliff v. McDonald, 326 Ga. App. 306 ("right for any reason" rule)
Adler v. Hertling, 215 Ga. App. 769 (conversion requires title or right of possession)
Williams v. Russo, [citation="636 F. App'x 527"] (11th Cir.: no protectable Fourth Amendment possessory/privacy interest in unmailed letters)
McConnell v. Dept. of Labor, 337 Ga. App. 457 (elements of invasion of privacy torts)
Loehle v. Ga. Dept. of Public Safety, 334 Ga. App. 836 (factual findings supporting immunity rulings are upheld if any evidence supports them)