Geer v. Phoebe Putney Health Sys., Inc., A19A0588
| Decision Date | 08 May 2019 |
| Docket Number | A19A0588 |
| Citation | 828 S.E.2d 108,350 Ga.App. 127 |
| Parties | GEER v. PHOEBE PUTNEY HEALTH SYSTEM, INC. |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
350 Ga.App. 127
828 S.E.2d 108
GEER
v.
PHOEBE PUTNEY HEALTH SYSTEM, INC.
A19A0588
Court of Appeals of Georgia.
May 8, 2019
Kermit S. Dorough Jr., Albany, for Appellant.
Louis Edward Hatcher, Frank Faison Middleton IV, Albany, Charles Knox Wainright II, for Appellee.
Miller, Presiding Judge.
In this interlocutory appeal, Claude Wilson Geer seeks review of the trial court’s order denying his motion under the anti-SLAPP statute ( OCGA § 9-11-11.1 ) to strike Phoebe Putney Health System, Inc.’s ("Phoebe Putney") counterclaim for attorneys’ fees. Geer argues that the trial court erred in its conclusion that he did not present a prima facie case that the anti-SLAPP statute applied to Phoebe Putney’s counterclaim. We conclude that the trial court properly determined that the anti-SLAPP statute does not apply to Phoebe Putney’s counterclaim, and so we affirm.
Geer filed the instant lawsuit under the Georgia Open Records Act ( OCGA § 50-18-70, et seq. ) to compel Phoebe Putney to release all the minutes from Phoebe Putney’s board meetings from January 2008 through December 2017. Phoebe Putney answered the complaint, asserting multiple defenses and a counterclaim for attorneys’ fees under OCGA § 50-18-73 (b), which allows for an award of attorneys’ fees in any action brought under the Georgia Open Records Act "in which the court determines that either party acted without substantial justification either in not complying with this chapter or in instituting the litigation." Geer then filed a motion to strike Phoebe Putney’s counterclaim as in violation of Georgia’s anti-SLAPP statute, alleging that the counterclaim was an effort to chill his right to petition the government and his right of free speech. Following a hearing, the trial court denied Geer’s motion to strike the counterclaim after concluding that he did not make a prima facie showing that the anti-SLAPP statute applied to the counterclaim. This timely appeal followed.
1. In his three related enumerations of error, Geer argues that the trial...
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Geer v. Phoebe Putney Health Sys., Inc.
...320 Residence Avenue P. O. Box 2008, Albany, Georgia 31702-2008, for Appellee. Bethel, Justice. In Geer v. Phoebe Putney Health System, Inc. , 350 Ga. App. 127, 128, 828 S.E.2d 108 (2019), the Court of Appeals held that Georgia's anti-SLAPP statute, OCGA § 9-11-11.1, could not be invoked to......
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Geer v. Phoebe Putney Health Sys., Inc.
...Avenue P. O. Box 2008, Albany, Georgia 31702-2008, for Appellee. Bethel, Justice.In Geer v. Phoebe Putney Health System, Inc. , 350 Ga. App. 127, 128, 828 S.E.2d 108 (2019), the Court of Appeals held that Georgia's anti-SLAPP statute, OCGA § 9-11-11.1, could not be invoked to strike a count......
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Geer v. Phoebe Putney Health Sys., Inc.
...HEALTH SYSTEM, INC.S19G1265.Supreme Court of GeorgiaOctober 5, 2020 BETHEL, Justice. In Geer v. Phoebe Putney Health System, Inc., 350 Ga. App. 127, 128 (828 SE2d 108) (2019), the Court of Appeals held that Georgia's anti-SLAPP statute, OCGA § 9-11-11.1, could not be invoked to strike a cou......
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Local Government Law
...Id. at 1345-46.201. Id.202. 87 F.R.D. 53, 55-56 (E.D. Pa. 1980).203. Id. at 56.204. Hammonds, 371 F. Supp. 3d at 1346-47.205. 350 Ga. App. 127, 828 S.E.2d 108 (2019).206. Id. at 127, 828 S.E.2d at 109.207. O.C.G.A. § 9-11-11.1 (2019).208. Geer, 350 Ga. App. at 127, 828 S.E.2d at 109. 209. I......
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Local Government
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