Hiley v. McGoogan, 70959
Decision Date | 28 January 1986 |
Docket Number | No. 70959,70959 |
Citation | 177 Ga.App. 809,341 S.E.2d 461 |
Parties | HILEY v. McGOOGAN et al. |
Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
C. Edwin Rozier, Rudolph J. Chambless, Waycross, for appellant.
Terry A. Dillard, J. Baker McGee III, W. Grady Pedrick, Waycross, for appellees.
Plaintiff Ethel Hiley, administratrix of the estate of Bennie Hiley, pursuant to OCGA § 9-2-61 brought this renewal of a medical malpractice action against defendants M.T. McGoogan and the Hospital Authority of Ware County. The trial court granted defendants' motions for summary judgment based upon plaintiff's asserted failure to pay all accrued costs prior to the filing of this renewal (see OCGA § 9-11-41(d)), thus failing to toll the applicable statute of limitation. Plaintiff appeals.
The record shows that this action was originally brought in Ware Superior Court within the two-year statute of limitation provided by OCGA § 9-3-71(a). The case was voluntarily dismissed without prejudice on July 18, 1984 but was renewed on October 5, 1984. In support of their summary judgment motions, defendants presented the affidavit of the Clerk of Ware Superior Court to the effect that costs of $35 were due as of the date of dismissal and that those costs had not been paid. Plaintiff countered with an affidavit also of the clerk who stated that The clerk averred that within 30 days of the subject voluntary dismissal, the case was placed upon the minutes of the court, thus concluding the case and showing that no costs were due. Further, the case was not returned to the calendar for announcement nor was any bill of costs sent to any person in the case. The clerk also stated that subsequent to the renewal of this action, counsel for defendant Hospital Authority came to her office and requested that she pull the originally filed action and ascertain whether or not any costs were due on the case. The deputy clerk was instructed to pull the case from the disposed files and run a cost check on the case. This procedure resulted in the discovery of a balance due for costs of $35. The clerk closed by noting that the "disposed file" of this case would not have been pulled except at the instance of counsel for the Hospital Authority. The affidavit of the deputy clerk substantially corresponds to that of the clerk. She also averred that from her records and files at the time the case was filed in the "disposed files" and placed upon the minutes of the court, there were no costs due. Further, there never has been and presently is not a delinquent bill of costs in the originally filed case.
Counsel for plaintiff, a member of the Waycross Bar since April 1955, also filed an affidavit detailing his actions in regard to the dismissal and subsequent renewal of the subject action. He stated that prior to filing the renewal he examined the records of the clerk of court to "double check" the date of the dismissal. The records indicated that the case had indeed been dismissed and spread upon the minutes of the court. He further stated:
Daugherty v. Norville Indus., 174 Ga.App. 89, 329 S.E.2d 202 (1985). However, in Daugherty the plaintiff's attorney inquired of the clerk of court as to the amount of costs due upon voluntary dismissal of the original actions and was informed that no costs were due. Upon being later informed that costs were owed, plaintiffs' attorney immediately paid same. In light of these circumstances, the court held: Id. at 91, 329 S.E.2d 202. See also Keramidas v. Dept. of Human Resources, 147 Ga.App. 820, 821, 250 S.E.2d 560 (1978), and U.S. Cas. Co. v. American Oil Co., 104 Ga.App. 209, 211, 121 S.E.2d 328 (1961), wherein the court noted that Code Ann. § 3-808 (now OCGA...
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