Mcconnell v. Ga. Dep't of Labor
| Decision Date | 13 September 2017 |
| Docket Number | S16G1786. |
| Citation | 805 S.E.2d 79 |
| Parties | MCCONNELL et al. v. GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Scott A. Schweber, Jefferson Madden Allen, COHEN, COOPER, ESTEP & ALLEN, LLC, 3330 Cumberland Boulevard, Suite 600, Atlanta, Georgia 30339, for Appellant.
Kathleen M. Pacious, Deputy Attorney General, Loretta L. Pinkston-Pope, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Angela Ellen Cusimano, Assistant Attorney General, Christopher M. Carr, Attorney General, DEPARTMENT OF LAW, 40 Capitol Square, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30334, for Appellee.
Thomas McConnell filed this action against the Georgia Department of Labor (Department), alleging claims for negligence in disclosing "personal information," invasion of privacy through the public disclosure of private facts, and breach of fiduciary duty. All of these claims are connected to the Department's disclosure of the personal information, including social security numbers, of McConnell and some 4,000 proposed class members in an email sent to approximately 1,000 Georgians. The Department filed a motion to dismiss McConnell's claims, which the trial court granted on two bases: (1) McConnell's claims were barred by sovereign immunity and (2) on the merits, each of McConnell's contentions failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. McConnell then appealed the trial court's dismissal order to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals affirmed the order of the trial court after analyzing the merits of each of McConnell's claims. McConnell v. Ga. Dep't. of Labor, 337 Ga. App. 457, 787 S.E.2d 794 (2016). Although, in a footnote, the Court of Appeals mentioned the trial court's alternative ruling that McConnell's claims were barred by sovereign immunity, id. at 458 n. 2, 787 S.E.2d 794, the Court of Appeals, itself, did not consider the application of that doctrine to McConnell's contentions. We granted certiorari to determine whether the Court of Appeals erred by failing to address sovereign immunity, and we now hold that the Court of Appeals did err in this manner.
The applicability of sovereign immunity1 to claims brought against the State is a jurisdictional issue. Indeed " [s]overeign immunity ... like various other rules of jurisdiction and justiciability ... is concerned with the extent to which a case properly may come before a court at all." Lathrop v. Deal, 301 Ga. 408 (III) (B), 801 S.E.2d 867 (2017). Therefore, the applicability of sovereign immunity is a threshold determination,2 and, if it does apply, a court lacks jurisdiction over the case and, concomitantly, lacks authority to decide...
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McConnell v. Dep't of Labor
...of whether the trial court erred in its holding that McConnell’s claims are barred by sovereign immunity." McConnell v. Ga. Dept. of Labor , 302 Ga. 18, 805 S.E.2d 79 (2017). For the reasons explained below in Division 1, we conclude that the trial court did err in so holding and reverse th......
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Cmty. Bank of Trenton v. Schnuck Mkts., Inc.
...law. McConnell v. Dep't of Labor , 337 Ga.App. 457, 787 S.E.2d 794, 797 n.4 (2016), vacated on other grounds , McConnell v. Dep't of Labor , 302 Ga. 18, 805 S.E.2d 79 (2017).9 In addition, plaintiffs in Illinois state court must plead fraud under the ICFA with the same level of specificity ......
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In re Equifax, Inc.
...Id. at 461-62, 787 S.E.2d 794.152 Id. at 462, 787 S.E.2d 794.153 Id. at 460 n.4, 787 S.E.2d 794.154 McConnell v. Dep't of Labor (McConnell II) , 302 Ga. 18, 18-19, 805 S.E.2d 79 (2017).155 McConnell v. Dep't of Labor (McConnell III) , 345 Ga. App. 669, 678-679, 814 S.E.2d 790 (2018).156 Id.......
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Duke v. State, S19M0969
...of whether the appellate court has the authority to decide the merits of the case. See McConnell v. Dept. of Labor , 302 Ga. 18, 18-19, 805 S.E.2d 79 (2017) (holding that applicability of sovereign immunity to claims brought against the State is a threshold jurisdictional issue that must be......