Myers v. NORTH GA. TITLE & TAX FREE EXCH.
Decision Date | 09 December 1999 |
Docket Number | No. A99A1944.,A99A1944. |
Citation | 241 Ga. App. 379,527 S.E.2d 212 |
Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
Parties | MYERS v. NORTH GEORGIA TITLE & TAX FREE EXCHANGE, LLC. |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
James I. Myers, pro se.
Chandler & Britt, Buford, Luther H. Beck, Jr., Toccoa, for appellee. ELLINGTON, Judge.
James I. Myers, pro se, appeals from the trial court's order granting North Georgia Title & Tax Free Exchange, LLC ("North Georgia") summary judgment. Myers was ejected from his home following a dispossessory proceeding in magistrate court brought by North Georgia after it acquired a quitclaim deed to Myers' property following an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax sale. Myers' appeal to the superior court was dismissed. Myers then filed the instant action, seeking to litigate whether North Georgia had valid title to the property. North Georgia filed a motion to dismiss on res judicata grounds, which the court treated as a motion for summary judgment and granted. Because Myers did not have the opportunity in the prior suit to litigate the title issues he now raises, the doctrine of res judicata does not apply. Consequently, we must reverse the grant of summary judgment.
1. Summary judgment is proper when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. OCGA § 9-11-56(c). Our review is de novo, and we view the evidence, and all reasonable conclusions and inferences drawn from it, in the light most favorable to the nonmovant. Matjoulis v. Integon Gen. Ins. Corp., 226 Ga.App. 459(1), 486 S.E.2d 684 (1997). Viewed in this light, the record reveals that as a result of Myers' failure to pay income tax, the IRS placed liens against his home at 1328 Buford Highway. On January 30, 1997, the IRS seized the property. North Georgia bought the property for $146,000 at an auction held on April 8, 1997. The IRS issued North Georgia a certificate of sale on April 15, 1997. On October 7, 1997, after the expiration of the statutory 180-day redemption period, the IRS issued North Georgia a quitclaim deed to the property. North Georgia filed a dispossessory action in the Gwinnett County Magistrate Court on December 14, 1997.
Myers responded to the dispossessory action, arguing that North Georgia had no ownership interest in the property and that it had acquired the IRS liens but not title. Following a hearing on December 22, 1997, the magistrate court entered judgment in favor of North Georgia with possession to take place on January 8, 1998. The magistrate court informed Myers that he could appeal the decision by timely filing a notice of appeal and by paying the monthly rental into the court registry. Myers filed a notice of appeal, but failed to pay rent into the registry. For that reason, the superior court dismissed his notice of appeal. Myers did not appeal the dismissal order, and on February 13, 1998, Myers was evicted.
On June 19, 1998, Myers brought the instant action entitled " Complaint for Quiet Title and Damages" in Gwinnett County Superior Court. A review of the complaint reveals that Myers sought to litigate "whether the federal tax sale was valid and effective" and whether North Georgia had a right to take possession of the property by virtue of the IRS quitclaim deed. Finding that Myers' claims were barred by the prior dispossessory action in magistrate court under the doctrine of res judicata, the superior court granted summary judgment in favor of North Georgia.
Applying this doctrine, a prior action will bar a subsequent action if these requirements are...
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