Woodrum v. Ga. Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co.
Citation | 860 S.E.2d 900,360 Ga.App. 126 |
Decision Date | 25 June 2021 |
Docket Number | A21A0320 |
Court | United States Court of Appeals (Georgia) |
Parties | WOODRUM, et al. v. GEORGIA FARM BUREAU MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY. |
R. Stephen Sims, Springfield, for Appellant.
Lee Malcolm Gillis Jr., Duke Riley Groover, Macon, for Appellee.
In the second appearance of this case before our Court, William E. Woodrum, Jr. and Kathy S. Woodrum appeal the trial court's grant of summary judgment to Georgia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company on their breach of contract claim in which they seek compensation for diminution in value. The Woodrums contend, inter alia, that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment because genuine issues of material fact remain as to whether diminution in value was assessed as part of the appraisal process and included in the appraisal award. For reasons that follow, we reverse.
"On appeal from the grant of summary judgment, this Court conducts a de novo review of the evidence to determine whether there is a genuine issue of material fact and whether the undisputed facts, viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, warrant judgment as a matter of law." (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Cline v. Allstate Property & Cas. Ins. , 354 Ga. App. 415, 415, 841 S.E.2d 63 (2020). In our prior appeal, we set out the facts in that light as well as the prior procedural history:
In Woodrum I , we held that the trial court abused its discretion in finding that Hall could not offer his opinion of value as a lay witness and reversed the trial court's order excluding that testimony. Id. at 93-94 (1) (b), 815 S.E.2d 650. Based on that holding, we also reversed the grant of summary judgment on the breach of contract claim because we concluded that "there is, contrary to the trial court's finding, some evidence creating a genuine issue of material fact as to the diminished value of the house." Id. at 94 (2) (a), 815 S.E.2d 650.
When the case returned to the trial court, Georgia Farm Bureau filed a renewed motion for summary judgment based on the existing record. In that motion, Georgia Farm Bureau asserted that the appraisal award constituted full and final payment of the loss, including any diminution in value. The trial court granted the motion on that ground, and the Woodrums appeal.
summary judgment was not appropriate in this case.
Under the law of the case doctrine, "any ruling by the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals in a case shall be binding in all subsequent proceedings in that case in the lower court and in the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals as the case may be." OCGA § 9-11-60 (h). "But the doctrine applies only to actual decisions, not to issues raised but never ruled upon." (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Sovereign Healthcare v. Mariner Health Care Mgmt. , 329 Ga. App. 782, 785 (1) (a), 766 S.E.2d 172 (2014) ; see also Hicks v. McGee , 289 Ga. 573, 579 (2), 713 S.E.2d 841 (2011) ( ); Currid v. DeKalb State Court Probation Dept. , 285 Ga. 184, 186, n.5, 674 S.E.2d 894 (2009) ( ). In Woodrum I , we concluded that summary judgment was not appropriate on the breach of contract claim because there was some evidence of diminution in value, but we did not determine whether diminution in value was assessed as part of the appraisal process. Thus, we did not rule on the issue presented here, and the law of the case rule did not preclude the trial court from addressing it. See Sovereign Healthcare , 329 Ga. App. at 785 (1) (a), 766 S.E.2d 172.
Summary judgment is proper "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,...
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