Georgia Court of Appeals Affirms Summary Judgment for U-Haul Real Estate Entity

Chartwell secured an appellate victory for Amerco Real Estate Company, the real estate arm of U-Haul, with the Georgia Court of Appeals affirming the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in Gemini Motorsport, LLC v. Amerco Real Estate Company.

Following heavy rainfall in September 2021, the plaintiff (a neighboring used car dealership) alleged that drainage conditions and a retaining wall between the properties contributed to flooding and asserted claims against Amerco for negligence, nuisance, and trespass, along with punitive damages and attorney’s fees.

The Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for Amerco, agreeing that Amerco was an out-of-possession landlord and therefore owed no duty to the plaintiff under OCGA § 44-7-14, absent proof of narrow statutory exceptions (e.g., defective construction or failure to repair with the requisite knowledge). With duty and control lacking, the court also affirmed dismissal of the nuisance and trespass claims, and the derivative punitive damages and fee claims fell with the underlying causes of action.

Beyond the appellate win itself, the opinion provides a practical framework for defending landlord entities where:

• the lease places maintenance/repair obligations on the tenant, and
• the landlord’s right of entry/inspection does not equate to control or possession for liability purposes.

Even better, the team served an offer of judgment before moving for summary judgment, positioning the client to pursue significant fee recovery from the plaintiff.

Shout-out

Congratulations to Partner Whitney Greene who positioned the case for summary judgment by obtaining critical deposition testimony, and Of Counsel Ashley Fillingim, credited for drafting both the winning summary judgment brief and the appellate brief effort that helped carry this result through to affirmance.