Terry Riggins v. City of Atlanta

THIRD DIVISION
ELLINGTON, P. J.,
ANDREWS and RICKMAN, JJ.
NOTICE: Motions for reconsideration must be
physically received in our clerk’s office within ten
days of the date of decision to be deemed timely filed.
http://www.gaappeals.us/rules
March 23, 2017
In the Court of Appeals of Georgia
A17A0194. RIGGINS v. CITY OF ATLANTA et al. JE-008
ELLINGTON, Presiding Judge.
Terry Riggins appeals from the order of the Superior Court of Fulton County
which dismissed her complaint alleging that the City of Atlanta and named City
employees acting in their official capacities violated the Georgia Whistleblower Act
(“GWA”), OCGA § 45-1-4, when they allegedly had her employment terminated for
complaining about irregularities in the City’s water system. The City argued, and the
superior court found, that Riggins’ suit was barred because she failed to comply with
the statutory requirement that a plaintiff provide ante litem notice before asserting
certain claims against a municipality pursuant to OCGA § 36-33-5. Riggins appeals,
contending that the municipal ante litem notice requirement does not apply to claims
brought pursuant to the GWA. For the following reasons, we agree.
After this appeal was docketed in this Court and briefed, the Supreme Court of
Georgia addressed this issue in response to a certified question from the United States
District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, and it held “that the pre-suit notice
requirement contained in the municipal ante litem notice statute does not apply to a
whistleblower claim brought pursuant to the GWA.” West v. City of Albany, ___ Ga.
___ (Case No. S16Q1881) (2017 Ga. LEXIS 177) (March 6, 2017). Given this recent
precedent, we must conclude that Riggins was not required to provide the City with
ante litem notice of her GWA claim. Consequently, the superior court’s order must
be reversed.
Judgment reversed. Andrews and Rickman, JJ., concur.
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