Jacquelyn Pollard v. Great Dane LLC D/B/A Great Dane Trailers

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ September 28, 2023

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A24D0085. JACQUELYN POLLARD v. GREAT DANE LLC d/b/a GREAT DANE TRAILERS.

Morris Pollard was injured when a lift gate on his work truck malfunctioned.1 Pollard thereafter sued Great Dane, LLC, d/b/a Great Dane Trailers (“Great Dane”), alleging that the company had negligently repaired the lift gate. Pollard’s wife, Jacquelyn Pollard, intervened in the lawsuit and asserted a claim for loss of consortium. Both Great Dane and Morris moved for summary judgment on Jacquelyn’s claim, arguing that because the Pollards were estranged and living apart, Jacquelyn could not recover for loss of consortium. The trial court agreed and entered summary judgment against Jacquelyn and in favor of Morris and Great Dane. Jacquelyn then filed this timely application for discretionary appeal. Under OCGA § 9-11-56 (h), the grant of summary judgment on any issue or as to any party is reviewable by direct appeal. Olympic Dev. Group v. American Druggists’ Ins. Co., 175 Ga. App. 425, 425 (1) (333 SE2d 622) (1985). Thus, Jacquelyn was not required to file an application to obtain review of the order in question. And we will grant a timely-filed application for discretionary appeal where a trial court’s order is subject to direct appeal. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (j); Ahearn v. Westrec Mgmt., 244 Ga. App. 699, 699, n.1 (536 SE2d 606) (2000). See also Bullock v. Sand, 260 Ga. App. 874, 875 (581 SE2d 333) (2003). Accordingly, this application

1 The truck in question was owned by Pollard’s employer, Airgas, Inc. Both Airgas and its insurer intervened in the lawsuit, but neither of those entities is a party to this appeal.

is hereby GRANTED. Jacquelyn Pollard shall have ten days from the date of this order to file a notice of appeal with the trial court, if she has not already done so. The clerk of the trial court is DIRECTED to include a copy of this order in the record transmitted to the Court of Appeals.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 09/28/2023 I certify that the above is a true extract from the minutes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia. Witness my signature and the seal of said court hereto affixed the day and year last above written.

, Clerk.