The Court of Appeals of Georgia issued an opinion arising from a personal injury claim filed by a plaintiff against the Georgia Department of Public Safety (the State). The plaintiff’s lawsuit alleges that he suffered injuries in a car accident when an officer employed by the State was chasing a fleeing felon. The State argued that the plaintiff did not serve it with proper ante litem notice; however, the trial court denied the State’s motion and then granted its application for interlocutory appeal.
The facts indicate that the incident occurred in October of 2014. Per OCGA section 50-21-26 (5), the plaintiff sent his intent to sue, otherwise known as ante litem notice, to the administrative services department in December 2014. The plaintiff did not include all of the relevant information, so he voluntarily dismissed the initial filing based on the deficiencies in his notice. Several years later, in March 2017, the plaintiff renewed his action by filing another ante litem notice. At this time, the State moved to dismiss the case, arguing that the notice was untimely. The plaintiff contended that, according to OCGA section 9-3-99, the notice was timely.
Generally, under the Georgia Tort Claims Act (GTCA), no one can bring an action against the State without first providing the appropriate agency written notice of claim within 12 months of the date of injury. However, OCGA section 9-3-99 provides that this statute of limitations may be tolled in cases where the case arose out of the commission of a crime. In these cases, the statute will be tolled from the date of the alleged crime until the prosecution of that crime has been terminated or otherwise become final, so long as it does not exceed six years.