Wise Moving Storage, Inc. v. Rieser-Roth

7 Citing cases

  1. Hansford v. Veal

    No. A23A0836 (Ga. Ct. App. Oct. 24, 2023)   Cited 2 times

    where a plaintiff's complaint alleges that a defaulting defendant's conduct rose to a level that would warrant an award of punitive damages, that defendant is precluded from contesting his liability for such damages. See COMCAST Corp., 286 Ga.App. at 838-842 (1) (concluding that a trial court did not err in granting plaintiff a default judgment as to punitive damages where complaint alleged that defendant had acted "recklessly, wantonly, and with conscious disregard for the consequences"); Wise Moving &Storage v. Rieser-Roth, 259 Ga.App. 832, 833-834 (2) (578 S.E.2d 535) (2003) (holding that the complaint allegations authorized the entry of default judgment against a defendant on his liability for punitive damages); cf. Benevidez, 362 Ga.App. at 859 (2) (a) (affirming zero-dollar punitive damages award where complaint allegations, deemed admitted by default, did not specifically aver that the defendant's conduct was willful, malicious, fraudulent, wanton, oppressive, or consciously indifferent to the consequences, as would be required to justify an award under OCGA § 51-12-5.1 (b)). With these principles in mind, we must review Hansford's complaint, resolving all doubts in his favor, see Zhong, 345 Ga.App. at 140 (2) (b), to determine whether the definite and certain factual allegations in his complaint, along with the fair inferences and conclusions of fact to be drawn from the allegations, see Willis, 321 Ga.App. at 497, are suf

  2. Avery v. Schneider

    356 Ga. App. 304 (Ga. Ct. App. 2020)   Cited 3 times

    In any event, the confusion surrounding the basis of liability—i.e. , the well-pleaded allegations of the complaint or the evidence presented at the hearing—and how that relates to the issue of punitive damages is all the more reason to remand this case to the trial court for clarification. Cf.COMCAST Corp. v. Warren , 286 Ga. App. 835, 842 (2), 650 S.E.2d 307 (2007) (holding that the well-pleaded allegations of the complaint, combined with the defendant's default, were sufficient to support the award of punitive damages); Wise Moving & Storage, Inc. v. Rieser-Roth , 259 Ga. App. 832, 834 (1), 578 S.E.2d 535 (2003) (noting that the well-pleaded allegations of a complaint can, in some cases, authorize the underlying liability for an award of punitive damages without additional evidence being presented); Wilson Welding Serv. v. Partee , 234 Ga. App. 619, 620, 507 S.E.2d 168 (1998), overruled on other grounds by Shields v. Gish , 280 Ga. 556, 629 S.E.2d 244 (2006) ("[T]he determination of liability for punitive damages and the amount of punitive damages are two separate issues. Only liability for punitive damages results from the default.

  3. Waller v. Rymer

    293 Ga. App. 833 (Ga. Ct. App. 2008)   Cited 6 times
    Affirming compensatory and punitive damages awards following default where "[t]he facts admitted by way of default [were] supported by the evidence adduced at trial"

    See Wilson Welding Svc, 234 Ga. App. at 620. As before, appellants failed to raise an objection at that time and therefore cannot contest the trial court's procedure on appeal. Wise Moving Storage v. Rieser-Roth, 259 Ga. App. 832, 834 (1) ( 578 SE2d 535) (2003); Lawrence v. Direct Mtg. Lenders Corp., 254 Ga. App. 672, 675 (3) ( 563 SE2d 533) (2002); Shaw v. Ruiz, 207 Ga. App. 299, 300 (1) ( 428 SE2d 98) (1993). Judgment affirmed. Ruffin, P. J., and Andrews, J., concur.

  4. Ogundele v. Camelot Club Condo. Ass'n

    268 Ga. App. 400 (Ga. Ct. App. 2004)   Cited 5 times

    Therefore, Jefferson and Faircloth do not preclude automatic dismissal pursuant to the five year rule. See OCGA § 9-11-55 (a); Wise Moving Storage v. Rieser-Roth, 259 Ga.App. 832, 834 (2) ( 578 SE2d 535) (2003). 2.

  5. White Cap, L.P. v. Mowers

    Civil Action 1:19-cv-02750-SDG (N.D. Ga. Aug. 11, 2021)   Cited 1 times

    The Court can determine liability for punitive damages when a defendant defaults, taking the allegations in the complaint as true. Wise Moving & Storage v. Reiser-Roth, 259 Ga.App. 832, 834 (2003) ("[T]he allegations of the complaint in this case [ ] authorized an award of punitive damages. And the default judgment awarded such damages in a specified amount.").

  6. KEG Technologies, Inc. v. Laimer

    436 F. Supp. 2d 1364 (N.D. Ga. 2006)   Cited 17 times
    Finding a breach of fiduciary duty when employee "began, not simply planning to compete with the employer, but engaging in the active solicitation of business for his competing enterprise"

    Plainly, the breach of a fiduciary's duties can sustain such an award, see Kilburn v. Young, 569 S.E.2d 879, 883 (Ga.Ct.App. 2002), and the Georgia courts have made clear that punitive damages following a defendant's default may be proper. See, e.g., Wise Moving Storage, Inc. v. Rieser-Roth, 578 S.E.2d 535, 536-37 (Ga.Ct.App. 2003); K-Mart Corp. v. Hackett, 514 S.E.2d 884, 887-89 (Ga.Ct.App. 1999). In this case, moreover, the Court finds that the record supports some punitive recovery, as Mr. Laimer's solicitation of KEG customers for a competing enterprise during the tenure of his employment demonstrated the type of willful misconduct contemplated by O.C.G.A. § 51-12-5.1(b).

  7. In re Innovative Medical Care, Inc.

    372 B.R. 566 (Bankr. D. Conn. 2007)   Cited 2 times

    Id. (citing O.C.G.A. § 15-12-5.1; Wise Moving Storage, Inc. v. Reiser-Roth, 259 Ga. App. 832, 834, 578 S.E.2d 535, 537 (2003)). The judgment of the Georgia court is final.