Cases & Developments

Opinion reversing denial of Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. Defendants are the Savannah State University Foundation, Inc. and the Savannah State University Foundation Real Estate Ventures, LLC, of which the Foundation is the sole member. The LLC leases the “University Village,” an apartment facility built on land leased to it by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, to Savannah State University (SSU) for use as student housing. Plaintiff brought premises liability, nuisance, and related claims against the Foundation and the LLC after her son was shot and killed while visiting friends at the University Village. Defendants moved for summary judgment, asserting that neither was in control or possession of the property at the time. The trial court denied the motion, but the Court of Appeals of Georgia reversed, holding that neither restrictions in the lease on how SSU may use the property nor rights to enter and inspect the property, which were reserved to protect the LLC’s ownership interests rather than any possessory interests, were sufficient to raise issues of material fact regarding whether the LLC retained possession or control of the property.