The Supreme Court of Georgia recently issued an opinion that will extend the time within litigants will be able to file lawsuits, ruling that Chief Justice Melton’s Order Declaring Statewide Judicial Emergency (issued during COVID) tolled not only the statute of limitations, but also the statutes of repose. In this Order, Chief Justice Melton paused all applicable deadlines for 122 days. Prior to the Order, it was unclear to many whether the Order did, in fact, pause the statute of repose.
In the case, the plaintiff, Jami Golden, visited Floyd Medical Center in July 2016 complaining of abdominal pain. She alleges that Floyd Medical failed to properly diagnose and treat her for sepsis. Golden initially filed a federal lawsuit in 2018, but later voluntarily dismissed it. In October 2021, she filed a renewal action in state court asserting medical malpractice claims. Ordinarily, if a lawsuit is filed within the applicable statute of limitations, Georgia law allows a plaintiff to voluntarily dismiss their lawsuit and re-file it within six (6) months. The second lawsuit will stand on the same ground as the first.
Floyd Medical argued, however, that even though the renewal action was deemed filed within the applicable statute of limitations, Georgia’s 5-year statute of repose for medical malpractice claims, which expired in July 2021, barred Golden’s renewal action.
However, the trial court ruled that Chief Justice Melton’s March 14, 2020 COVID emergency order, which tolled filing deadlines, also tolled the statute of repose. The Court of Appeals reversed, finding that the emergency order did not apply to statutes of repose.
The Georgia Supreme Court then ruled that the statute of repose could be tolled by the emergency order. The court found that a statute of repose falls under the definition of a “deadline” that could be tolled under the Judicial Emergency Act, and the Plaintiff’s lawsuit could move forward.
The decision is important, as many plaintiffs may wish to voluntarily dismiss their action (for a variety of reasons) and file a renewal action. And it will keep defense lawyers from trying to rob plaintiffs of their day in court on technical court, or use the argument as leverage to offer a plaintiff far less than they are entitled to.