Trace Sexton (Of Counsel-Atlanta) obtained summary judgment for a property management client in Fulton County State Court in a premises liability action arising from a shooting inside a tenant’s private apartment. The plaintiff alleged that while visiting the tenant, he shot her without warning. She further alleged that our client failed to conduct adequate background screening and should have known about the tenant's dangerous propensities.

Georgia courts rarely grant summary judgment in premises liability cases involving shootings, as judges typically find fact questions about foreseeability that a jury must decide. The plaintiff attempted to create a fact issue about background screening through discovery admissions, but Trace offered affirmative evidence that proper screening procedures were followed, successfully arguing that Georgia law imposes no duty on landlords to exclude individuals with criminal histories absent specific knowledge of danger – a key legal principle the court adopted in its ruling. They built an airtight record establishing that the client received no complaints about the tenant, no prior violent incidents occurred at the complex, and the client had entirely relinquished control over the tenant's private apartment. 

The court’s order closely tracked Wilson Elser’s briefing, adopting the framework that landlords who fully part with possession under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-14 cannot be liable for unforeseeable tenant criminal acts. The judge specifically cited the same controlling authority highlighted in the defense briefs, including McCullough v. Reyes and the Sturbridge Partners, Ltd. v. Walker foreseeability standard. This outcome is exceptionally rare in Georgia, where the judicial tendency to find jury questions on foreseeability makes summary judgment in shooting cases one of the most difficult defense victories to achieve.