Appellate victory in negligent security case
11/23/2021In this case, the plaintiffs sued the owner of a large Atlanta mall and a security contractor after one of the plaintiffs was struck by a vehicle in the mall parking lot during an alleged “road rage” incident. Dan McGrew and Andrew Bagley moved for summary judgment for the mall and the security contractor on the basis that the incident was not reasonably foreseeable, among other arguments. The trial court granted the motion for the security contractor but denied it for the mall. Dan and Andrew then sought an interlocutory appeal, which is an a discretionary appellate process. After being granted the right to this appeal and briefing the issues, the Court of Appeals agreed with Dan and Andrew and reversed the trial court. The case was published and can be found at the following citation: Retail Prop. Tr. v. McPhaul, 359 Ga. App. 345, 857 S.E.2d 521 (2021), cert. denied (Oct. 5, 2021).