Oglethorpe Power Corp. v. Forrister, 289 Ga. 331

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia held that noise from the Sewell Creek power plant constituted a permanent nuisance because it resulted from enduring features of the plant's construction and essential method of operation. The plaintiffs' claims for harm that merely increased in degree were barred by the statute of limitations, but claims based on a new and previously unobservable type of noise occurring within four years of filing could proceed. The court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.

Holdings

1. Noise caused by the plant's integral exhaust-silencing system and essential method of generating electricity constituted a permanent nuisance because it resulted from a substantial and relatively enduring feature of the plant's plan of construction and an essential method of operation.
2. The plaintiffs could not recover for harm that was already observable when the plant began operating in 2000, because the four-year limitations period began when the permanent nuisance was created and the harm became observable.
3. A factual dispute concerning whether a new type of noise, not previously observable, began after the 2004 operating season precluded summary judgment on that aspect of the nuisance claim.
4. A change only in the degree, extent, or amount of noise and vibrations does not restart the statute of limitation for a permanent nuisance.

Questions Presented

1. Whether noise from the power plant constituted a permanent nuisance caused by a substantial and relatively enduring feature of the plant's construction or an essential method of operation.
2. Whether the plaintiffs' nuisance claim was barred by Georgia's four-year statute of limitation because the plant began operating in 2000.
3. Whether evidence that a new type of noise became observable after the 2004 operating season created a factual issue permitting the claim to proceed.
4. Whether a change only in the degree, amount, or extent of noise could restart the limitations period for a permanent nuisance.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded