Sedreick Moore v. James Pearson, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia granted Defendant Joseph Smith and his estate’s motion for judgment on the pleadings in Sedreick Moore’s wrongful-conviction action. The court held that Georgia’s six-year statute of ultimate repose for claims against a decedent’s estate, O.C.G.A. § 9-3-36, barred Moore’s claims because they accrued more than six years after Smith’s death. The claims against Smith and his estate were dismissed with prejudice, while the remaining claims remained pending.

Holdings

1. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-36 bars Moore's claims against Joseph Smith and his estate because the claims accrued more than six years after Smith's death and therefore were not actionable.
2. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-92 does not toll or overcome the statute of ultimate repose in O.C.G.A. § 9-3-36.
3. No material factual dispute existed because Moore alleged that Smith died on November 2, 2015, and Smith admitted that date in his answer.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Georgia's six-year statute of ultimate repose for claims against a decedent's estate bars claims that accrued more than six years after the decedent's death.
2. Whether Georgia's statute concerning tolling of actions against an unrepresented estate, O.C.G.A. § 9-3-92, tolls or overcomes the statute of ultimate repose in O.C.G.A. § 9-3-36.
3. Whether a factual dispute concerning Joseph Smith's date of death precluded judgment on the pleadings.

Disposition

dismissed