Expanding upon the Georgia’s Supreme Court’s decision in Beneke v. Parker, 285 Ga. 733, 684 S.E.2d 243 (Ga. 2009), a case that held that basic traffic tickets constituted crimes under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-99, the Georgia Court of Appeals recently held that the two-year statute of limitations was tolled only until the prosecution of a defendant for a traffic offense was terminated on administrative grounds.  Forbes v. Smith, Case No. A16A1327, 2016 WL 4410005 (Ga. Ct. App. Aug. 18, 2016). Barbara Forbes sued Cynthia Smith for injuries arising from a July 5, 2013 automobile accident in which Smith was cited with failure to yield while turning left. Id. at *1. Forbes filed her suit on September 15, 2015, more than two years after the accident and the accrual of her personal injury claim. Id. Forbes argued that the statute of limitations was tolled because Smith was charged with a crime in connection with the accident. Id. (citing O.C.G.A. § 9-3-99). That statute provides:

 The running of the period of limitations with respect to any cause of action in tort that may be brought by the victim of an alleged crime which arises out of the facts and circumstances relating to the commission of such alleged crime committed in this state shall be tolled from the date of the commission of the alleged crime or the act giving rise to such action in tort until the prosecution of such crime or act has become final or otherwise terminated, provided that such time does not exceed six years.

O.C.G.A. § 9-3-99 (emphasis added).

The Court of Appeals found that the citation issued to Smith on July 5, 2013 commenced prosecution of the offense. Id. However, when Smith went to the DeKalb County Recorders Court on August 6, 2013, she was informed that the officer never filed the citation with the Recorders Court, and the Recorders Court dismissed the traffic charges. Id. at *2. Although the officer was permitted to re-issue the citation within two years of the date of the offense, he never did. Id. The Court of Appeals concluded that the mere failure to file the citation with the Recorders Court, and the officer’s failure to re-issue the citation within two years, terminated the offense on August 6, 2013. Id. Therefore, Forbes’s suit filed September 15, 2015 was time-barred as the statute of limitations ran a month before. Id. The Court of Appeals rejected Forbes’s argument that the statute of limitations was tolled until July 5, 2015, the expiration date for prosecution of the offense. Id.

The above case highlights the need for a potential party defendant to monitor the underlying criminal case for statute of limitations tolling purposes if there is the potential for a corresponding personal injury action.  If you have any further questions about this case or how it relates to your company, please contact Mike Davis or any other attorney at Nall & Miller, LLP.