Fennelly v. Lyons
Georgia Court of Appeals
775 S.E.2d 587 (2015)
- Written by Eric Cervone, LLM
Facts
Samuel Lyons (defendant) owned a property that he leased to William Fennelly (plaintiff). The lease agreement allowed either party to terminate the lease at any time by giving the other party 30-days’ notice. Several years into the lease, on July 12, Lyons sent a notice to Fennelly terminating the lease. The lease informed Fennelly that he had to vacate the property by August 15. On August 16, Fennelly had still not vacated the property, Lyons filed an affidavit for a summons of dispossessory. Lyons alleged that Fennelly owed several thousand dollars in past-due rent, that he had held the property beyond the terms of the lease, and that he had refused to deliver possession to Lyons. Fennelly’s summons was posted to the door of the leased property. Fennelly wrote Lyons a letter dated August 18 informing Lyons that he planned to vacate the property during the last week of September. Lyons testified that he did not receive the letter until after evicting Fennelly in mid-September. On August 29, Lyons requested a writ of possession from the court, alleging that Fennelly had not filed an answer in the eviction proceedings. The court granted the request on September 6 and issued a writ of possession to Lyons. Lyons then informed Fennelly through a letter that unless Fennelly vacated the property by September 15, Lyons would remove and dispose of any of Fennelly’s personal property left inside the house. On September 17, when Fennelly had still not vacated the property, Lyons executed the writ of possession and evicted Fennelly. A sheriff advised Lyons that Fennelly had 24 hours to claim his property or it would be deemed abandoned, at which point Lyons could dispose of the property as he saw fit. Lyons moved Fennelly’s personal property onto the driveway of the leased property. After 24 hours had passed, Lyons began disposing of Fennelly’s property. Fennelly brought suit, arguing that Lyons could not legally take possession of or destroy his personal property. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Lyons. Fennelly appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Dillard, J.)
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