Tate v. Department of Transportation

Miller, Judge.

Seeking to recover for her husband?s death as a result of an auto accident, Monique Tate sued the Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT) for negligence. Years later, the DOT asked the court to declare the case dismissed for want of prosecution. The court ordered that the case was dismissed as of five years after the last order in the case was entered. Tate appeals this order. We hold that under the rule set forth in OCGA §§ 9-2-60 (b) and 9-11-41 (e), the case was automatically dismissed five years after the most recent court order.

On February 20, 1995, Tate’s husband was…