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County attorney reports Court of Appeals decisions reversing and remanding local cases
Summary
County Attorney Bin Minter told commissioners the Court of Appeals reversed a Superior Court order in UGOCCC v. Damon Hoyte, reinstating prior magistrate-court rulings related to a zoning violation; in Haymond v. Hoyte the Court of Appeals vacated the Superior Court denial of a motion to dismiss and remanded the case.
County Attorney Bin Minter briefed the Commission on appellate rulings the minutes say could affect county litigation.
First, in UGOCCC v. Damon Hoyte (Superior Court Case 23CV072) Minter said the Court of Appeals reversed the Superior Court’s decision that had ordered the county to refund fines and allowed a retrial in magistrate court; the appellate opinion reinstated the original magistrate-court rulings and the county’s prior position. Second, in the case filed by Melissa Haymond against Damon Hoyte — in which the county is listed as a co-defendant — the Court of Appeals reversed a Superior Court denial of a motion to dismiss, vacated that denial, and remanded the matter to Superior Court where motions to dismiss remain pending for both Ms. Haymond and the county.
Minter described both items as factual updates; the minutes record his presentation during the Oct. 7 meeting. The Commission entered executive session at 9:01 a.m. to discuss legal and personnel matters and reconvened at 9:29 a.m., at which time Chairman Coffey stated the subjects discussed were within legal exceptions to Georgia’s Open Meetings Act and no votes were taken during the closed session.
What happens next: the legal matters will proceed through the Superior Court on remand in accordance with the appellate decisions; the minutes do not record further litigation strategy or the county’s next procedural filings.
Source: County attorney briefing in the Oct. 7, 2025 meeting minutes (SEG 002).
