Blocker Farms of Florida, LLC v. Buurma Properties, LLC

Filing 65

ORDER vacating 47 Order and 48 Judgment. It Is Further Ordered that this case is hereby reopened, and the case is to be placed on the active docket of this Court. The Court stays this case pending the resolution of Lynn S. Wyatt v. Cale Blocker, Superior Court of Tattnall County, Georgia, CAFN: 2011-V-137-JS. Signed by Judge J. Randal Hall on 08/24/2016. (thb)

IN

THE

UNITED

FOR THE

STATES

DISTRICT

COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
STATESBORO DIVISION

BLOCKER FARMS OF FLORIDA,

LLC,

Plaintiff,
CV

v.

BUURMA PROPERTIES,

613-068

LLC,

Defendant.

ORDER

On September 15, 2014, this Court granted Defendant's Motion for

Summary Judgment

Judgment.

and denied Plaintiff's

(Doc. 47.)

Motion for Partial

Pursuant to the grant of summary judgment in

favor of Defendant on all of Plaintiff's claims,

(Doc. 48.)

this case was closed.

On October 14, 2014, Plaintiff filed its Notice of Appeal

to the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
accord

Summary

with

the

Eleventh

Circuit's

mandate

(Doc.

vacating

49.)

this

In

Court's

determination that Plaintiff's claims against Defendant were barred by

the doctrine of res judicata2 (Doc. 63), IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the

1 Plaintiff

Blocker

Farms of Florida is not,

alleges, a Florida corporation.

as the

Plaintiff's

Complaint

Rather, Plaintiff Blocker Farms of Florida

is a Florida limited liability company.
(Doc. 54-1 at 2; Doc. 59, at 3-4) .
Clerk is therefore ORDERED to correct the caption of this action to
reflect this fact (i.e., Plaintiff should be identified as "BLOCKER FARMS OF

The

FLORIDA,

LLC").

2 The Court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendant and denial of

partial summary judgment in favor of Plaintiff was based on the parties and
their privies' prior litigation of an identical issue in the Superior Court
of Tattnall County, Georgia, namely the matter of Lynn S. Wyatt v. Cale
Blocker, Superior Court of Tattnall County, Georgia, CAFN: 2011-V-137-JS (the
"State Litigation").
(Doc. 47.) After the grant of summary judgment in the

captioned matter,

however,

the Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

vacated the Superior Court's

proceedings.

(Doc.

63,

judgment and remanded the

at 2).

Accordingly,

case

for

further

the third prerequisite of

Order and Judgment entered on September 15,

hereby

VACATED.

IT

IS

FURTHER

ORDERED

2014

that

(Docs.

this

47

case

& 48)

is

are

hereby

reopened, and the case is placed on the active docket of this Court.
NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING,

the Court STAYS this case pending the

resolution of the ongoing parallel State Litigation

Cale Blocker,
V-137-JS] .

Superior Court of Tattnall County,

See Moorer v.

994, 998 (11th Cir. 2004).
resolution
announcement

of

the

of the

State

Demopolis Waterworks

[Lynn S.

Georgia,

Wyatt v.

CAFN:

& Sewer Bd.,

2011-

374

F.3d

The parties shall file notice of the final
Litigation

with

this

Court

upon

the

same.

ORDER ENTERED at Augusta, Georgia, this tZ^T*

day of August,

2016.

fcNORTffilS/ J. F^fD^L HALL'

uW^fi^^TATES DISTRICT JUDGE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA

Georgia's doctrine of res judicata, "the previous adjudication on the merits
by a court of competent jurisdiction," is not satisfied. (Id. at 3.)
2