Opinion
54438.
DECIDED FEBRUARY 13, 1979.
Action on note. DeKalb Superior Court. Before Judge Peeler.
R. M. Bernhardt, for appellants.
Freeman Hawkins, Paul M. Hawkins, M. H. Blackshear, Jr., for appellee.
Relying on this court's subsequent decision in Hughes v. Malone, 146 Ga. App. 341 ( 247 S.E.2d 107) (1978), which established a new rule of law regarding the role of expert testimony offered in support of summary judgment motions in malpractice cases, the Supreme Court on certiorari reversed our judgment in this case, reported at 144 Ga. App. 413 ( 241 S.E.2d 21) (1977).
Justice Jordan, dissenting to the Supreme Court's majority decision, wrote: "The law was well settled at the time that opinion evidence alone would not support a motion for summary judgment. Therefore, there was no reason for the plaintiff to offer evidence opposing that offered by the movant for summary judgment. The plaintiff could not be required to anticipate that this court would abrogate this well-settled principle of law. The plaintiffs have been `sandbagged' by the majority opinion. At the very least, the case should have been remanded to give plaintiffs an opportunity to offer opinion evidence contrary to that offered by the defendant." Howard v. Walker, 242 Ga. 406, 411 ( 249 S.E.2d 45) (1978).
This court is, however, bound by the Supreme Court's majority decision; and, accordingly, our judgment reversing the trial judge's grant of summary judgment to the defendant/attorney is reversed. Judgment affirmed. Shulman and Birdsong, JJ., concur.