Jones v. Georgia Ports Authority, No. A26A1190, 2026 WL 2873295, __ S.E.2d __ (Ga. Ct. App. Sept. 24, 2026). The court (Dillard, P.J.; Pipkin, J., concurs; McFadden, P.J., dissents) affirms summary judgment for the defendant in a longshoreman’s negligence action based on abandonment of the appellate claims. The majority held that sparse record citations, general legal principles, and case summaries without explaining their application to the disputed evidence did not supply meaningful argument. It declined to decide the negligence merits. Id. at **2–4. The dissent concluded that the brief sufficiently identified evidence supporting competing inferences for a jury, and cautioned that abandonment applies when meaningful argument is absent. Id. at **4–5. The decision underscores the need to connect each claimed error to specific evidence and relevant authority, even on de novo summary judgment review.
