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FILE
The city of Sandy
Springs, Judge
John Heard’s
descendants, and
a local attorney
hope to appear
before a Fulton
County judge to
determine the
fate of an historic
cemetery. The
attorney wants to
build a home on
part of the land.
Owners, descendants seek
hearing on cemetery case
BY DAN WH1SENHUNT
danwhisenhunt@reporternewspapers.net
The city of Sandy Springs, descen
dants of a Confederate veteran and a
local attorney who owns the veteran’s
grave will soon appear before a Fulton
County Superior judge to determine the
fate of an historic cemetery.
Both sides are asking for a hearing,
but a date has not been set for each to
present their case.
The attorney who owns the proper
ty, Christopher Mills, on April 1 filed a
response to a joint motion for summa
ry judgment filed by the city of Sandy
Springs and 28 descendants of Judge
John Heard. The motion for summa
ry judgment asked that Heard’s family
cemetery be returned to his heirs.
The cemetery is located at 0 Heards
Drive in Sandy Springs, a modest 1-acre
parcel surrounded by million-dollar
homes. More than a century before the
land was developed, Heard, a Confed
erate veteran, dedicated it as a cemetery
for his heirs.
The cemetery was acquired in 2006
after it was sold at auction to pay off
back taxes. There’s a problem, though.
Cemeteries are tax-exempt in Georgia.
The cemetery was apparently placed on
the auction list by mistake.
That mistake lies at the heart of
the current legal controversy, a lawsuit
that was filed because the city of San
dy Springs denied Mills’ application for
a building permit. Mills wants to build a
house on a portion of the land that does
not contain graves, according to an ar
chaeological survey Mills obtained.
Mills, who purchased the property
from his in-laws after they bought it by
paying off back taxes on the parcel, said
the 28 descendants had a chance to pay
the back taxes in 2007 and didn’t.
“Mills, through Sandy Springs’ re
sponses to his discovery requests, ex
pects to present evidence to demon
strate that Sandy Springs, its counsel of
record, and certain Heards had notice of
the Cline Transaction before the statuto
ry right expired and did nothing to sat
isfy the taxes in arrears,” Mills’ April 1
response says. “Further, it is rather dubi
ous that all 28 Heards claim to have no
knowledge of the Cline Deed in 2007,
and are now systematically mobilized to
challenge Mills’ ownership of the prop
erty four years later.”
Mills’ claim appears to contradict
emails sent to his in-laws in 2007 by the
attorney representing them at the time.
The emails obtained by Report
er Newspapers show that the attorney
for Henry and Wanda Cline, Mills’ in
laws, questioned whether it was wise
for the Clines to pay Heard-descendant
Mary Ann Eisner $10,000 to give up
her rights to the property. The attorney’s
email suggests the Clines and the neigh
bors were unsure if there were any other
Heard heirs. The 28 descendants came
forward after the lawsuit received exten
sive media coverage.
City Attorney Wendell Willard said
the claim that the city had knowledge
of the Cline’s purchase of the property
has no bearing on the city’s actions in
this case.
“The issue does not, in my opinion,
apply to the city as a defendant, as we are
not claiming any interest in the proper
ty,” Willard said. “Our involvement ad
dresses the ability to obtain a construc
tion permit on the property which we
did not issue as a result of the dedica
tion of the property as a cemetery. We
learned of the conveyance by tax deed
when we received a title report.”
Wright Mitchell, attorney for the de
scendants, said the claim isn’t relevant to
the descendants’ case.
“While this may be relevant to the ti
tle issue, it has no bearing on the ulti
mate issue regarding whether the cem
etery has been perpetually dedicated for
burial purposes,” Mitchell said. “At the
end of the day, that is what matters most
in this case.”
Mills’ attorney, Christopher Porter
field, did not provide a comment by the
Sandy Springs Reporter’s press deadline.
2 | APRIL 19 —MAY2, 2013 | www.ReporterNewspapers.net
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