Descendants prevail in fight to save and restore historic Atlanta African American cemetery
Client(s) Friends of Piney Grove Cemetery, Inc., Audrey Collins, Rhonda Jackson
Jones Day represented plaintiffs Friends of Piney Grove Cemetery, Inc. (“Friends”), Rhonda Jackson, and Audrey Collins who brought this lawsuit to protect and preserve the historic Piney Grove Cemetery (the “Cemetery”) and to ensure access for descendants and the public alike. Defendant, Bluffs at Lenox Homeowners Association (the “HOA” or Defendant) allowed the Cemetery to become an overgrown urban forest, all along choosing to ignore the requirement that the HOA must maintain the Cemetery set forth in a City ordinance and in the Declaration of Covenants, Restrictions and Easements for the Bluffs at Lenox (the “Declaration”). The Cemetery stands on land once owned by Piney Grove Missionary Baptist Church (the “Church”), and now owned by the HOA. For over 100 years, the Church offered African American Atlantans (including those born into slavery) a place to bury their departed loved ones, whether they were members of the Church or not. Because there were few burial options for African Americans during segregation, the Cemetery was a critical resource to African Americans residing in these neighborhoods. As a condition to the re-development of the former Church property, the City of Atlanta required in a November 6, 2006 Amended Ordinance, 06-O-0952 (the “Amended Ordinance”), that “[c]lear access must be provided to the [C]emetery,” and “[t]he [C]emetery will be maintained by the homeowners association.” Additionally, in Ordinance 06-O-2502, as a condition to any future development, the City required the developer to “provide a perpetual easement for vehicular and pedestrian access to the Piney Grove Cemetery . . . for the benefit of those seeking access to the Cemetery.” Initially, the HOA’s first Board attempted to clean up the Cemetery to comply with the Amended Ordinance and sought advice from the City as to how to best accomplish the task. Not long thereafter, however, a successor HOA Board chose instead to ignore its obligations and allowed the Cemetery to become overgrown and virtually inaccessible. The new HOA Board seized upon language in its Declaration allowing certain common areas to remain in a “natural state” as an excuse to do nothing, turning the Cemetery into an urban forest, despite the clear requirement in the Declaration that Defendant maintain the historic Cemetery. The neglected condition of the Cemetery sharply contrasted with the manicured landscaping of the townhomes inside the gated Bluffs community. In their complaint, Plaintiffs sought a declaratory judgment that (1) the Cemetery is a public cemetery under Georgia law (Count I) and (2) Audrey Collins and Rhonda Jackson, as descendants of people buried in the Cemetery, have an easement interest in the Cemetery (Count II). Plaintiffs also sought permanent injunctive relief (1) granting Plaintiffs’ right to access, care for, and maintain the Cemetery without interference from Defendant (Count III) and (2) enforcing (a) the conditions to the Amended Ordinance requiring Defendant to maintain the Cemetery and (b) the requirement in the Declaration that Defendant maintain the Cemetery (Count IV). On October 17, 2025, the Court granted summary judgment to Plaintiffs on these Counts, and directed the parties to confer to submit a joint proposed permanent injunction. After the summary judgment ruling, the issues remaining for the trial set for November 3, 2025 were for claims of trespass and nuisance, including punitive damages (Count V), and attorneys’ fees and costs (Count VI). On October 26, 2025, the parties reached a settlement of all claims, which now permits Plaintiffs (with funds provided by the HOA) to hire contractors to restore the Cemetery and requires the HOA to maintain the Cemetery in perpetuity once the Cemetery cleanup is complete. Following a hearing on November 3, 2025, the Court entered the Final Consent Judgment setting forth the terms of the settlement. The Court will retain jurisdiction of the matter thus ensuring future enforcement, if necessary.
Friends of Piney Grove Cemetery, Inc., et al v. Bluffs at Lenox Homeowners Association, Inc., Civil Action No. 24CV000287 (Super. Ct. Fulton Cty., Ga.)
