Merk v. DeKalb Cnty., 486 S.E.2d 66 (Ga. Ct. App. 1997). · Go Syfert
Merk v. DeKalb Cnty., 486 S.E.2d 66 (Ga. Ct. App. 1997). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
34 citation events (24 in the last 25 years) across 1 distinct court.
Strongest positive: DeKalb County School District v. Gold (gactapp, 2012-11-20)
Treatment trajectory · 1997 → 2026 · click a year to view as-of
1997 2011 2026
Top citers, strongest first. 7 distinct citers. How cited ↗
discussed Cited as authority (rule) DeKalb County School District v. Gold
Ga. Ct. App. · 2012 · confidence medium
Further, an implied contract “will not support a waiver of sovereign immunity under the provisions of the Georgia Constitution.” Merk v. DeKalb County, 226 Ga. App. 191, 193 (1) ( 486 SE2d 66 ) (1997).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Dekalb County School District v. Elaine Gold
Ga. Ct. App. · 2012 · confidence medium
Further, an implied contract “will not support a waiver of sovereign immunity under the provisions of the Georgia Constitution.” Merk v. DeKalb County, 226 Ga. App. 191, 193 (1) ( 486 SE2d 66 ) (1997). 41 Dollar, 232 Ga. App. at 522 (2); accord Kyle v. Ga. Lottery Corp., 304 Ga. App. 635, 636 ( 698 SE2d 12 ) (2010) (physical precedent only). 42 See Tackett v. Ga. Dep’t of Corr., 304 Ga. App. 310, 314 (3) ( 696 SE2d 359 ) (2010); D.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Board of Regents of the University System v. Ruff
Ga. Ct. App. · 2012 · confidence medium
I (b); OCGA §§ 20-3-21, 20-3-31. 10 Wilson, supra. 11 Wilson, supra at 414 (2); Board of Regents &c. ofGa. v. Tyson, 261 Ga. 368, 369 (1) ( 404 SE2d 557 ) (1991). 12 Wilson, supra (citation and punctuation omitted; emphasis supplied); Tyson, supra. 13 McCobb v. Clayton County, 309 Ga. App. 217, 218 (1) (a) ( 710 SE2d 207 ) (2011) (citation and punctuation omitted); Merk v. DeKalb County, 226 Ga. App. 191, 192-193 (1) ( 486 SE2d 66 ) (1997) (plaintiff must show that contract at issue was in writing in order to demonstrate a waiver of sovereign immunity); Doe, supra at 881 (1). 14 Watts, supra…
examined Cited as authority (rule) Georgia Department of Community Health v. Data Inquiry, LLC (3×)
Ga. Ct. App. · 2012 · confidence medium
Id.; Merk v. DeKalb County, 226 Ga. App. 191, 191-193 (1) ( 486 SE2d 66 ) (1997). (a) “To constitute a valid contract, there must be parties able to contract, a consideration moving to the contract, the assent of the parties to the terms of the contract, and a subject matter upon which the contract can operate.” OCGA § 13-3-1.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Kennedy v. Georgia Department of Human Resources Child Support Enforcement
Ga. Ct. App. · 2007 · confidence medium
IX (c). “[A]n implied contract will not support a waiver of.. . immunity under the provisions of the Georgia Constitution.” (Citation omitted.) Merk v. DeKalb County, 226 Ga. App. 191, 193 ( 486 SE2d 66 ) (1997).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Waters v. Glynn County (2×) also: Cited "see, e.g."
Ga. Ct. App. · 1999 · confidence medium
Merk v. DeKalb County, 226 Ga. App. at 192 (1).
discussed Cited "see" Greene County School District v. Circle Y Construction, Inc. (2×)
Ga. Ct. App. · 2011 · signal: see · confidence high
See Merk, supra, 226 Ga. App. at 193 (1) (“an implied contract will not support a waiver of sovereign immunity”).
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
MERK
v.
DeKALB COUNTY
A97A0657.
Court of Appeals of Georgia.
Apr 16, 1997.
486 S.E.2d 66
Sidney L. Moore, Jr., for appellant., Jonathan A. Weintraub, Susan C. Mullís, Bernard Knight, Joan F. Roach, for appellee.
Blackburn, Majette, Pope, Johnson.
Cited by 14 opinions  |  Published
Blackburn, Judge.

Rita Merk appeals from the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of DeKalb County, Georgia, in her suit for breach of contract. After a sewer line flooded part of her home, Merk sued DeKalb County. She claimed that she and DeKalb County were parties to a contract for water and sewer service, and that by flooding her home with sewage, DeKalb County breached that contract. We affirm the grant of summary judgment.

The facts show that Merk is a DeKalb County resident and property owner, and that DeKalb County provides Merk with water and sewer services. Merk pays a fee for these services. On September 6, 1994, Merk’s drain pipes flooded her home with sewage. DeKalb County responded to the flooding the same night, rectified the sewer problem, and cleaned up the sewage which had entered Merk’s home. When the county refused to provide further relief, Merk instituted this suit. Her sole cause of action is breach of contract.

1. In order to avoid the bar of sovereign immunity and maintain an action against a county for breach of contract, a plaintiff must show that the contract sought to be enforced is in writing. See Ga. Const. 1983, Art. I, Sec. II, Par. IX; see also Crider v. Zurich Ins. Co., 222 Ga. App. 177 (2) (474 SE2d 89) (1996) (sovereign immunity extends to counties). A plaintiff must also show that the written con[*192] tract has been entered on the minutes of the county governing authority. See OCGA § 36-10-1.

Attempting to come within those provisions, Merk argues that the Code of DeKalb County constitutes a written contract for sewer service between her and the county. She cites § 25-81 of Chapter 25 of the Code in support of this position. That section reads in pertinent part: “Persons desiring water service shall file application with the [public works] department and sign a standard contract form prior to receiving service. . . . The use of water service binds a person as if such person had signed a contract.” While Merk acknowledges that this language pertains to water and not sewer service, she maintains that it creates an enforceable written contract for sewer service.

Merk’s claim, though couched in contract, actually sounds in tort. We have held that when a plaintiff’s action sounds in tort and not contract, even though the action is brought as a contractual one, no constitutional waiver of sovereign immunity results. See Burton v. DeKalb County, 209 Ga. App. 638, 639 (434 SE2d 82) (1993). In Burton, we held that plaintiff’s slip and fall suit against a county for negligent failure to maintain the building in which she worked, though couched in contract based upon a written lease agreement for the building, sounded in tort. As a result, sovereign immunity was not waived. Id. at 639. Therefore, under the reasoning of Burton, there is no constitutional waiver of sovereign immunity in this case, and Merk’s claims must fail.

Furthermore, even presuming arguendo that this action is contractual, the Code of DeKalb County does not constitute a written contract as contemplated by Ga. Const. 1983, Art. I, Sec. II, Par. IX. Our analysis in this respect is guided by Bd. of Regents &c. of Ga. v. Tyson, 261 Ga. 368 (404 SE2d 557) (1991). In that case, the plaintiff sued a hospital operated by the Board of Regents after she was assaulted by a fellow patient. Plaintiff asserted that her claim was not barred by sovereign immunity because all her hospital records constituted a written contract between her and the hospital for her care, and the hospital had breached that contract by allowing another patient to assault her.

The Supreme Court held that, even taken together, the various hospital records did not contain all the necessary terms of a contract and were not signed contemporaneous writings. Id. at 369. The court further noted the absence of “ ‘consideration moving to the contract,’ ” and concluded that “[wjhile there may have been a contract between the parties arising from their conduct, that contract is not a written contract. . . . As a consequence, we must conclude as a matter of law that this is not an action based on a written contract.” (Footnote omitted.) Id. at 369-370.

The same reasoning applies to this case. Taking the sections of[*193] the DeKalb County Code on water and sewer together, as Merk would have us do, it is clear that the Code does not contain all the necessary terms of a contract. It is a regulatory body of law containing penalties for non-compliance, and as it relates to Merk, it lacks consideration. Nor is it a collection of signed contemporaneous writings which can be combined to create an enforceable obligation. While, as in.Tyson, these parties may have had an implied contract, an implied contract will not support a waiver of sovereign immunity under the provisions of the Georgia Constitution, and Merk has failed to show the existence of a written contract. See Ga. Const. 1983, Art. I, Sec. II, Par. IX.

Decided April 16, 1997 Before Judge Majette. Sidney L. Moore, Jr., for appellant.

The evidence is also uncontroverted that no contract naming Rita Merk appears on the minutes of the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners as required by OCGA § 36-10-1. As we have held that the Code itself does not constitute a written contract between Merk and DeKalb County, Merk’s argument that the Code itself appears upon the minutes of the Board of Commissioners lends no support to her position.

Merk’s reliance upon Zepp v. Mayor &c. of Athens, 180 Ga. App. 72 (348 SE2d 673) (1986), is misplaced. In that case, which concerned a dispute over the cost of water purchased by plaintiffs, we specifically held that no express contract existed between the parties for the provision of water. We also held that any contract the parties did have was both implied and voluntary. Id. at 75. Because Merk needs a written and not implied contract in order to prevail, and because her association with DeKalb County’s sewer services is mandated and not voluntary, Zepp provides no authority for her position that she and DeKalb County had an enforceable written contract.

Merk chose not to pursue a nuisance claim, see DeKalb County v. Orwig, 261 Ga. 137 (402 SE2d 513) (1991), and she is therefore bound by the action she brought. As Merk has failed to show the existence of a written contract, DeKalb County was entitled to sovereign immunity on her claims, and the trial court properly granted summary judgment for the county on this issue.

2. Merk enumerates as error the trial court’s refusal to allow her to withdraw certain admissions. Our holding in Division 1 does not rely upon these admissions and is dispositive of the case. We therefore need not address this enumeration.

Judgment affirmed.

Pope, P. J., and Johnson, J, concur. [*194] Jonathan A. Weintraub, Susan C. Mullís, Bernard Knight, Joan F. Roach, for appellee.