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2018 Georgia Code 10-7-42 | Car Wreck Lawyer

TITLE 10 COMMERCE AND TRADE

Section 7. Suretyship, 10-7-1 through 10-7-57.

ARTICLE 3 RIGHTS OF SURETY AGAINST PRINCIPAL, COSURETIES, AND THIRD PERSONS

10-7-42. Action for money paid, interest, and costs - Effect of judgment against surety.

If the payment was made after judgment and the principal had notice of the pendency of the action against the surety, the amount of such judgment shall be conclusive against the principal as to the amount for which the surety was bound. If the payment was not made after judgment, the principal may dispute the validity of the payment as to the amount or as to the authority of the person to whom it was paid.

(Orig. Code 1863, § 2140; Code 1868, § 2135; Code 1873, § 2162; Code 1882, § 2162; Civil Code 1895, § 2981; Civil Code 1910, § 3553; Code 1933, § 103-303.)

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Independent remedies provided surety.

- Former Civil Code 1910, §§ 3551, 3553, 3559, and 3560 were remedies to which the surety can resort for the surety's protection, independently of any voluntary action by the creditor. McMillan v. Heard Nat'l Bank, 19 Ga. App. 148, 91 S.E. 235 (1917).

Joint or separate actions on joint and several note.

- The holder of a joint and several note may sue the obligors jointly or severally or sue any one of the signers alone. On such an obligation, one may sue the principal and surety jointly, or at one's option one may sue either the principal or the surety alone under former Civil Code 1910, §§ 3553 and 3559. McMillan v. Heard Nat'l Bank, 19 Ga. App. 148, 91 S.E. 235 (1917); Johnson v. Georgia Fertilizer & Oil Co., 21 Ga. App. 530, 94 S.E. 850 (1918); Cone v. American Sur. Co., 29 Ga. App. 676, 116 S.E. 648 (1923); Bank of Madison v. Bell, 30 Ga. App. 458, 118 S.E. 439 (1923); McKibben v. Fourth Nat'l Bank, 32 Ga. App. 222, 122 S.E. 891 (1924); Hicks v. Bank of Wrightsville, 57 Ga. App. 233, 194 S.E. 892 (1938).

How surety may defeat liability.

- A surety cannot defeat liability by proving merely that the surety received no monetary consideration; the surety would have to show that the surety's principal did not receive any consideration or benefit from the paper sued on. Pharr v. Burnette, 158 Ga. App. 473, 280 S.E.2d 881 (1981).

Dormant judgment against surety alone revivable although principal not notified.

- When a scire facias proceeding is brought to revive a dormant judgment rendered against a surety on a joint and several note and the defendant objects to the revival of such judgment on the ground that the defendant's liability had been increased and that the defendant had been discharged from liability thereon because no judgment was rendered against the principal on the note, although no service of the suit was had on the principal, it was error for the judge to refuse to revive the judgment for that reason. Hicks v. Bank of Wrightsville, 57 Ga. App. 233, 194 S.E. 892 (1938).

Sufficiency of allegations in action against endorser.

- In view of former Civil Code 1910, §§ 3541, 3553, and 3559, the plaintiff's pleading in an action against an endorser alleging that the plaintiff was the owner and holder of the notes sued on in due course, bona fide and for value, states a cause of action and is not subject to dismissal for failure to allege the defendant's relationship to the notes and to the other parties to the notes. Meldrim v. Peoples Bank, 28 Ga. App. 294, 111 S.E. 76 (1922).

Effect of surety's payment of the judgment.

- Amount of the indemnity owed by an insurer to a surety was not affected by the outcome of the appeal as when the judgment was paid by the surety and when the principal had notice of the action against the surety, the surety's payment of the judgment was conclusive of the amount and the surety could recover such sum from the principal under O.C.G.A. § 10-7-42. Sec. Life Ins. Co. v. St. Paul Marine & Fire Ins. Co., 263 Ga. App. 525, 588 S.E.2d 319 (2003).

When the surety on a principal's appeal bond paid the judgment that had been entered and substituted itself for the principal's opponents, the surety's payment of the judgment was not conclusive of the principal's liability to the surety because the principal was still engaged in contesting the extent of the principal's liability, and the judgment was not final because the judgment was still on appeal, so the second sentence of O.C.G.A. § 10-7-42 was applicable to these facts, rather than the first sentence, which applied to situations in which a judgment had reached a state of finality. Sec. Life Ins. Co. of Am. v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 278 Ga. 800, 606 S.E.2d 855 (2004).

Cited in Hunter v. Burson, 168 Ga. 59, 147 S.E. 53 (1929); Whipple v. American Sur. Co., 92 F.2d 673 (5th Cir. 1937).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

- Construction and application of contractual provision regarding payment by surety of claim as evidence of principal's liability to surety ("conclusive evidence" clause), 144 A.L.R. 521.

Judgment obtained by third person against indemnitee as conclusive against the latter, irrespective of its conclusiveness against indemnitor, in indemnitee's action against indemnitor for amount paid in satisfaction of judgment, 24 A.L.R.2d 329.

What constitutes action on bond, executed under law of United States, so as to be within Federal District Court's jurisdiction under 28 USCS § 1352, 105 A.L.R. Fed. 716.

Cases Citing Georgia Code 10-7-42 From Courtlistener.com

Total Results: 3

Manley v. State

Court: Supreme Court of Georgia | Date Filed: 2010-04-09

Citation: 698 S.E.2d 301, 287 Ga. 338, 2010 Fulton County D. Rep. 2748, 2010 Ga. LEXIS 317

Snippet: relating to parole, see, e.g., OCGA §§ 17-10-6.1, 17-10-7, 42-9-39, 42-9-40, and because the Board of Pardons

Mikell v. State

Court: Supreme Court of Georgia | Date Filed: 2010-02-01

Citation: 689 S.E.2d 286, 286 Ga. 434, 2010 Fulton County D. Rep. 253, 2010 Ga. LEXIS 111

Snippet: relating to parole, see, e.g., OCGA §§ 17-10-6.1, 17-10-7, 42-9-39, 42-9-40, and because the Board of Pardons

Security Life Insurance Co. of America v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance

Court: Supreme Court of Georgia | Date Filed: 2004-12-09

Citation: 606 S.E.2d 855, 278 Ga. 800, 2005 Fulton County D. Rep. 10, 2004 Ga. LEXIS 1078

Snippet: App. 93(5), 335 S.E.2d 591 (1985), and on OCGA § 10-7-42. We conclude the cited case is distinguishable