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2018 Georgia Code 13-1-5 | Car Wreck Lawyer

TITLE 13 CONTRACTS

Section 1. General Provisions, 13-1-1 through 13-1-14.

13-1-5. Contract defined - Simple contract.

  1. All other contracts than those specified in Code Sections 13-1-2 through 13-1-4 are termed simple contracts.
  2. Simple contracts may either be in writing or rest only in words as remembered by witnesses.

(Orig. Code 1863, §§ 2680, 2681; Code 1868, §§ 2676, 2677; Code 1873, §§ 2718, 2719; Code 1882, §§ 2718, 2719; Civil Code 1895, §§ 3635, 3636; Civil Code 1910, §§ 4220, 4221; Code 1933, §§ 20-105, 20-106.)

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Contract partly in writing and partly in parol is considered parol contract.

- When contract is not wholly in writing, but is partly in writing and partly in parol, entire contract is considered as one in parol. Jankowski v. Taylor, 154 Ga. App. 752, 269 S.E.2d 871, aff'd, 246 Ga. 804, 273 S.E.2d 16 (1980).

Definiteness.

- Like written contracts, oral contracts must be certain and definite in their terms. Pharr v. Olin Corp., 715 F. Supp. 1569 (N.D. Ga. 1989).

Effect of oral agreement relating to condition not expressed in note.

- An oral agreement between the parties, made contemporaneously with the execution of a note or prior thereto, relating to a condition not expressed in the note, is incompetent to change the contract as represented on the face of the note. Curtis v. First Nat'l Bank, 158 Ga. App. 379, 280 S.E.2d 404 (1981).

Proof of oral agreement.

- A party is not precluded from proving the existence of a separate oral agreement as to which the basic written document is silent and which is not inconsistent with its terms. Turner v. Clark & Clark, 158 Ga. App. 79, 279 S.E.2d 323 (1981).

Contracts for insurance must be in writing and may not be partially parol. Atlanta Metro Taxicab Group, Inc. v. Bekele, 154 Ga. App. 831, 269 S.E.2d 902 (1980).

Georgia law does not require real estate listings to be reduced to writing and oral contracts are enforceable. Thomas v. Memory, 154 Ga. App. 756, 270 S.E.2d 24 (1980).

Contract for payment of attorney's fees.

- Contracts concerning the payment of attorney fees and expenses of litigation are generally enforceable. Cheeley Invs., L.P. v. Zambetti, 332 Ga. App. 115, 770 S.E.2d 350 (2015), cert. denied, No. S15C1298, 2015 Ga. LEXIS 615 (Ga. 2015).

Trial court erred in concluding that the alleged oral agreement for attorney fees was unenforceable and, therefore, granting the defendant summary judgment because some evidence existed that the plaintiff relied on the defendant's promise and continued negotiating the land deal, all the while incurring legal expenses and losing the value of obtaining the return of the escrowed funds and the opportunity to seek another buyer. Cheeley Invs., L.P. v. Zambetti, 332 Ga. App. 115, 770 S.E.2d 350 (2015), cert. denied, No. S15C1298, 2015 Ga. LEXIS 615 (Ga. 2015).

Enforcement of oral contract.

- An oral contract is legal and equally as enforceable as a written contract in an action at law. Turner v. Clark & Clark, 158 Ga. App. 79, 279 S.E.2d 323 (1981).

Evidence was sufficient to support a jury's verdict finding a breach of contract in a real estate development dispute, as there was no requirement for the agreement to be in writing where the agreement did not directly involve the sale or conveyance of an interest in land; plaintiff proved all of the essential elements of the breach of contract claim through plaintiff's testimony and that of another person. Cline v. Lee, 260 Ga. App. 164, 581 S.E.2d 558 (2003).

Where plaintiff patient sued defendant manufacturer of a surgically implanted medical device, alleging breach of contract, in that manufacturer's representative orally agreed to pay for patient's two prior surgeries, manufacturer's motion for summary judgment under O.C.G.A. §§ 13-1-1 and13-1-5(b) was granted because while the patient submitted email correspondence patient received from representative requesting all bills for surgeries where representative stated a need for record of what it had cost the patient "out of pocket," there was no evidence that consideration was given for the promise. Trickett v. Advanced Neuromodulation Sys., 542 F. Supp. 2d 1338 (S.D. Ga. 2008).

Trial court erred in concluding that the alleged oral agreement for attorney's fees was unenforceable and, therefore, granting the defendant summary judgment because the evidence, including an e-mail, showed that the defendant promised to pay the attorney fees and other expenses that the plaintiff would ultimately incur in responding to the declaratory judgment action and the defendant could have capped the legal expenses by having the land deal closed and the declaratory judgment action dismissed. Cheeley Invs., L.P. v. Zambetti, 332 Ga. App. 115, 770 S.E.2d 350 (2015), cert. denied, No. S15C1298, 2015 Ga. LEXIS 615 (Ga. 2015).

Order of the trial court dismissing the plaintiff's complaint with prejudice was reversed because the plaintiff's allegations that the plaintiff agreed to oversee the renovation and rehabilitation of certain real property in which the defendant had an interest in exchange for the defendant's promise to reimburse for certain budgeted expenditures were sufficient allegations to at least state a claim for breach of an oral contract and consideration could be something other than money. Campbell v. Ailion, 338 Ga. App. 382, 790 S.E.2d 68 (2016).

Cited in Nodvin v. Krabe, 160 Ga. App. 310, 287 S.E.2d 236 (1981).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

C.J.S.

- 17 C.J.S., Contracts, §§ 1, 10. 17A C.J.S., Contracts, § 382.

ALR.

- Liability to pay for allegedly unauthorized repairs on motor vehicle, 5 A.L.R.4th 311.

No results found for Georgia Code 13-1-5.