I.M.C. Motor Exp., Inc. v. Cochran
| Decision Date | 05 September 1986 |
| Docket Number | No. 72925,72925 |
| Citation | 348 S.E.2d 750,180 Ga.App. 232 |
| Parties | I.M.C. MOTOR EXPRESS, INC. v. COCHRAN. |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
James A. White, Jr., Fayetteville, for appellant.
Charles H. Davis, Atlanta, for appellee.
The appellee entered into a contract with appellant to buy a truck which the appellant had acquired pursuant to an installment sales contract with a commercial lender. This appeal is from a judgment awarding the appellee attorney fees in a suit to compel the appellant to transfer title to him.
The evidence presented at trial was to the effect that the parties had agreed that the appellee would pay the appellant $3,500 down and $660 per month for the 16 months remaining on the original installment contract. After the appellee had made the final payment called for by this agreement, he received a letter from the appellant informing him that the title would not be released until an additional $1,355 was paid. This sum represented $1,280 in unearned interest which the appellant claimed would have been recaptured from the commercial lender had the remaining balance on the original installment sale contract been paid in full at the time the parties entered into their agreement, as well as a $75 late charge which had allegedly been imposed by the commercial lender. However, there is no suggestion that any such additional payments were contemplated by the parties' agreement. Furthermore, an agent of the commercial lender testified without dispute that had the remaining indebtedness been paid in full on the date the appellant and appellee entered into their agreement, the recapture of interest would have been only about half that demanded by the appellant; and he further testified that no $75 late charge had been imposed by the lender.
Based on this evidence, the jury determined that the appellee was entitled to have the truck's title transferred to him by the appellant. The jury also awarded the appellee $2,000 in attorney fees. The sole issue presented by this appeal is the propriety of the jury's award of attorney fees. Held:
1. The jury was authorized to find that appellant's refusal to tender the title was without foundation, was characterized by bad faith, and had resulted in "unnecessary trouble and expense" to the appellee, within the contemplation of OCGA § 13-6-11. See generally Sawgrass Bldrs. v. Realty Co-op., 172 Ga.App. 324, 323 S.E.2d 243 (1984). Appellee's counsel testified that he charged $65...
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McClure v. Gower
...334 S.E.2d 673 (1985). And, there is evidentiary support for the amount of the attorney-fee award. See I.M.C. Motor Express, Inc. v. Cochran, 180 Ga.App. 232(1), 348 S.E.2d 750 (1986); Altamaha, etc., Center v. Godwin, 137 Ga.App. 394(2), 224 S.E.2d 76 (1976). Cf. Price v. Mitchell, 154 Ga.......
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Jernigan Auto Parts, Inc. v. Commercial State Bank
...in favor of the appellee for additional damages in the amount of 10 percent of the judgment, ..." I.M.C. Motor Express v. Cochran, 180 Ga.App. 232, 233(2), 348 S.E.2d 750 (1986). Case No. This appeal involves the bank's suit against Mr. and Mrs. Cummings to collect the balance due on two pr......
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IMC Motor Exp., Inc. v. Cochran, 76429
...[citation] on the basis that his bookkeeper made an error and gave the title to somebody else." See also IMC Motor Express v. Cochran, 180 Ga.App. 232, 348 S.E.2d 750 (1986). Appellee Cochran filed a contempt petition, and the trial court, after a hearing, held IMC in civil contempt and ord......