Pessolano v. George R. Price & Associates

• Decision Date: 02 July 1981
• Docket Number: No. 61830,61830
• Citation: 159 Ga.App. 340,283 S.E.2d 317
• Parties: PESSOLANO v. GEORGE R. PRICE & ASSOCIATES.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

Page 317

283 S.E.2d 317

159 Ga.App. 340

PESSOLANO v. GEORGE R. PRICE & ASSOCIATES.

No. 61830.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

Decided July 2, 1981.

Rehearing Denied July 17, 1981.

John Paul Batson, Augusta, for appellant.

J. Carlisle Overstreet, Augusta, for appellee.

BIRDSONG, Judge.

Barbara Pessolano entered into a contract with George R. Price & Associates for architectural services on November 30, 1978 to renovate a building. Price drew up certain plans and submitted an interim bill for services rendered to Pessolano in the amount of $2,000. Pessolano paid $1,000 toward that bill. Pessolano maintained that the renovation project was conditioned upon the obtaining of a loan from the Small Business Administration. When that loan did not come to fruition, Pessolano abandoned the project. Price having rendered extensive architectural services sought full payment for its services. When payment was not forthcoming, Price filed a laborer's lien against the property on August 8, 1979. In accordance with the terms of the contract for architectural services, Price made demand upon Pessolano for binding arbitration on August 15, 1979. On October 9, 1979 Pessolano filed a petition for cancellation of the lien. On October 29, 1979 Price moved the trial court for an order compelling arbitration. On December 29, 1979, Pessolano moved for summary judgment and for default judgment on the ground that Price had never answered her petition for cancellation except by way of a motion to compel arbitration. On April 21, 1980, the trial court entered an order denying Pessolano's motion for summary judgment and granted Price's motion to compel arbitration. The parties went to arbitration and an award was entered in favor of Price in the additional amount of $7,000. Price then moved the court for confirmation of the arbitration award. On November 25, 1980, the trial court entered its order confirming the award of the arbitrator. Twenty days after the judgment confirming the award, Pessolano, on December 15, 1980, filed a motion to set aside the judgment, a motion to modify the arbitration award, and a motion to vacate the arbitration award. While these motions were pending before the trial court, Pessolano filed her notice of appeal to this court on December 17, 1980. The trial court finally denied the motions to set aside the judgment and to modify or vacate the arbitration award on January 30, 1981.

In its order the trial court considered the motions to set aside the judgment confirming arbitration and to modify and vacate the arbitration award to be an attack on the judgment entered on November 25, 1980. The court held that to be timely the motion to vacate and to modify the arbitration award should have been filed and heard prior to or at the time of the hearing for confirmation. Appellee contends that the motions to vacate and modify and the attack on the judgment itself occurred after the order confirming the arbitrator's award, and thus question the propriety of the judgment itself. They argue that these constitute, in effect, a motion for new trial on the confirmation hearing, or are tantamount...