Walther v. Multicraft Const. Co.
Decision Date | 14 October 1992 |
Docket Number | No. A92A1639,A92A1639 |
Citation | 423 S.E.2d 725,205 Ga.App. 815 |
Parties | WALTHER v. MULTICRAFT CONSTRUCTION CO., et al. |
Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
Gambrell, Clarke, Anderson & Stolz, Robert D. Feagin, Nancy E. Gordon, Atlanta, for appellant.
Rich, Bass, Kidd & Witcher, Casper Rich, Decatur, for appellees.
Appellees entered into a contract with appellant whereby appellees were to perform certain construction services. Following a series of disputes stemming from appellant's failure to make payments to appellees pursuant to the contract, appellees filed a 12-count complaint against appellant for breach of contract, seeking damages as well as attorney fees and expenses of litigation. In his answer, appellant contended that the payments were withheld because the work performed by appellees was unsatisfactory. The case was tried before a jury, and at the conclusion of the evidence, the trial court directed a verdict in favor of appellees in the amount of $90,529.94 plus interest in the amount of $13,861.09 and submitted appellees' claim for attorney fees to the jury. The jury returned a verdict awarding appellees attorney fees in the amount of $52,195.52. Appellant's motions for new trial and judgment notwithstanding the verdict were denied, and this appeal followed.
1. Appellant argues that the trial court erred in directing a verdict in favor of appellees because there was no evidence supporting appellees' claims. Lester v. Bird, 200 Ga.App. 335, 337(1), 408 S.E.2d 147 (1991). We have reviewed the record and find that appellees' uncontroverted evidence supported each of their claims against appellant for nonpayment by showing that the work requested by appellant was performed by appellees in a workmanlike manner and that appellant had not paid for the work. 1 Appellant submitted no evidence showing that either the claims had been paid or the work had not been performed. There being no conflict in the evidence, the trial court did not err in directing a verdict in favor of appellees.
2. We next address appellant's contention that the issue of attorney fees should not have been submitted to the jury because there was no evidence that appellant acted in bad faith, was stubbornly litigious or caused appellees unnecessary trouble and expense. Appellant argues that he had a bona fide dispute about the quality of the work performed by appellees; therefore, appellees were not entitled to recover attorney fees. Fidelity Nat. Bank v. Kneller, 194 Ga.App. 55, 63(3), 390 S.E.2d 55 (1989). Appellees presented evidence that they performed the work requested by appellant in a workmanlike manner; that appellant refused to pay the invoices submitted in connection with the work performed; and that although appellant expressed dissatisfaction with the work of appellees, appellant gave no specific reasons for his dissatisfaction but steadfastly maintained that he would not pay for the work. We conclude that there was some evidence from which the jury could find that appellant acted in bad faith in his refusal to pay the contracted amounts.
3. In four enumerations of error, appellant contends that the trial court erred in denying his motions for new trial and j.n.o.v. on the issue of attorney fees because there was no evidence as to either the value or the reasonableness of the professional services rendered by appellees' attorney. The following colloquy constitutes the evidence presented on the issue of attorney fees:
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