Opinion ID: 521941
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Reimbursement for Moving Expenses

Text: 33 Tipton further contends that the provision stating that she would be required to reimburse CIBC for her moving expenses if she terminated her employment within a year was a liquidated damages provision giving rise to a one-year contract. The district court found that the reimbursement clause was not a liquidated damages provision and did not establish the existence of a binding one-year contract. 34 Under Georgia law, liquidated damages are given as compensation for an injury sustained due to the breach of a contract. O.C.G.A. Sec. 13-6-7 (1982). In other words, liquidated damages are a sum to be paid in lieu of performance. Thorne v. Lee Timber Prod., Inc., 158 Ga.App. 226, 227, 279 S.E.2d 521, 522 (1981). We agree with the district court's ruling that the reimbursement provision in the contract was not a liquidated damages provision. If Tipton had chosen to leave her employment within the first year, she would not have breached the contract since the contract did not require her to stay a full year. Tipton was not obligated to work for CIBC for any definite time period. In fact, the contract contemplated that Tipton could terminate her employment at any time. The contract simply required Tipton to reimburse CIBC for the relocation expenses that had been provided to her if she did not work at least twelve months. Since the reimbursement provision did not contemplate the payment of damages in lieu of a breach, it cannot be construed as a liquidated damages provision.