Court Opinion

ID: 9566874
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 19:44:14.58298+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:42:56.287371
License: Public Domain

On Motion for Rehearing.
Clark, Judge.
By motion for rehearing appellees argue our original opinion was in error as violative of our state’s public policy as expressed in Code Ann. § 84-1413. Additionally, it is contended we overlooked the cases of Dixon v. Rollins, 120 Ga. App. 557 (171 SE2d 646) and Jalonick v. Greene County Oil Co., 1 Ga. App. 309 (66 SE 815). As the adjournment of the term left insufficient time for complete study of these contentions the original opinion was withdrawn. Now, after reconsideration and study of the points presented by the rehearing motion, we have decided the original should be reinstated because the appeal was correctly decided therein.
1. Our ruling is not contrary to Georgia public policy. The record on this appeal shows plaintiffs did not do any real estate business "within any county in this State” that being the statutory *823prerequisite stated in Code Ann. § 84-1401. Our statute requires a Georgia license to engage in the real estate business in Georgia but the record here does not contain any averment showing plaintiffs did business within the boundaries of our state.
The Georgia licensure statute does not require a real estate broker who is licensed by and performs a brokerage contract in another state to be licensed here. The statute requires the broker to be licensed only in cases where the broker performs his services under the contract "within any county in this State.” Our statute recognizes that activities in connection with the sale or leasing of real property deals with services and seeks to insure that the individuals performing such services within Georgia are trustworthy and reliable. Our law does not focus on the situs of the real property. In fact the situs of the real property is incidental. This is evidenced by the fact that the statute does not exempt from coverage brokerage transactions performed in Georgia where the realty is outside of Georgia. Tillman v. Gibson, 44 Ga. App. 440 (161 SE 630).
2. The case of Dixon v. Rollins, 120 Ga. App. 557 (171 SE2d 646) was cited in our original opinion. We regarded the factual statement at page 559 of Dixon v. Rollins as differentiating the instant case from that ruling. It is there pointed out that "It is undisputed that the claimant is not and has never been licensed as a real estate broker, and that he bases his claim on performance on his part by his acts both within and without the State, while at all times he was a resident of this State and maintained a permanent business address within this State.” (Emphasis supplied.) This differs from the instant case where Virginians licensed as real estate brokers in their domiciliary state sue upon a contract made in their home state. The facts that (1) they contracted with Georgians and (2) that the land they contracted to sell was in Georgia do not deprive them of their right to resort to Georgia courts when they have not in fact engaged in the real estate business in Georgia. Pratt v. Sloan, 41 Ga. App. 150, 153 (152 SE 275); Tillman v. Gibson, 44 Ga. App. 440, supra.
3. The case of Jalonick v. Greene County Oil Co., 7 Ga. App. 309 (66 SE 815) is not applicable in that insurance contracts covering property seek to indemnify the insured against certain risks to the property so that a substantial portion of the performance of the insurance contract must take place in the situs of the property. The Jalonick case was decided in 1909 when the Civil Code of 1895 was effective. As is pointed out in the appellants’ brief, "Sections *8242054 and 2055 of the Georgia Civil Code of 1895 prohibited solicitation of insurance in Georgia on behalf of any unlicensed insurance company, and § 2072 thereof prohibited any person owning property in Georgia from having it insured other than by an insurance company duly licensed in Georgia. In light of the public policy established by the foregoing statutes, the court was obligated to hold that the public policy evidenced by such insurance statutes required the Texas insurance company to have the requisite Georgia insurance certificate prior to its insuring property located in Georgia. Not having such license, it could not enforce its claim for unpaid premiums.” It should also be noted that property insurance is in no way similar to the real estate business as premiums are determined according to location, type of structure, and similar factors affecting the risk.