Court Opinion

ID: 9608864
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 03:18:51.658568+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:15:08.122566
License: Public Domain

On Motion for Rehearing.
Bell, Judge.
In its motion for rehearing, the county urges that this court overlooked the decision in Purser v. Dodge County, 188 Ga. 250 (3 S. E. 2d 574), which held that a county is not liable for a suit for any cause of action unless made so by statute. As we construe the Uniform Airports Act, Code Chapter 11-2, which expressly extends its coverage to counties, as shown in the original opinion, the county is authorized to contract as it did here. The logical inverse inference of the act is that, to the extent the county is authorized to contract, it also may be sued upon the contract for breach or for interference with performance.
The county urges in its motion that since the contract under review provides that Southern Airways shall have the exclusive right to use this airport and its facilities to operate a flying school, this violates 49 U.S.C.A. § 453, which forbids the granting of an exclusive use of landing areas and air navigation facilities of an airport built with Federal funds. While the conduct of a flying school necessarily uses landing areas *866and air navigation facilities, other portions of the contract, as discussed in the main opinion, require the lessee to make all facilities, including airline transportation facilities, at the airport available to all members of the public, and expressly negate any grant to the lessee or to any other person of an exclusive right of the use of any landing area or air navigation facility. As clause 29 of the contract provides in part, . . the landing areas and air navigation facilities of said airport shall always be open and available to all airline companies without discrimination.” If there is any conflict between the grant of the exclusive right to operate a flying school, which we do not feel to be the case, and the other provisions of the contract which require that the facilities be made available to all on an equal basis to the extent that a portion of the contract would become illegal, it yet would yield to that part of the contract which is legal. “If the contract be severable, that which is legal will not be annulled by that which is illegal.” Code § 20-501. Since we have interpreted this contract as being severable, this principle applies equally to the grant of the exclusive privilege of operating a flying school. Accordingly, we have expressly held that this grant of an exclusive right to operate a flying school does not conflict with the Federal statute cited.
It is further contended by the movant county that the lease in question is void as being in restraint of trade, granting exclusive rights to property over which the county has the power of eminent domain, and is against public policy. As we read the contract, there is nothing in it to violate the public policy of the State, particularly in view of the Uniform Airports Law duly enacted by the General Assembly and approved by the Executive, which expressly authorizes the type of contract here in dispute. The provision in the lease providing in substance that in the event additional hangars or buildings are constructed on the premises by the lessor, the lessee shall have the option to rent them at the highest bona fide offer obtained by the county from third parties, while it may be subject to criticism as an unwise business venture, does not vitiate the contract. The insertion of this provision by the administrative authority of the county in negotiating the contract was a *867matter of administrative discretion with which the court is not authorized to interfere.
A strenuous attack is made by the county upon the holding in the main opinion that the consideration is severable, the contention being that in view of our holding that the provision of the contract to furnish water and sewage without charge for 15 years is invalid, the whole contract should be nullified. It is urged that under the rulings in Broxton v. Nelson, 103 Ga. 327 (30 S. E. 38), 68 Am. St. Rep. 97 and later cases, the criterion for determining whether a contract be entire or severable is to be found in the answer to the question whether the whole quantity, service, or thing—all as a whole—is of the essence of the contract, and that if it appears that the contract was to take the whole or none, then the contract would be entire. Southern Airways, the opposing party, in its initial argument, while apparently admitting for the purpose of argument, but not conceding, that these considerations might be held by the court to be illegal, nevertheless insisted upon its remaining rights under the contract. Since the contract is severable, even if there is a partial failure of consideration because of illegality, the county here cannot object if the opposite party is willing to accept the performance of the remaining portions of the contract.
The other questions raised in the motion for rehearing, we feel, were adequately answered in the original opinion, to which we adhere.

Motion for rehearing denied.