Court Opinion

ID: 9617699
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 05:00:00.061859+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:04:14.548222
License: Public Domain

Felton, Chief Judge,
dissenting. The construction of a written contract is a question of law for the court, except when there are ambiguities in the instrument, after the application of the rules of construction fails to resolve the ambiguity, in which case the meaning of the uncertain terms is a question of fact, to be determined by a jury in accordance with the intention of the parties. Code §§ 20-701, 20-702, 20-703; Chambliss v. Hall, 113 Ga. App. 96, 103 (147 SE2d 334), and cit. Parol evidence as to the facts and circumstances attending the making of the contract is admissible only when the contract is ambiguous. Code §§ 20-701, 20-704 (1), 38-502, 38-505; Irwin v. Young, 212 Ga. 1, 7 (90 SE2d 22), and cit.; Plaza Hotel Co. v. Fine Products Corp., 87 Ga. App 460, 462 (74 SE2d 372). The existence of the ambiguity is to be determined after the application of the pertinent rules of interpretation, found in Code § 20-704. McCann v. Glynn Lumber Co., 199 Ga. 669, 679 (34 SE2d 839); Dorsey v. Clements, 202 Ga. 820, 823 (44 SE2d 783, 173 ALR 509).
The language of Paragraph 7 of the lease, standing alone, can not, through the exercise of any amount of verbal gymnastics or the application of the rules of interpretation, be so construed as to support-the construction of either party to the absolute exclusion of that of the other. It is interesting to note that, although *821both parties consider the contract unambiguous (with which proposition the trial court evidently agreed), each party urges a different and inconsistent meaning, which fact is additional indication of ambiguity.
Nor does a consideration of the whole contract, as required by Code § 20-704 (4) and urged by defendant, support one construction over another as a matter of law, although the other provisions of the contract, along with any proper evidence, may be considered by a jury in determining the intention of the parties. Although the problem of construction would not arise where there was but one sublease, either of one tract or of two tracts combined, the contract is not at all certain as to the intended division of rentals in the existing situation, wherein two separate subleases are involved.
The rule as to construction most strongly against the party executing the instrument, Code § 20-704 (5), does not apply in the present case. Although plaintiff’s affidavit supporting his motion for summary judgment alleges that the lease was prepared by the defendant’s attorney, it was, nevertheless, subject to negotiation by the attorneys for both parties.
The expression “under any subleases as to tracts two and three” is susceptible to several constructions. (1) It can mean what the lessor contends or (2) it could mean what the lessee contends, assuming only one separate lease of Tracts 2 and 3 was contemplated; and it could mean that the contract was intended to cover more than one separate lease of Tracts 2 and 3 in which latter case it would be clothed with the same ambiguity as stated above. This is a case of- a built-in ambiguity which none of the rules of construction will resolve. The majority opinion stresses the use of subleases (plural) whereas it completely ignores the use of the word any which appears next before the word subleases. The rule of construction against a lessor is based on the theory that the lessor controls the provisions of the contract. This is not the fact in this case as the contract was subject to negotiation between the parties. The fact that they did not think negotiation necessary does not affect the truth of the fact that the lessor did not control the terms of the contract.
*822Since the contract was ambiguous, it should be submitted to a jury for a determination of its meaning, aided by any proper evidence which might be adduced.