Court Opinion

ID: 9561005
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 18:01:01.506101+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:13:28.467993
License: Public Domain

Beasley, Judge,
concurring specially.
I concur in the judgment but not for the reason advanced, which is based on the record having conclusively shown as fact that the allegedly defrauded party affirmed the contract. It is true that if that were the case, plaintiff-buyer would be relegated to a suit for breach of contract, the contract disclaimer would control, and no damages would be recoverable.
However, a question of fact is presented as to whether the buyer by its actions or inactions affirmed the contract. There is evidence that upon discovery of the significant discrepancy, buyer promptly contacted seller and, before electing either option, offered to renegotiate (which could be a rescission of the original contract) or rescind the original contract outright, return the property, and recover the option money. There is also evidence that after the buyer made this initial offer and while awaiting seller’s response, the seller ostensibly wrested the decision from buyer by taking possession of the property.
Thus the evidence did not show as a matter of law that buyer affirmed the contract and retained the property, which would have relegated it to a suit for breach of contract and preclusion from damages because of the disclaimer clause.
The suit sounds in tort, and the trial court found it to be such, concluding that the allegedly defrauding seller was entitled to summary judgment because it showed conclusively by the disclaimer clause that buyer’s reliance on the profit and loss statements provided by seller was not justified. The affirmative absence of the fourth element of fraud, see OCGA § 51-6-2 and City Dodge v. Gardner, 232 Ga. 766, 769, fn. 1 (208 SE2d 794) (1974), is fatal for this reason.