Court Opinion

ID: 9566345
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 19:37:35.517319+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:37:16.881938
License: Public Domain

Cooper, Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent because the majority views the Georgia Self-Service Storage Facility Act as merely providing an “additional remedy” to owners of self-storage rental facilities when they attempt to dispose of personal property without judicial intervention. However, where the Act is applicable, its provisions are not optional. OCGA § 10-4-215 expressly provides that agreements entered into after July 1, 1982 and those agreements entered into before July 1, 1982 which have been extended or modified after that date are subject to the requirements of the Act. The rental agreement at issue in this case was executed on March 11, 1984 and therefore had to comply with OCGA § 10-4-213 before the Mayers were authorized to dispose of the property without judicial intervention. The rental agreement at issue did not contain the mandatory language set forth in OCGA § 10-4-213 and consequently did not create a lien upon the property which could be enforced without judicial intervention. Moreover, Shelton Hatten was not provided written notice of default, and the property was not advertised and sold in conformity with the statute. In my view, this blatant violation of the Act cannot be ignored. Accordingly, the trial court erred in enforcing the rental agreement and granting summary judgment to appellees.
I am authorized to state that Presiding Judge McMurray joins in this dissent.