Court Opinion

ID: 9574389
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 21:04:33.950342+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:44:28.422254
License: Public Domain

Undercofler, Presiding Justice,
dissenting.
In Georgia a ". . . secured indebtedness can not be paid in advance of maturity unless a prepayment privilege is written into the security deed or note.” Pindar, Georgia Real Estate Law and Procedure, 1971, p. 804, § 21-47. As stated inCook v. Securities Inv. Co., 184 Ga. 544, 548 (192 SE 179) (1937), "Nor could the Home Owners Loan Corporation be compelled by the court through a receiver to accept the principal with interest to date only, since an order to this effect would impair the contract between it and the borrower, depriving the corporation of future interest for which it has contracted.” The grantor in the security deed and note is required to make payment in accordance with the terms of these instruments. The obligation of these contracts can not be impaired by condemnation although they may be taken upon payment of just compensation. City of Atlanta v. Airways Parking Co., 225 Ga. 173 (167 SE2d 145) (1969). See 16 CJS 1293, Constitutional Law, § 282. "If a court concludes that the mortgagor must pay the prepayment penalty, despite the condemnation, because of the contractual arrangement between the mortgagor and mortgagee or otherwise, it would appear that this element of loss should be passed along to the condemnor. The objective of payment of just compensation is said to be to place the condemnee in the same relative financial position he occupied prior to the taking. This can only be done if the prepayment penalty is not deducted from his award. Such a result can be justified *425by virtue of the real property character of the mortgage and by virtue of the fact that the mortgagee is not prepaying voluntarily, but only as an indirect consequence of the appropriation.” 2 Nichols on Eminent Domain (1975), p. 5-215, § 5:741[4],