Georgia Court of Appeals, 1920

Stewart v. Durham

Stewart v. Durham
Georgia Court of Appeals · Decided September 17, 1920 · Stephens
25 Ga. App. 645; 104 S.E. 15; 1920 Ga. App. LEXIS 127

Stewart v. Durham

Opinion of the Court

Stephens, J.

1. Before a laborer’s lien can be foreclosed it must be shown that the laborer has fully completed the contract. Wall v. Rutherford, 60 Ga. 440; Dexter v. Glover, 62 Ga. 312.

2. While the contract will be treated as fully performed and completed by the laborer when the completion thereof has been prevented by the other party thereto (Ballard v. Daniel, 18 Ga. App. 449, 89 S. E. 603, and cases there cited), yet where a cropper, before completing his contract, demands that the part of the crop which has been gathered be sold, and the demand is refused by the landlord, and it does not appear that the landlord in any way prevented the cropper from gathering the remainder of the crojp and completing his contract, it cannot be said that such action on the part of the landlord amounts to such a prevention on his part as will permit the foreclosure of a laborer’s lien before the contract has been fully performed.

3. The evidence demanded a verdict for the defendant and the trial judge erred in overruling the motion for new trial.

Judgment reversed.

Jenkins, P. J., and Smith, J., concur.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.