Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate Service of Georgia, Inc. v. Leonard
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate Service of Georgia, Inc. v. Leonard
Opinion of the Court
The appellee, Linda Leonard, initially contacted the appellants, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate Service of Georgia, Inc., Cathy Meder (as real estate agent), Terry Cunningham (as listing
On November 9, 1983, Meder again contacted the appellee and advised her that the prior contract had “fallen through” and that the house was again on the market. Later that day, the appellee and Meder viewed the house while the owner was present. The appellee eventually made an offer, which was presented to and accepted by the owner that evening. The appellee admitted that prior to making her offer, Meder had informed her that the third party, who had entered the previous contract with the owner, was threatening a lawsuit to enforce the earlier contract and was also submitting a second offer. Meder further advised the appellee that the broker, Nollenberger, was of the opinion that the third party did not have a valid contract and thus did not have a “leg to stand on” in the threatened lawsuit.
Closing on the sale was set for November 15, 1983. On November 14, 1983, however, Meder informed the appellee that at the closing, the property would have to be transferred with a cloud on the title because the third party had filed an affidavit on November 10, 1983, asserting a claim to the property based on the prior contract. The appellee refused to proceed with the closing, and she subsequently commenced this action based on fraud. This interlocutory appeal follows from the trial court’s denial of the defendants’ motion for summary judgment on the basis that the appellee could have been misled as to the factual existence of a prior, valid contract for the sale of the property. Held:
“ ‘The general rule is well settled that fraud cannot be predicated upon misrepresentations of law or misrepresentations as to matters of law. Everyone is presumed to know the law and therefore can not in legal contemplation be deceived by erroneous statements of law, and such representations are ordinarily regarded as mere expressions of opinion, and this is especially so where there is no confidential relationship between the parties.’ [Cit.]” Cotton States Mut. Ins. Co. v. Booth, 116 Ga. App. 410, 413 (157 SE2d 877) (1967); accord Gignilliat v. Borg, 131 Ga. App. 182 (205 SE2d 479) (1974). In the instant case, there obviously was no confidential relationship between the appellee and the defendants, since the defendants were the agents of the seller, and there was no dispute over the appellee’s awareness of the actual existence of a prior contract. Rather, the crucial issue concerned the defendants’ representation that the prior contract was invalid, a rep
Judgment reversed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.