Owner established that its contractor breached its contract by failing to complete and/or properly perform bathroom tile work in a house being built. The Owner sought compensatory as well as consequential damages allegedly caused by construction delays resulting from failure to complete the tile work on time. The trial court granted the contractor’s motion for summary judgment based on Owner’s failure to produce evidence supporting the actual damages because the alleged consequential damages were too remote.
The judgement regarding general damages was reversed on appeal, with the court holding that deposition testimony demonstrated that there was a breach of contract. Once a plaintiff established a breach of contract, under Georgia law, the plaintiff the injured party has a right to damages even if those are only nominal damages sufficient to cover the costs of bring the law suit. As to consequential damages, however, the court affirmed the summary judgment because the only evidence of such damages that was presented as an amortization table showing interest rate increased on the Owner’s load.
There was nothing in the record to show that the Owner actually paid more interest, however, because of the delays. Moreover, the alleged consequential damages couldn’t be traced solely to the defendant contractor because evidence had been presented showing that other contactors were also behind schedule on the project. Ajigbolkamu v. Milne, 371 Ga.App. 710 (2024).
About the author: Article written by J. Kent Holland, Jr., a construction lawyer located in Tysons Corner, Virginia, with a national practice (formerly with Wickwire Gavin, P.C. and now with ConstructionRisk Counsel, PLLC) representing design professionals, contractors and project owners. He is founder and president of a consulting firm, ConstructionRisk, LLC, providing consulting services to owners, design professionals, contractors and attorneys on construction projects. He is publisher of ConstructionRisk Report and may be reached at Kent@ConstructionRisk.com or by calling 703-623-1932. This article is published in ConstructionRisk Report, Vol. 27, No. 4 (May 2025).
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