Richard L. Wilks appeals from the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to Overall Construction “Overall” and James C. Mitchell1 on Wilks’s complaint alleging breach of a contract to improve real property. The claims arose out of a construction project on Wilks’s home. Because the complaint is barred by the applicable statute of limitation, OCGA § 9-3-24, we affirm. Summary judgment is proper when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. OCGA § 9-11-56 c. A de novo standard of review applies to an appeal from a grant of summary judgment, and we view the evidence, and all reasonable conclusions and inferences drawn from it, in the light most favorable to the nonmovant.2 Properly viewed, the record shows that Wilks entered into a written contract with Overall in June 1999 to perform work on the interior of his home. The project included construction of a wall containing six large windows. Wilks averred that initially, the work appeared to be completed by the time specified in the contract, July 23, 1999, and he paid Overall the full contract price, $18,395. Within a year, however, the new windows leaked during periods of heavy rain. Over the course of the next five years, Overall returned approximately five times to repair the problem. On the final occasion in April 2004, Overall “replaced and repaired structural supports on the inside of the wall and some facial boards on the outside of the wall due to the ongoing water leakage problem.” Wilks further averred that in July 2006, he noticed a space between one of the window panes and the exterior trim molding, where insects entered the home. Wilks removed an interior trim board to investigate the wall’s construction. He discovered that the main structural beam, which was composed of three sections fitted together, had separated approximately one inch. Wilks hired an engineer to inspect the wall in June 2007, and the inspection revealed deficiencies in construction and materials, causing the wall to crack and move and two of the windows to separate from the wall, and leading to water intrusion. Wilks first filed suit against these defendants on July 6, 2007, in Forsyth County. Venue was improper, however, because the defendants resided in Cherokee County. The suit was transferred to the Magistrate Court of Cherokee County. Wilks voluntarily dismissed that suit on October 24, 2007, and filed the instant suit in state court as a renewal action on December 3, 2007. Overall and Mitchell moved for summary judgment, contending that the action was time-barred. The trial court granted the motion. Wilks appeals.
1. “All actions upon simple contracts in writing shall be brought within six years after the same become due and payable.”3 Based on this statute of limitation, this Court has held that an action for breach of a written construction contract must be filed within six years after the work has been substantially completed.4 ” ‘Substantial completion’ means the date when construction was sufficiently completed, in accordance with the contract as modified by any change order agreed to by the parties, so that the owner could occupy the project for the use for which it was intended.”5 The contract in the case at bar recites that “ final payment, constituting the entire unpaid balance of the contract sum, will be paid by the owner to Overall . . . when the work has been completed and the contract fully performed.” In his affidavit, Wilks stated that the wall “appeared to be completed” in July 1999, and that he paid for the work at that time, “on a payment schedule specified in the contract.” Accordingly, the evidence conclusively demonstrates that the work for which Wilks contracted was substantially completed in July 1999. As Wilks did not file a lawsuit until July 2007, almost eight years after the period of limitation commenced, his claim for breach of contract is barred by OCGA § 9-3-24.
