Godfrey Thomas sued his former son-in-law, Andrew J. Hunt, to recover $20,000 Thomas invested in real property that Hunt developed and sold. Thomas also sought attorney fees. Hunt filed an answer denying the debt and a counterclaim alleging, inter alia, breach of contract. The trial court granted summary judgment to Thomas on all issues except attorney fees. The parties stipulated to the submission of the issue of attorney fees by brief, and the trial court entered an order awarding fees to Thomas. Judgment was entered for Thomas in the total amount of $28,818.62 plus interest. Hunt appeals, challenging only the entry of judgment against him on his counterclaim and the trial court’s failure to hold a hearing on the motion for partial summary judgment. We affirm. The relevant facts follow. On February 1, 2008, Thomas filed a motion for partial summary judgment on the issue of Hunt’s liability for the $20,000 debt and on the counterclaim. Thomas requested a hearing, but he withdrew the request on February 28. On March 3, Hunt filed a response to Thomas’s motion and a request for oral hearing. Without holding a hearing, the trial court issued an order on March 17 granting Thomas’s motion and reserving the issue of attorney fees for a later hearing.
On April 28 the court entered an order stating that the parties had “agreed that the only pending issue in the above styled case is attorney fees and that same could be submitted to the court by briefs on or before May 9, 2008.” Thomas filed a timely brief. Hunt filed a document entitled “Pretrial Information,” stating that the trial court had granted partial summary judgment to Thomas; that both parties had filed briefs on the issue of attorney fees; and that a pretrial order had not been filed. Hunt did not respond to the question, “Is comprehensive pretrial hearing desired” By order filed on May 15, 2008, the trial court granted attorney fees to Thomas in the amount of $8,818.62 pursuant to OCGA § 13-6-11, finding that Hunt had been stubbornly litigious and had caused Thomas unnecessary trouble and expense.
