Transworld Financing Corp. Transworld filed an action seeking a writ of possession for a vehicle held by Coastal Tire and Container Repair, LLC Coastal Tire. Coastal Tire claimed a lien on the vehicle for repair costs and storage fees. The trial court denied Coastal Tire’s request for the cost of repairing the vehicle1 and granted Transworld a writ of possession conditioned upon its payment to Coastal Tire of $5,025 in vehicle storage fees. Transworld appeals, arguing that Coastal Tire was not entitled to storage fees because it failed to comply with the notice provisions of the Abandoned Motor Vehicle Act the Act, OCGA § 40-11-1 et seq. We agree and reverse. While we apply a de novo standard of review to any questions of law decided by the trial court, factual findings made after a bench trial shall not be set aside unless clearly erroneous, and due regard shall be given to the opportunity of the trial court to judge the credibility of the witnesses. Because the clearly erroneous test is in effect the same standard as the any evidence rule, appellate courts will not disturb fact findings of a trial court if there is any evidence to sustain them. Citations and punctuation omitted. Lifestyle Home Rentals v. Rahman , 290 Ga. App. 585 660 SE2d 409 2008. The record reveals that Honore Mitchell purchased a 1996 Freightliner vehicle in August 2007. On September 5, 2007, Mitchell called Mark Gibbons, the owner of Coastal Tire and asked Gibbons for help in repairing his vehicle which had broken down and was on the side of the road. Unable to make the repairs there, Gibbons towed the vehicle to his repair shop where his mechanics determined that there was water on the pistons.
Gibbons attempted to repair the vehicle at a cost of $1,768.53, but then called Mitchell in mid-September when he determined that the vehicle needed further repairs including a “total rebuild” or “in-frame” that would cost $9,000. Gibbons testified that Mitchell informed him that he was unwilling to pay for the repairs. Mitchell instead contacted his finance company, Transworld, who held a perfected security interest on the vehicle. Gibbons claimed that he also spoke with a representative of Transworld. That person informed him that Transworld would retrieve the vehicle and pay the storage fees and repair costs and that Mitchell was “let . . . out of his contract.”
