BellSouth Advertising & Publishing Corporation “BellSouth” sued Kingdom Adventures, LLC, d/b/a Rescuecom “Rescuecom” for breach of contract, quantum meruit, and on an open account theory, seeking $49,323.51 in damages as an account balance stated. Rescuecom failed to answer within thirty days of service and further failed to move to open its default by right within the fifteen-day grace period provided by OCGA § 9-11-55 a. Following a hearing, the superior court entered default judgment for BellSouth as to liability but denied its request for damages. On appeal, BellSouth contends that the superior court erred in denying its request for damages and in failing to give it proper notice of the hearing. We conclude that the damages BellSouth sought, whether liquidated or unliquidated, were not proven as required under OCGA § 9-11-55 a and that there was no failure to give notice. For these reasons, we affirm. 1. By its claims, BellSouth averred $49,323.51 as an account balance stated that Rescuecom owed BellSouth under contracts for advertising services that BellSouth had provided and duly billed to Rescuecom.
OCGA § 9-11-55 a provides that in the event of a default, the plaintiff shall be entitled to a verdict and judgment as if every allegation of the complaint were supported by proper evidence without the intervention of a jury, unless the action is one in tort or involves unliquidated damages, in which event the plaintiff shall be required to introduce evidence and establish the amount of damages before the court without a jury, with the right of the defendant to introduce evidence as to damages and the right of either to move for a new trial in respect of such damages. . . . An action based upon open account shall not be considered one for unliquidated damages within the meaning of this Code section. OCGA § 9-11-55 a thus defines an action on open account as one for liquidated damages. Sellers v. Nodvin , 207 Ga. App. 742, 746 3 429 SE2d 138 1993. A second recognized claim for liquidated damages, as here, “would be a suit upon an account for a stated balance which, when no defense having been filed and the case having been marked in default, the correctness of the balance sued for by the plaintiff became established and fixed without the necessity of proof thereof by the plaintiff.” Citations and punctuation omitted. Hazlett &c. Constr. Co. v. Virgil Womack Constr. Co. , 181 Ga. App. 25, 26 2 351 SE2d 218 1986; Ale-8-One of America v. Graphicolor Svcs. , 166 Ga. App. 506, 508 7 305 SE2d 14 1983.
