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Williamson v. Harvey Smith Inc.

The defendant was only entitled to recover the portion of its attorneys' fees that was allocable to the prosecution of its counterclaim.

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On or about August 22, 1994, Charles N. and Sallie G. Williamson entered into a New Construction Purchase and Sale Agreement with Harvey Smith, Inc. to build a house in Roswell, Georgia. The contract price for the house was $331,750. During the construction process, the Williamsons paid out between $46,000.00 and $47,000.00, including earnest money and funds advanced in connection with change orders. The transaction was scheduled to close on March 15, 1995. On the morning of the closing, Max Croft, an independent building inspector hired by the Williamsons, inspected the property. Based upon Croft’s inspection, the Williamsons decided not to attend the closing and subsequently refused to complete their purchase of the house.

Twelve days later, on March 27, 1995, the Williamsons filed suit against the corporation and Harvey Smith. HSI counterclaimed. Although both sides asserted a number of claims, several were dropped during the pendency of the litigation. The matter proceeded to trial on the Williamsons’ claims for breach of contract, fraud, conversion and attorney’s fees as well as HSI’s counterclaim for breach of contract and attorney’s fees. The jury awarded HSI damages on its counterclaim in the amount of $15,000 along with attorney’s fees of $38,034.13. The trial court subsequently denied the Williamsons’ motion for new trial, and the Williamsons appeal.1

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