In early 2000, appellant-defendants Erik and Mary Beth Bush decided to undertake an extensive landscaping project in the backyard of their home, located in Alpharetta, Georgia. Mr. Bush prepared a layout of the proposed project, and, acting on this, defendant Environmental Scapes-Fence Division, Inc. “ESFD” submitted its proposal to complete the project, estimating the total price to be $32,220. On April 29, 2000, the Bushes entered into an agreement with ESFD for the completion of the project under its proposal and subject to additional terms and conditions which were attached to the contract as page 2 thereof. Of these, Paragraph 10 pertinently provided that “alterations, additions, or deviations shall be charged to the owner at the contractor’s normal selling price.” The project was thereafter modified to bring a proposed retaining wall closer to the Bush home to avoid encroaching upon a Fulton County easement. The Bushes paid ESFD $16,110.00 before work began on the project. Work then commenced but later stopped upon the Bushes’ refusal to pay an August 17, 2000 EFSD billing for materials and labor that was nearly $25,000 in excess of its $32,220 estimated original proposal for completing the project.
On September 25, 2000, appellee-plaintiff Northside Trucking, Inc., as EFSD’s subcontractor and materialman, filed a materialman’s lien under OCGA § 44-14-360 et seq. in the amount of $23,105.58 for loading, delivering, and unloading dirt, gravel, and stone at the Bushes’ residence. A month later, Northside filed the instant complaint against the Bushes and ESFD, pertinently seeking a special lien on the Bush property and leave to foreclose on it and as to EFSD damages for breach of contract and OCGA § 13-6-11 attorney fees. The Bushes and EFSD timely answered, denying the material allegations of Northside’s complaint while contemporaneously filing counter claims against each other. The Bushes, pro se,1 and Northside thereafter proceeded to compulsory, non-binding arbitration under Atlanta Judicial Circuit “AJC” Local Procedure2 1000. On May 18, 2000, following an arbitration hearing, the arbitrators issued their award as follows: “Northside is entitled to enforce a materialman’s lien against the Bushes property . . . in the sum of $24,722.97 principal & interest plus $6,000 attorney fees. We award ESFD the sum of $16,110 to be paid by the Bushes unless the lien amount is paid by the Bushes.”
