Roy Sexton purchased a house in Lithonia in 1996. Sexton’s employee, Lisa Sumner, moved into the house with her children. Sumner worked for Sexton at his repair shop and also was a caretaker for Sexton’s ailing mother. Sexton died six months later and Janice Chandler Sharp was appointed administratrix of his estate. Sharp brought an action to dispossess Sumner of the house which Sumner defended on the ground that the house had been an inter vivos parol gift to her by Sexton. The dispossessory case was tried in Rockdale Superior Court, and in November 1997 a verdict was returned for Sumner. After the 1997 litigation, Sharp refused to deed the property to Sumner. Sumner then filed a complaint for specific performance seeking to require Sharp to transfer title of the house to her. Sumner died during the pendency of the litigation and Agie Sumner was appointed the estate’s administratrix. A jury returned a verdict for Sumner awarding her title to the property in dispute. Sharp appeals claiming the evidence did not support the verdict. We disagree and affirm.
An equitable exception to the Statute of Frauds, OCGA § 13-5-30 4, is contained in OCGA § 23-2-132 which provides that equity will decree the specific performance of a parol agreement for land if “possession of lands has been given under such an agreement, upon a meritorious consideration, and valuable improvements have been made” based on the promise to convey. “Under this codified equitable principle, the party seeking specific performance may obtain relief by showing an oral promise, meritorious consideration, possession, and valuable improvements.” Footnote omitted. Coleman v. Coleman, 265 Ga. 568, 569 1 459 SE2d 166 1995. A donee of land under a parol gift who ” ‘enters into possession and makes valuable improvements upon the faith of the gift, acquires a perfect equity as against the donor, his heirs and those claiming under him with notice. . . .’ Cit.” Smith v. Lanier, 199 Ga. 255, 264 34 SE2d 91 1945. The sufficiency of the improvements which the donee must have made to complete the parol gift of land is for the jury to determine. Sharpton v. Givens, 209 Ga. 868 1 76 SE2d 806 1953.
