Tompkins v. Mayers (1993)
Citation: 209 Ga. App. 809, 434 S.E.2d 798 · Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia · Decided: July 16, 1993; reconsideration denied July 30, 1993 · Docket: A93A0254.
Source note (2026-10-18):
- Links on this page to
https://static.case.law/ga-app/209/cases/0809-01.jsonare an (unofficial Caselaw Access Project copy, retrieved before 2026-10-18; host disallows automated access); no official or otherwise permitted full-text copy was located on 2026-10-18.
Facts
Tompkins’s son-in-law rented storage space under an agreement authorizing disposal after 30 days of unpaid rent and assigning the goods to the operator upon default. After the first month, rent went unpaid for 43 months. The operator sold or gave away the stored property; Tompkins sued for conversion. The statutory lien-sale procedure was not followed.
Holding
The majority affirmed summary judgment for the operators. It treated the agreement as a contractual disposal remedy distinct from enforcement of the statutory owner’s lien and held that Article 9 did not govern this true space lease. The majority also expressly stated that an operator seeking the statutory lien remedy must comply with its requirements.
Reasoning
The majority relied on O.C.G.A. § 10-4-214’s preservation of additional contractual rights and the particular disposal/title-assignment terms. It found no intended secured transaction under the UCC provisions then applicable. Judge Cooper, joined by Presiding Judge McMurray, dissented: the agreement postdated the Act and should have complied with its mandatory language, notice and sale provisions.
Practical impact
The decision concerns a specific contractual disposal arrangement, not a holding that any storage sale can dispense with statutory notice. It does not decide a bidder’s title against a superior lender. The 2024 and 2025 storage amendments and current contract terms require separate analysis; see georgia and equipment-and-machinery.
Good-law status
needs_verification. Full majority, dissent and reconsideration note were retrieved and read on 2026-10-17 from the unofficial CAP reproduction at the source URL. No complete later-treatment or current-contract-enforceability review was established.
Legal information, not legal advice. Verify current authority before relying on this summary.