Bouldin v. CONTRAN CORPORATION
Docket: 65975
Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia; June 27, 1983; Georgia; State Appellate Court
Jay Bouldin filed a lawsuit against Contran Corporation seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent foreclosure. Contran did not respond, leading to a default judgment against it. The trial court denied Contran's motion to open the default but later dismissed the case due to improper venue. Bouldin appealed, arguing that Contran waived its venue defense by not raising it in a timely manner as required by Georgia law (OCGA 9-11-12(h)). Contran contended that the appeal was moot because the foreclosure had already occurred, and Bouldin sought only injunctive relief. However, the court determined that Bouldin also sought actual and exemplary damages for wrongful foreclosure, making the mootness argument inapplicable. The court referenced a prior case (Cotton v. Ruck) to assert that a party must timely raise venue defenses or risk waiving them. Ultimately, the court reversed the trial court's dismissal, affirming that Bouldin's appeal had merit. Judges Quillian and Pope concurred with the decision.