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253 Ga. 61
Ga.
1984
Bell, Justice.

This сase concerns whether the appellee, Lagunas, had the authority to accelerate the balance оf a note executed by the appellant, Duncan, and then proceed to foreclose on the real proрerty conveyed *62 in exchange for the note and pledged as security therefor.

On March 20, 1982, Lagunas conveyed certain real■ property to Duncan in exchange for Duncan’s exeсution and delivery to him of a promissory note and security deed. The note was payable in 120 consecutive monthly installments, and it рrovided for the first payment to be made on March 20, 1982, and for the rest of the installments to be made on the 20th day of each succeeding month. Duncan’s January, February, and March 1983 payments were six, nine, and four days late respectively, and Lagunas, although he accepted these payments, orally protested their tardiness. Lagunas, however, did not accept Duncan’s April payment, which he received sometime between May 8 and May 10, 1983; instead, Lagunas sent a notice of acceleration to Dunсan on May 12, 1983, and returned the check on May 17, 1983.

Lagunas subsequently published the required notice of foreclosure and was proсeeding to foreclose on July 5, 1983, when Duncan obtained a temporary restraining order stopping the foreclosure salе. However, after a hearing the court declined to convert ‍‌‌‌‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​​​​​‌‌‌‌‌‌​‌‍the temporary restraining order into an interlocutory injunction, finding that a default existed as to the April 20 payment, and that the foreclosure sale originally scheduled for July 5 should have taken рlace. Duncan now appeals. We affirm.

1). We first address Duncan’s argument that the trial court should have granted him injunctive relief bеcause he and Lagunas had mutually departed from the terms of the note requiring payment on the 20th of each month. Duncan argues that because, after the mutual departure, Lagunas did not provide Duncan with reasonable notice of his intention to rely uрon the note’s specified payment date, Lagunas did not have the authority to accelerate the balance оf the note on the ground that Duncan failed to comply with the note’s April 20, 1983 payment date.

Although we agree with Duncan’s statements сoncerning the law of mutual departure, see OCGA § 13-4-4; Continental Cas. Co. v. Union Camp Corp., 230 Ga. 8 (1) (3) (195 SE2d 417) (1973); Verner v. McLarty, 213 Ga. 472 (1) (99 SE2d 890) (1957); Crawford v. First Nat. Bank, 137 Ga. App. 294, 295-296 (223 SE2d 488) (1976), we disagree with his assertion that he and Lagunas had mutually departed from the terms оf the promissory note. For a departure from the terms of a contract to be sufficient to require notice by one of thе parties of his ‍‌‌‌‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​​​​​‌‌‌‌‌‌​‌‍or her intention to insist upon strict compliance with the contract, the departure must be mutual and intended, such thаt the parties have essentially a new agreement concerning the requirements of the original contract. Continental Cas. Co. v. Union Camp Corp., supra, 230 Ga. at 11; Crawford v. First Nat. Bank, supra, 137 Ga. App. at 295-96. Although Duncan may have unilaterally inter *63 preted Lagunas’ acceptance of several of his late payments as a waiver of the necessity to strictly comply with the specified payment schedule, there is no evidence that that was Lagunas’ intention. In fact, Lagunas’ oral expression of displeasure with the late payments shows that he did not intend to waive the requirement that Duncan make his future payments on the 20th day of each month. See Continental Cas. Co. v. Union Camp Corp., supra, 230 Ga. at 11-12; Crawford v. First Nat. Bank, supra, 137 Ga. App. at 296-297. For this reason, Duncan’s argument that the trial court should have granted injunctive relief because there was а mutual departure from the payment date specified in the note is without merit.

2). Having found that there was no mutual departure from the terms of the parties’ agreement, the resolution of this dispute depends upon whether Lagunas, pursuant to the terms of the notе and security deed, was required to notify Duncan of his decision to accelerate the balance ‍‌‌‌‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​​​​​‌‌‌‌‌‌​‌‍of the note. If notiсe was required, then Duncan’s late tender of the April 20 payment would have cured his default and enabled him to prevent acсeleration and foreclosure, because the tender was made prior to his reception of Lagunas’ letter notifying him of the acceleration. Lee v. O’Quinn, 184 Ga. 44 (2) (3) (190 SE 564) (1937); Pindar, Ga. Real Est. Law, § 21-48. If no notice of acceleration was required, then Lagunas had the pоwer to accelerate the balance of the note upon receipt of Duncan’s late tender of the April 20 payment, and then proceed to foreclose. Lee v. O’Quinn, supra, 184 Ga. at. 46; Pindar, supra, § 21-48; Oak Mountain Development Corp. v. Harrell, 162 Ga. App. 186 (1) (290 SE2d 177) (1982).

The relevant part of the promissory note provides that if a default occurs, then the unpaid balance of the principal, “at the option of the holder [Lagunas] hereof, may become due and payable . . .,” and the corresponding provision of the security deed states that if a default occurs, then Lagunas “may, without notice, declare any and all of the indebtedness secured hereby immediately due and payable.” Duncan acknowledges that the security deed does not require notice of acceleration, but he argues that the note does require such notice, and that this conflict should be resolved by giving effect to the language of the note.

In Fulton Nat. Bank v. Horn, 239 Ga. 648, 650 (238 SE2d 358) (1977), we held that “[w]here the parties agree that in the event of default the creditor ‘may declare’ acceleration, the exercise of the option to declare ‍‌‌‌‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​​​​​‌‌‌‌‌‌​‌‍acceleration must be communicated to the debtor or manifested by some affirmative aсt sufficient to constitute notice to the debtor of acceleration, Lee v. O’Quinn, supra, but where the parties agree that in the еvent of default the creditor ‘may declare’ acceleration ‘without notice’ to the debtor, Lee v. O’Quinn is not applicablе and, according to the agreement, notice of the declaration of *64 acceleration need.not be communicated to the debtor.” Fulton Nat. Bank v. Horn, supra, 239 Ga. at 650.

Decided June 12, 1984. Wilson & Trotter, William A. Trotter III, Allen N. Bradley, for appellant. Marilyn H. Lumpkin, for appellee.

In the instant case we perceive no сonflict between the provisions of the note and security deed concerning whether notice of acceleratiоn is required. The note makes no mention of notice, whereas ‍‌‌‌‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​​​​​‌‌‌‌‌‌​‌‍the security deed specifically states that no notice оf acceleration is required. We thus find that we must give effect to the specific “without notice” language agreed to by the parties. Fulton Nat. Bank v. Horn, supra, 239 Ga. at 650. Consequently, Lagunas was under no duty to notify Duncan of his decision to accelerate the balance of the notе, and it was unnecessary for him “to do anything other than reject the untimely tender” in order to exercise his right of acceleration. Oak Mountain Development Corp. v. Harrell, supra, 162 Ga. App. at 187.

For the above reasons, the trial court correctly denied Duncan’s motion for an interlocutory injunction.

Judgment affirmed.

All the Justices concur.

Case Details

Case Name: Duncan v. Lagunas
Court Name: Supreme Court of Georgia
Date Published: Jun 12, 1984
Citations: 253 Ga. 61; 316 S.E.2d 747; 1984 Ga. LEXIS 826; 40429
Docket Number: 40429
Court Abbreviation: Ga.
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