Santosh Kothariv.Tassew Tessfaye
Santosh and Sarala Kothari settled litigation arising from the sale of DeKalb County property, and the trial court entered the settlement as a consent judgment. The judgment required the defendants to pay specified sums, deposit $100,000 in escrow, and construct and dedicate a public access road by stated deadlines. After the defendants failed to perform, they moved to set aside the judgment, arguing that the road obligation was impossible and that the judgment lacked mutuality because DeKalb County would not accept the dedication. The Georgia Court of Appeals held that a consent judgment is an enforceable judgment, not merely a settlement contract, and that contractual impossibility and lack of mutuality did not make it void or authorize setting it aside. The defendants had also expressly waived defenses and legal excuses for failing to complete the road, and the waiver was valid because it did not injure others or affect the public interest. The Court reversed the orders setting aside the judgment and materially changing its deadlines. It remanded with direction to reinstate the consent judgment, enter judgment instanter for $415,500, and require cancellation of the security deeds.
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