Opinion
41446.
SUBMITTED SEPTEMBER 9, 1965.
DECIDED SEPTEMBER 21, 1965.
Action on account. Stephens Superior Court. Before Judge Smith.
Kimzey Kimzey, Herbert B. Kimzey, for plaintiff in error.
George R. Ramsay, Jr., contra.
The issuance of a credit card to a wife and the charging of items to her which are necessary for the family and suitable to their condition in life does not relieve the husband from liability for the payment therefor unless it affirmatively appears that she was to be personally liable.
SUBMITTED SEPTEMBER 9, 1965 — DECIDED SEPTEMBER 21, 1965.
Belk-Gallant issued to Mrs. Ralph Dean a credit card upon which she subsequently made purchases of items of clothing for herself and children, sheets, blankets, and the like. Later there was a separation and divorce. Belk-Gallant sought but was refused payment of the account by the husband, and brought this action to collect it. He defended, denying that he had purchased any of the items or that they had been purchased by his authority. The jury returned a verdict for plaintiff and defendant excepts to the denial of a judgment notwithstanding the verdict.
This case is controlled by Code § 53-510, the cases of Wright v. Universal Garage Co., 54 Ga. App. 323 ( 187 S.E. 718), Mather-Groover Co. v. Roberts, 54 Ga. App. 398 ( 187 S.E. 913), and other cases of like nature. Nothing in this record indicates that it was the intention of the parties that Mrs. Dean be bound to the exclusion of her husband when the credit card was issued or when the items were sold and charged to the account in her name. There was no express agreement that she was to be liable, and certainly it was not shown that any such intention was communicated to her at either time. The jury was authorized to find against the husband on the basis of the presumed agency of the wife under the facts shown.
Judgment affirmed. Nichols, P. J., and Pannell, J., concur.