DECIDED SEPTEMBER 28, 2009. Certiorari to the Court of Appeals of Georgia — 294 Ga. App. 754. Talley, French Kendall, Michael C. Kendall, Maureen E. Murphy, for appellant.
Two identifying badges are always present in bailment cases: (1) title to the property does not shift (if it did, the property would be sold, not merely rented, leased or loaned); and (2) both the bailor and the bailee bear some duty of care toward another and, by extension, to third parties. Normally, the character of the bailment is to be determined by the contract of the parties to it.Apperson v. Belton Ind., Inc. v. Yangming Marine Transp. Corp., 1996 WL 906349, *3 (S.D. Ga. Dec. 12, 1996); see also Owners Ins. Co. v. Smith Mechanical Contractors, Inc., 294 Ga. App. 754, 756-57 (2008). The duty of care varies based on the type of bailment.