Opinion
56088.
ARGUED JUNE 28, 1978.
DECIDED SEPTEMBER 14, 1978.
Breach of contract. DeKalb Superior Court. Before Judge Deen.
Ronald N. Winston, Richard H. Siege, for appellant.
Arthur K. Bolton, Attorney General, Russell N. Sewell, Jr., Assistant Attorney General, David A. Handley, James M. Koelemay, Jr., for appellee.
The plaintiff, a building contractor, sued the Department of Human Resources to collect for labor and materials furnished under a construction contract. The department moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted, contending that the action was barred by the doctrine of sovereign immunity. The trial court granted the motion, and the plaintiff appeals. Held:
This case is controlled by this court's decision in C.F.I. Const. Co. v. Bd. of Regents, 145 Ga. App. 471 ( 243 S.E.2d 700) (1978), wherein it was held that, sovereign immunity notwithstanding, a contractor has the right to sue the state under the eminent domain provision of the State Constitution (Art. I, Sec. III, Par. I of the Constitution of 1978; Code Ann. § 2-301) to collect for labor and materials which he has supplied and which the state has accepted and retained. Therefore, the complaint states a valid claim for relief and it was error to grant the motion to dismiss.
Judgment reversed. Deen, P. J., and Smith, J., concur.