Great American Indem. Co. v. Jeffries

In Great American Indem. Co. v. Jeffries, 65 Ga. App. 686 (16 S.E.2d 135) (1941), the Court held that a surety cannot be released from its obligation under a bond unless it has properly availed itself of the statutory authority to do so. The Court explained: Under the contract the agreement of the surety is, simply, that if the administrator fails in his duty, and loss to an heir or creditor results, the surety will make it good. When the bond is completed the beneficiaries become vested with definite rights in it; they are entitled to have it enforced according to its terms; and neither the administrator nor the surety, together or separately, can make any change in it, even with the approval of the ordinary, unless that change is effected through some proceeding specifically authorized by statute. . . . Unless a contrary provision appears in the bond itself, the surety is bound by his agreement to see the administration through to the end, and this obligation can not be terminated earlier except in a way for which provision has been made by statute. Id. at 688. Thus, Jeffries stands for the proposition that a surety cannot completely back out of its obligations as a surety without going through appropriate statutory procedures, unless the face of the bond says otherwise. It does not provide, as appellants contend, that any provision not on the face of the bond, itself, is void.