Contracts contravening public policy generally

(a) A contract which is against the policy of the law cannot be enforced. Contracts deemed contrary to public policy include but are not limited to: (1) Contracts tending to corrupt legislation or the judiciary; (2) Contracts in general restraint of trade, as distinguished from contracts in partial restraint of trade as provided for in Code Section 13-8-2.1; (3) Contracts to evade or oppose the revenue laws of another country; (4) Wagering contracts; or (5) Contracts of maintenance or champerty. (b) A covenant, promise, agreement, or understanding in or in connection with or collateral to a contract or agreement relative to the construction, alteration, repair, or maintenance of a building structure, appurtenances, and appliances, including moving, demolition, and excavating connected therewith, purporting to require that one party to such contract or agreement shall indemnify, hold harmless, insure, or defend the other party to the contract or other named indemnitee, including its, his, or her officers, agents, or employees, against liability or claims for damages, losses, or expenses, including attorney fees, arising out of bodily injury to persons, death, or damage to property caused by or resulting from the sole negligence of the indemnitee, or its, his, or her officers, agents, or employees, is against public policy and void and unenforceable. This subsection shall not affect any obligation under workers’ compensation or coverage or insurance specifically relating to workers’ compensation, nor shall this subsection apply to any requirement that one party to the contract purchase a project specific insurance policy, including an owner’s or contractor’s protective insurance, builder’s risk insurance, installation coverage, project management protective liability insurance, an owner controlled insurance policy, or a contractor controlled insurance policy. (Orig. Code 1863, § 2714; Code 1868, § 2708; Code 1873, § 2750; Code 1882, § 2750; Civil Code 1895, § 3668; Civil Code 1910, § 4253; Code 1933, § 20-504; Ga. L. 1970, p. 441, § 1; Ga. L. 1982, p. 3, § 13; Ga. L. 1989, p. 14, § 13; Ga. L. 1990, p. 1676, § 1; Ga. L. 2007, p. 208, § 1/HB 136; Ga. L. 2009, p. 231, § 1/HB 173.) Delayed effective date. — Ga. L. 2009, p. 231, § 4 provides that the 2009 amendment becomes effective following the ratification at the time of the 2010 general election of an amendment to the Constitution of Georgia providing for the enforcement of covenants in commercial contracts that limit competition and shall apply to contracts entered into on and after such date and shall not apply in actions determining the enforceability of restrictive covenants entered into before such date and that if such amendment is not so ratified, then this amendment shall stand automatically repealed. This Code section as amended is not set out in the Code owing to the delayed effective date. After the ratification is made, subsection (a) will read as follows: ‘‘A contract that is against the policy of the law cannot be enforced. Contracts deemed contrary to public policy include but are not limited to: ‘‘(1) Contracts tending to corrupt legislation or the judiciary; ‘‘(2) Contracts in general restraint of trade, as distinguished from contracts which restrict certain competitive activities, as provided in Article 4 of this chapter; ‘‘(3) Contracts to evade or oppose the revenue laws of another country; ‘‘(4) Wagering contracts; or ‘‘(5) Contracts of maintenance or champerty.’’ The 2009 amendment, in subsection (a), substituted ‘‘that’’ for ‘‘which’’ in the first sentence of the introductory paragraph and, at the end of paragraph (a)(2), substituted ‘‘which restrict certain competitive activities, as provided in Article 4 of this chapter’’ for ‘‘in partial restraint of trade as provided for in Code Section 13-8-2.1’’. For effective date of this amendment, see the delayed effective date note.