Section 44-3-8. Rights of buyer upon violation; persons liable for violations; limitation on actions; survival of actions; effect on statutory or common-law rights; exemption of advertisers from liability

   (a) Any person who violates any provision of Code Section 44-3-5 shall be liable to the person buying such land. Such buyer may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction to recover damages, even if that buyer no longer owns the land, or, upon tender of the land at any time before entry of judgment, to recover the consideration paid, or the fair value thereof at the time the consideration was paid if such consideration was not paid in cash, for the land with interest thereon at the rate of 7 percent per annum from the date of payment down to the date of repayment, together with all taxable court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.

(b) Every person who directly or indirectly controls a person liable under subsection (a) of this Code section, every general partner, executive officer, or director of such person liable under subsection (a) of this Code section, every person occupying a similar status or performing similar functions, and every person who participates in any material way in the sale is liable jointly and severally with and to the same extent as the person liable under subsection (a) of this Code section unless the person whose liability arises under the provisions of this subsection sustains the burden of proof that such person did not know and, in the exercise of reasonable care, could not have known of the existence of the facts by reason of which liability is alleged to exist. There is contribution as in the case of contract among several persons so liable.

(c) No person may bring an action under this Code section more than two years from the date of the contract for sale or sale if there is no contract for sale.

(d) Every cause of action under this article survives the death of any person who might have been a plaintiff or defendant.

(e) Nothing in this article shall limit any statutory or common-law right of any person in any court for any act involving the sale of land.

(f) The owner, publisher, licensee, or operator of any newspaper, magazine, visual or sound radio broadcasting station or network of stations, or the agents or employees of any such owner, publisher, licensee, or operator of such a newspaper, magazine, station or network of stations shall not be liable under this article for any advertising of any subdivision, lot, parcel, or unit in any subdivision carried in any such newspaper or magazine or by any such visual or sound radio broadcasting station or network of stations, nor shall any of them be liable under this article for the contents of any such advertisement, unless the owner, publisher, licensee, or operator has actual knowledge of the falsity thereof.

Ga. L. 1972, p. 638, § 20; Ga. L. 1976, p. 676, § 1; Code 1981, §§ 44-3-21, 44-3-22; Code 1981, § 44-3-11, enacted by Ga. L. 1982, p. 1431, § 1; Ga. L. 1983, p. 3, § 33; Ga. L. 1990, p. 606, § 1; Code 1981, § 44-3-8, as redesignated by Ga. L. 1995, p. 993, § 1.