Bowers v. Fulton County

176 S.E.2d 219, 122 Ga. App. 45, 1970 Ga. App. LEXIS 772
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedMay 6, 1970
Docket45070
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 176 S.E.2d 219 (Bowers v. Fulton County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bowers v. Fulton County, 176 S.E.2d 219, 122 Ga. App. 45, 1970 Ga. App. LEXIS 772 (Ga. Ct. App. 1970).

Opinion

Pannell, Judge.

1. While in Bowers v. Fulton County, 221 Ga. 731, 738 (146 SE2d 884), it is said: "The constitutional provision [Art. I, Sec. III, Par. I of the Georgia Constitution; Code Ann. §2-301] is susceptible to no construction except the condemnee is entitled to be compensated for all damage to his property and expense caused by the condemnation proceedings,” this ruling has no application to expenses of litigation and attorney’s fees. See Dohany v. Rogers, 281 U. S. 362, 368 (50 SC 299, 74 LE 904, 68 ALR 434), in which it is held: "Attorneys’ fees and expenses are not embraced within just compensation for land taken by eminent domain.” 30 CJS 442, Eminent Domain, § 386; 4 Nichols, Eminent Domain, p. 704, § 14.249 [4], See also State Hwy. Dept. v. Smith, 219 Ga. 800 (136 SE2d 334). Expenses of litigation and attorneys’ fees in this State can only be recovered when provided by statute. See Adams v. Aycock, 11 Ga. App. 793 (76 SE 161). There is no statutory provision for the payment of attorney’s fees and expenses of litigation in condemnation cases. Therefore, the trial court did not err in refusing to admit in evidence matters relating to the *46 condemnee’s expenses of litigation and attorney’s fees paid and to be paid to his attorney.

2. Where a request to charge is made to the court and the request is refused, in all matters on appeal relating to refusal to give such request, the request shall be considered as a whole and not by its separate parts. See Western Union Tel. Co. v. Owens, 23 Ga. App. 169 (5) (98 SE 116); Mayor &c. of Savannah v. Centennial Mill Co., 46 Ga. App. 725 (1) (169 SE 40). Accordingly, an enumeration of error that the refusal to charge a portion of a single request to charge, the enumeration being clearly based on the failure to charge a request and there being no request of record to charge just that portion raises no question to be decided by this court. We cannot consider an enumeration of error on a failure to charge a portion of a single request as there can be no error in this regard except for the failure to charge the entire request. If there had been an enumeration of error that the court failed to charge the particular principle, another question might be presented. To permit this enumeration to be considered would be to permit one to present a request erroneous in part and claim that the trial court erred in failing to give a request to charge the part that was correct. This he cannot do.

3. The trial court did not err, in the absence of a proper request, in failing to define for the jury what is meant by "unique and special economic value to the owner of the property taken and damaged.” See Western Union Tel. Co. v. Ford, 10 Ga. App. 606 (5) (74 SE 70).

4. There was no error in refusing to permit the condemnee to testify or to state that his business was permanently damaged because of the taking of the property upon which it was carried on, as this testimony is a mere conclusion of the witness. See Alabama Power Co. v. Chandler, 217 Ga. 550 (1) (123 SE2d 767).

5. Complaints as to the court’s charges in enumeration of error numbers 6, 7 and 8 will not be considered as the condemnee made no objection to such charges in the lower court as required by law. King v. Adams, 113 Ga. App. 708 (1) (149 SE2d 548); Sakobie v. State, 115 Ga. App. 460 (3) (154 SE2d 830).

*47 6. Where a witness for the condemnor, on direct examination, testified as to his opinion of the value of the property sought to be condemned, and testified that this opinion was derived from his consideration of sales of other properties in the neighborhood, there was no error in permitting the witness to testify in support of his opinion as to the various properties which he considered, describing them fully and stating the sale prices, over the objection that the trial judge had not made a preliminary ruling as to the comparability of the properties described and used by the witness in forming his opinion, to that of the property sought to be condemned. See Lewis v. State Hwy. Dept., 110 Ga. App. 845, 847 (140 SE2d 109); State Hwy. Dept. v. Parker, 114 Ga. App. 270, 275 (150 SE2d 875). The testimony was not admitted as primary evidence of the fact, but for the jury to judge therefrom the credit to be given the witness’s testimony. See Clemones v. Alabama Power Co., 107 Ga. App. 489 (130 SE2d 600).

7. The question at issue in the present case was damage to a business, or as contended by the appellant, damages to the earning capacity of a business. While the jury found the business was a sole proprietorship, this does not make the damage to the earning capacity of the business a damage to the earning capacity of the appellant. It follows, therefore, that the mortality tables, which might relate to the lifespan of the appellant, could not be properly considered by the jury in determining the damage done to the business and there was no error in refusing to admit the same in evidence.

8. Testimony given on the previous trial by an appraiser employed by the condemnor to make an appraisal of the value of the property, that he was employed by one of the condemnors to make such appraisal is not admissible in evidence where such testimony is sought to be used by the condemnee in the subsequent trial of the case. Logan v. Chatham County, 113 Ga. App. 491 (2) (148 SE2d 471). Where, as in the present case, the appellant sought to introduce in evidence as a whole, the entire previous testimony of such a witness, on the ground the witness was inaccessible, and a portion of this testimony was objectionable for the reasons given above, the trial court should *48 not be reversed for denying its admission in evidence, nor was the testimony of such appraiser given on the previous trial admissible on the theory that the condemnor, who had used such witness in a prior trial of the case, was legally bound to use such witness, who had given a higher evaluation of the property than the other witnesses used by the condemnor, because the burden of proof was on the condemnor. The condemnor meets this burden as soon as it introduces evidence of value. Georgia Power Co. v. Brooks, 207 Ga. 406, 411 (62 SE2d 183).

9. '"A request to charge the jury, directed to the trial judge, submitted in writing before the retirement of the jury, must be entirely correct and accurate; it must be adjusted to the pleadings, the law, and the evidence in the case; it must not be argumentative; and it must not seek an expression of opinion on the part of the trial judge.’ New York Life Ins. Co. v. Thompson, 50 Ga. App. 413 (1) (178 SE 389); McKinney v. Woodard, 94 Ga. App. 340 (1) (94 SE2d 620); Childers v. Ackerman Const. Co., 211 Ga. 350 (1) (86 SE2d 227).” King v. Ellis, 104 Ga. App. 335, 336 (121 SE2d 815).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Abm Realty Co. v. Board of Regents of the University System
675 S.E.2d 549 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2009)
Department of Transportation v. Hillside Motors, Inc.
385 S.E.2d 746 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1989)
Department of Transportation v. Consolidated Equities Corp.
353 S.E.2d 603 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1987)
Old South Bottle Shop, Inc. v. Department of Transportation
333 S.E.2d 127 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1985)
Glover v. Department of Transportation
304 S.E.2d 567 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1983)
Department of Transportation v. Willis
299 S.E.2d 82 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1983)
Dixie Highway Bottle Shop, Inc. v. Department of Transportation
268 S.E.2d 442 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1980)
Colonial Lincoln-Mercury Sales, Inc. v. Molina
262 S.E.2d 820 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1979)
Department of Transportation v. Kendricks
256 S.E.2d 610 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1979)
Department of Transportation v. Dent
235 S.E.2d 610 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1977)
Department of Transportation v. Doss
233 S.E.2d 144 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1977)
White v. Georgia Power Co.
227 S.E.2d 385 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1976)
Housing Authority v. Millwood
226 S.E.2d 766 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1976)
Brookhaven Supply Co. v. DeKalb County
216 S.E.2d 694 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1975)
State Highway Department v. Davis
199 S.E.2d 275 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1973)
Housing Authority v. Newsome
193 S.E.2d 32 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1972)
Hinton v. Georgia Power Co.
190 S.E.2d 811 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1972)
Security Development & Investment Co. v. Ben O'Callaghan Co.
188 S.E.2d 238 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1972)
Williams v. State Highway Department
185 S.E.2d 616 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1971)
Shelton v. Housing Authority
183 S.E.2d 353 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1971)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
176 S.E.2d 219, 122 Ga. App. 45, 1970 Ga. App. LEXIS 772, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bowers-v-fulton-county-gactapp-1970.