Gaither v. Gaither

58 S.E.2d 834, 206 Ga. 808, 1950 Ga. LEXIS 576
Supreme Court of Georgia·Decided April 11, 1950·No. 17030·Published·Cited by 12 cases

Opinions

Atkinson, Presiding Justice.

(After stating the foregoing facts.) The husband made a motion in the Supreme Court to dismiss the writ of error on the grounds: (1) the assignment of error in the bill of exceptions upon the judgment of the trial court, sustaining the plaintiffs demurrers to and striking the defendant’s amended answer and cross-action, being one on an interlocutory order, and neither the bill of exceptions nor the^ record showing that said antecedent ruling necessarily controlled the final judgment, cannot in itself nor under said general exception to the final judgment as contrary to law be considered by this court; (2) it appearing from the record that the trial judge, sitting without a jury, passed upon all questions of law and fact, and that there was no brief of evidence incorporated in or attached as an approved exhibit thereto nor sent up as part of the record, the exception to the final judgment as being contrary to law, but without specifically stating any ground of error, is too general, uncertain, and indefinite to be considered by this court; (3) it appearing from the bill of exceptions that, although various defendants were affected by the final judgment, only the plaintiff was made a defendant in error, the bill of exceptions is fatally defective for want of necessary parties defendant in error.

The Code, § 6-1307, declares: “The Supreme Court, or the Court of Appeals shall not dismiss any case for any want of technical conformity to the statutes or rules regulating the practice in carrying cases to said courts, where there is enough in the bill of exceptions or transcript of the record presented, or both together, to enable the court to ascertain substantially the real questions in the case which the parties seek to have decided therein.” This court has held that a final judgment is, [810] reviewable by general exception in so far as it is affected by antecedent rulings which are properly excepted to in the same writ of error. Lyndon v. Georgia Railway & Electric Co., 129 Ga. 353 (3) (58 S. E. 1047); Rabhan v. Rabhan, 185 Ga. 355 (1) (195 S. E. 193); Cheatham v. Palmer, 191 Ga. 617 (1b) (13 S. E. 2d, 674); Georgia Veneer &c. Co. v. Florida National Bank, 198 Ga. 591 (32 S. E. 2d, 465). After a discussion of the above rule in Carpenter v. State, 194 Ga. 395, 400 (21 S. E. 2d, 643), it was said: “The true rule is, that, although the final judgment is excepted to on the general ground that it is contrary to law, if an examination of the record discloses that antecedent rulings duly excepted to in the bill of exceptions entered into and affected the final judgment, the bill of exceptions is sufficient to present to this court for decision the antecedent rulings excepted to and the final judgment in so far as it is affected by such antecedent rulings.”

The present bill of exceptions, which was tendered to the trial judge on December 30, 1949, states that the court entered a judgment on December 12, 1949, sustaining stated demurrers to the wife’s amendment, and striking her amendment and cross-action, to which ruling she excepted on the general ground that it was contrary to law. On the next day, the trial judge passed a final order granting an injunction against the various defendants and terminating the litigation without giving the wife an opportunity to amend and be heard on the merits of her cross-petition, to which ruling she excepted on the general ground that it was contrary to law. The bill of exceptions also contains the statement that the rulings complained of are contrary to law, in that the amendment and cross-petition set forth a valid cause of action against the husband; and that the ruling striking the amendment and cross-petition deprived the wife from asserting a valid right against the husband, who is a nonresident of this State-; and that, unless the merits of her cross-petition are heard, she will have no adequate remedy.

An examination of the present record discloses that the antecedent ruling striking the wife’s amended answer in the nature •of a cross-petition, which ruling was duly excepted to in the bill of exceptions, entered into and affected the final judgment. Applying the above principles, the bill of exceptions is sufficient to [811] present to this court for decision the antecedent ruling excepted to and the final judgment in so far as it is affected by such antecedent ruling.

(a) In Ruffin v. Paris, 75 Ga. 653 (1), it was held: “Where the judgment of the superior court was adverse to the defendants, one of them could except and bring the case to this court without joining the other plaintiffs in error; and a failure to do so will not work a dismissal of the writ of error.” See Jones v. Hurst, 91 Ga. 338 (1) (17 S. E. 635); Turner v. Newell, 129 Ga. 89 (1) (58 S. E. 657); Durrence v. Cowart, 160 Ga. 671 (2) (129 S. E. 26).

Furthermore, the Code, § 6-1202, provides that no party shall be considered as interested in the litigation in the reviewing court who will not be affected by the judgment to be rendered in that particular case. The record shows that the defendants mentioned in the bill of exceptions, but not made defendants in error, were the Sheriff of Fulton County and the Sheriff of DeKalb County. These defendants filed no pleadings, and under the facts of the instant case could not be affected in any way by the judgment to be rendered upon the wife’s cross-petition.

(b) Accordingly, there is no merit in the motion to dismiss the bill of exceptions.

The wife’s amended answer in the nature of a cross-petition seeks in two counts to set up an alleged agreement for the payment of alimony for minor children, the only difference between the counts being that in count one the agreement is alleged to be oral, while in count two it is alleged to be in writing.

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Gaither v. Gaither, 58 S.E.2d 834, 206 Ga. 808, 1950 Ga. LEXIS 576 (Ga. 1950).

58 S.E.2d 834 (Gaither v. Gaither) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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Gaither v. Gaither
58 S.E.2d 834 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1950)