Georgia Chemical Works v. Malcolm

197 S.E. 763, 186 Ga. 275, 1938 Ga. LEXIS 593
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedMay 12, 1938
DocketNo. 12222
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 197 S.E. 763 (Georgia Chemical Works v. Malcolm) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Georgia Chemical Works v. Malcolm, 197 S.E. 763, 186 Ga. 275, 1938 Ga. LEXIS 593 (Ga. 1938).

Opinion

Grice, Justice.

The first special ground of the motion for new trial recites the court’s statement to the jury of the contentions of the parties as to what amount, if any, the plaintiff was indebted to Burns. The court referred to plaintiff’s amendment to his petition, and stated the substance of it, which was to the effect that while in his original petition plaintiff admitted that he owed Burns $6800, he has since learned, from the schedule in bankruptcy filed by Bums, that the latter admitted that he was indebted to plaintiff; and plaintiff alleged that his former allegation was erroneous. The court stated to the jury that the contention of the defendant Georgia Chemical Works is, “that, having admitted the amount of $6800, with interest thereon, . . it should be found by the jury that that much was owing.” The movant charges that it was error for the court to state to the jury in that connection that “these contentions are questions of fact for you to determine from all the evidence in the case,” in that, while there was evidence of deliveries of large quantities of cotton by plaintiff to Burns and of the latter’s failure to^make an accounting and settlement, there was no evidence disproving plaintiff’s original admission of indebtedness, except the schedule of his liabilities accompanying Burns’ petition in bankruptcy; and that this admission by Burns, made after Chandler’s warranty deed to him, did not disprove plaintiff’s indebtedness to him at the time Chandler made the deed to Burns. The court was merely stating the contentions of the plaintiff made in his amendment, which was not demurred to, and the contentions of the defendant with respect thereto. In submitting to the jury these contentions, the court did not limit them to a consideration alone of the fact, shown in [283]*283Burns’ schedule in bankruptcy, but charged them in that immediate connection, “If you find and believe from all the evidence in the case that Chandler is not now indebted to Burns, . . then you would answer that question, no.” The dealings between Chandler and Burns, testified to by witnesses, tended to corroborate the fact shown by Burns’ schedule in bankruptcy. Burns made no denial of any of plaintiff’s allegations. Movant called attention to no evidence showing a change of the status between the date of plaintiff’s deed to Burns and the latter’s bankruptcy proceeding, or between the latter date and the trial; and there is evidence that as soon as Chandler executed his warranty deed to Burns all transactions between them ceased. The charge was not error for any of. the reasons stated.

In grounds 21 and 22 the movant assigns error on the court’s permitting the witness Ott Chandler, a son of the plaintiff, to testify, over the objection of the defendant, as to his familiarity with the confidential relationship existing between his deceased father and Burns; that he was familiar with transactions between plaintiff and Burns, whereby the plaintiff would turn over to Burns large quantities of cotton, to be applied on his indebtedness, without receiving or exacting an accounting therefor from him; and that there had never been a settlement between his father and Burns. The movant’s objections were that the witness was incompetent to testify as to such transactions between the two deceased parties; that the witness had a pecuniary interest in the outcome of the case, because certain of these lands had once been purchased by witness from Burns, who executed to him a bond for title thereto; and that his testimony contradicted admissions made in plaintiff’s petition. The witness testified that his father took over his contract for the purchase of the lands in question. “My father took over the whole thing, assumed it.” There was no evidence to show that the witness had a pecuniary interest in the case, other than his interest as an heir at law. This witness had testified on the former trial, when his father, the plaintiff, was old and feeble and did not testify; and the testimony objected to on the last trial was that given on the former trial, and put in evidence by the plaintiff’s administratrix. Under the Code, § 38-314, declaring that “The testimony of a witness since . . disqualified, . . given under oath on a former trial, upon sub[284]*284stantially the same issue and between substantially the same parties, may be proved,” this testimony was admissible. Compare Banks v. Bradwell, 140 Ga. 640, 642 (79 S. E. 572), where this court, when considering the fourth exception to what is now Code § 38-1603 (as to incompeteney of a witness, not a party, to testify, if as a party he would be incompetent), this court said: “These rules are directed against temptation of a witness to perjure himself, and were not intended to affect testimony which might have been delivered on some former trial when the witness was not incompetent, and which would be admissible under other provisions of law.” Nor did the witness’s testimony contradict plaintiif’s amended allegations. There is no merit in these grounds of the motion.

The movant complains of the refusal of the court to propound to the jury the following question requested in writing: “Was the purpose of Chandler in making the deed, purporting to be of bargain and sale, to sell the lands embraced in the deed to Burns, or merely to let him appear to be the owner of such lands, so as to enable him to obtain a loan thereon in his own name?” Movant’s contention in this ground is that the “plaintiff was not introduced as a witness, and there was no evidence that plaintiff would have disclosed the secret agency if inquiry had been made by movant.” Chandler was not alive at the time of the trial, which accounts for his not testifying. But his allegation that his deed to Burns was a trust deed only was supported by direct testimony, and this was corroborated by other facts shown in the case. There was no testimony that the allegation of the plaintiff was not true. It was not denied by Burns. The only evidence mentioned by the movant in this connection is a document put in evidence which reads as follows: “Commerce, Ga. Jan. 7th, 1922. Received of Isaac Chandler warranty deed to eight hundred sixty-seven and 20/100 acres of land, a redemption contract to be executed and delivered to him in accordance with loan contract obtained. [Signed] W. B. Burns.” This evidence did not require the court to submit to the jury the question requested, nor was there other evidence that made the court’s refusal erroneous.

In ground 20 the movant complains of the refusal of the court to submit to the jury the following question: “At the time of the execution by Burns of the security deed to Georgia Ohem[285]*285ical Works, was Chandler aware himself of the existence of any fraud on the part of Burns, which affected the validity of any of the deeds which Chandler executed to Burns ?” Movant’s contention is that since the warranty deed, absolute on its face, from Chandler to Burns, dated March 22, 1922, reaffirmed the fact and existence of two previous security deeds from Chandler to Burns conveying the same lands, it amounted to an acknowledgment at that time that the plaintiff owed Burns the amounts referred to in those security deeds; that Burns at that time, so far as the plaintiff was aware, had not been guilty of any fraud; and that there is little possibility that in the two days interval from March 22, to March 24, 1922, on which latter date Burns executed his security deed to the movant, the plaintiff made any discovery relative to the validity of the debts described in the previous security deeds.

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Bluebook (online)
197 S.E. 763, 186 Ga. 275, 1938 Ga. LEXIS 593, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/georgia-chemical-works-v-malcolm-ga-1938.