Hardin v. Douglas

147 S.E. 506, 168 Ga. 213, 1929 Ga. LEXIS 103
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedFebruary 28, 1929
DocketNo. 6418
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 147 S.E. 506 (Hardin v. Douglas) 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
Hardin v. Douglas, 147 S.E. 506, 168 Ga. 213, 1929 Ga. LEXIS 103 (Ga. 1929).

Opinion

Hill, J.

Mrs. Kate G. Hardin, as administratrix on the estate of Mrs. Anna E. Gramling, brought ejectment against E. Lee Douglas as the real defendant, and certain tenants in possession, to recover two lots of land in the City of Atlanta, one of which will be hereafter referred to as the Simpson Street property, and the other the West Peachtree Street property. Douglas answered, setting up title to the property in controversy by virtue of a deed executed to him by Mrs. Gramling, plaintiff’s intestate, on June 6, 1911. The plaintiff contended that this deed was void for the reason that it was made as security for a debt owing by Mrs. Gramling to the defendant, and that the debt was usurious in that more than the legal rate of interest was charged and reserved by the creditor, E. L. Douglas, against Mrs. Gramling; and further that the issue on the question of. the debt being an usurious one had been actually litigated and determined between Mrs. Gramling [215]*215and her privies, in a suit brought in the superior court of Fulton County, wherein E. L. Douglas was plaintiff and Mrs. Gramling originally was the defendant. On account of the death of Mrs. Gramling her testatrix was made party defendant, and in that case the issue was made and determined, and on September 29, 1916, a general verdict was rendered on said issue in favor of Mrs. Hardin, and a general judgment founded thereon was accordingly entered; wherefore it is contended that Douglas is estopped from asserting that the deed, under which he claims title is valid. The defendant denied all of the allegations of the plaintiff’s petition; and set up that on or after September 1, 1911, and before the filing of the present suit, he made certain improvements upon the Simpson Street property in the nature of repainting, repairing, renewing all plumbing, carpenter work, installing water-heaters, and entirely renovating the houses and increasing the value thereof in the sum of $1200. He also alleged, as to the Simpson Street property, that on June 6, 1911, he purchased the property from plaintiff’s intestate and paid the price agreed upon. As to the West Peachtree Street property, he says that he is still in bona fide possession, • that the lot was vacant and unimproved until on or about September 1, 1917, when he completed improvements on it consisting of a brick building permanent in its character, of the value of $20,000; that before the improvements the lot brought in no rent, but was a source of expense; and that since said improvements the rental value of same has been $225 per month gross. The defendant also contends that he received two warranty deeds hr fee simple to the property in controversy from Mrs. Gramling, plaintiff’s intestate, and at the same time gave an option whereby he agreed to sell this property to Mrs. Gramling and Mrs. nardin oar or before September 1 following, for the amount paid for the property plus $1200. In the option it was stipulated: “It is the intention of the parties that the above deeds represeart an actual bona fide sale, arrd that it is not to be considered as a loan. The said parties of the first part [Mrs. Gramling and Mrs. Hardiar] hereby waive and renounce for themselves, their executors, administrators, heirs and assigns, all right, title, and interest in arrd to the property as described, subject only to the above option, of which time is made the essence of the contract.” This option was signed by Mrs. Gramling, Mrs. Hardin, and Douglas, and was at[216]*216tested by Mrs. Gramling’s attorney at law, and by a notary public. Upon the trial the jury returned a verdict for the defendant. The plaintiff filed a motion for new trial, which was overruled, and she excepted. Other facts appear hereinafter.

The motion for new trial contains fourteen special grounds, nine of which complain of certain excerpts from the charge of the court to the jury, four of refusals to charge, and one of the admission of certain documentary evidence. Ground 6 is as follows: “Because, as movant contends, the court .erred in charging the jury: 'The court instructs you that a determination of a subject-matter in a former suit between the same parties, by a court of competent jurisdiction, should be an end to litigation. A judgment in a court of competent jurisdiction is conclusive between the same parties and their privies, as to all matters actually made and determined which were in fact and necessarily decided by the court. The court instructs you that if the judgment in a former case would have been reached without the point in issue in the latter case being directly or necessarily passed upon, the judgment in the former case would not be conclusive on that point. The real question is, was the identical issue involved, and was it material, or could judgment have been reached without directly and necessarily passing upon the question? The court instructs you that parol evidence is permissible to show that a matter apparently covered by the judgment of a court was really not passed on by the court, and that parol evidence is permissible to show just what issue was passed on by the court. And the court instructs you that if you find from the evidence in this case that Douglas hitherto brought suit against Mrs. Gramling, which was defended by Mrs. Hardin as administratrix, and that the issue was raised and litigated between said parties in that case as to whether a deed made by Mrs. Gramling to Douglas in June, 1911, was void or not, and on that issue the jury found in favor of Mrs. Gramling, or her administratrix, and judgment was accordingly rendered thereon, and if that question was actually decided by that jury, necessarily decided, then, in that event, it would be the duty of the jury in this case to consider such judgment as absolute and binding-on you, and you would not be authorized to find that said (?) was good or valid irrespective of what you gentlemen trying this case might yourselves believe as to that issue. In other words, if [217]*217that question was passed upon in the other case, under the instructions that I am just giving you, this court and this jury would be bound by that decision in the other case.’ Said charge being error because it instructed the jury that in order for an estoppel by judgment to operate, it was necessary that the point in question not only was actually decided in the previous action between the parties, but also must have been necessarily decided; whereas, under the law, even though there were many issues raised in the former action, if the point in controversy was actually decided, an estoppel by judgment as to that particular point or issue is raised under the law.”

The general rule is that in order for a former judgment to bind parties in a subsequent suit by way of estoppel as to any fact, it must appear from the judgment in the former suit, or by extrinsic evidence, that such question of -fact was within the issues of the former action, and was actually litigated and determined in such action. But if such judgment and extrinsic evidence leave it as a mere matter of conjecture as to what questions of fact were litigated and determined in the former action, the judgment is not an estoppel. Draper v. Medlock, 122 Ga. 234 (50 S. E. 113, 69 L. R. A. 483, 2 Ann. Cas. 650); Augir v. Ryan, 63 Minn. 373 (65 N. W. 640). It is true that one of plaintiffs .witnesses testified that the only issue in the former ease was whether the transaction with reference to the property was a loan or a sale.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
147 S.E. 506, 168 Ga. 213, 1929 Ga. LEXIS 103, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hardin-v-douglas-ga-1929.