Henderson v. American Hat Mfg. Co.

194 S.E. 254, 57 Ga. App. 10, 1937 Ga. App. LEXIS 540
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedNovember 4, 1937
Docket26344
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 194 S.E. 254 (Henderson v. American Hat Mfg. Co.) 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
Henderson v. American Hat Mfg. Co., 194 S.E. 254, 57 Ga. App. 10, 1937 Ga. App. LEXIS 540 (Ga. Ct. App. 1937).

Opinion

Broyles, 0. J.

A motion to dismiss the writ of error was made on the grounds: (1) that the bill of exceptions was not tendered to the presiding judge within the time required by law, and (3) that no defendant in error is named in the bill of exceptions. The second ground of the motion was abandoned by counsel for the movant; and it suffices to say that, under the record, there is no merit in the third ground. It is undisputed that the judge signed the bill of exceptions on April 9, 1937, and that April 8, 1937, was the last day provided by law for the tender of the bill of exceptions to the judge. However, the judge made the [11]*11following certificate: “Certificate. I do hereby certify that the above and foregoing bill of exceptions was presented at my office on April 8, 1937; that at said time I was ont of the City of Atlanta and the State of Georgia, and at said time was in the State of Tennessee; that I returned to Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, late in the evening of April 8, 1937; that before my departure I instructed A. L. Wallace, a deputy clerk of said court, who acts as my secretary, to receive all papers presented- for my signature, to enter thereon the date said paper was presented to him, and that I would sign said papers as of the date so presented to my secretary. I further certify that on April 8, 1937, Mr. Joseph Jacobs, attorney for plaintiff in error, presented the foregoing bill of exceptions at my office to A. L. Wallace, deputy clerk of this court, who noted on the back the date said paper was presented; that upon my return to the office on the morning of April 9th, 1937, said bill of exceptions was presented to me by Mr. Wallace, with the notation of its presentation to him on April 8th; that I immediately signed said bill of exceptions and returned same to counsel for plaintiff in error for service and filing, all of which I had instructed to be done before leaving for Tennessee earlier in the week. I further certify that the foregoing bill of exceptions is true, and specifies all of the evidence and contains all of the record material to a clear understanding of the errors complained of, and the Clerk of the Municipal Court of Atlanta, Fulton Section, is hereby ordered to make out a complete copy of such parts of the record in said case as are in this bill of exceptions specified, and certify the same as such, and cause the same to be transmitted to the Court of Appeals of Georgia, that the errors alleged to have been committed may be considered and corrected. This 9th day of April, 1937. [Signed] T. 0. Hathcock, Presiding Judge, Appellate Division, Municipal Court of Atlanta, Fulton Section.” This certificate of the presiding judge shows that the bill of exceptions was actually left at his office on April 8, that it was received by a deputy clerk of the court, who was also secretary to the presiding judge, and who was not only authorized but instructed by the presiding judge to receive it for him and in his behalf, and that the judge certified “that the foregoing bill of exceptions is true, and specifies all of the evidence and contains all of the record material to a clear understanding of the errors complained of,” etc.

[12]*12The contention of the defendant that the certificate shows that there was a previous certificate which is not attached to the record, is without merit. The certificate shows that the judge did not return to Atlanta until “late in the evening of April 8, 1937,” and he certified to the bill of exceptions upon his “return to the office on the morning of April 9, 1937;” and this certificate is dated April 9, 1937. The certificate is headed “Certificate," and contains the usual statements in an original certificate, and there is nothing in it to indicate definitely that it is a supplemental certificate, or that the judge signed two certificates on the same day to the same bill of exceptions. The third and last paragraph of the certificate is the usual and regular certificate, and the first and second paragraphs thereof explain that it was tendered on the 8th, and show why it is signed on the 9th instead of the 8th. Trial judges frequently certify to bills of exceptions after the final date of tender. The act of 1933 (Ga. L. 1933, p. 293), in reference to the Atlanta municipal court, does not provide that the bill of exceptions shall be signed by the judge within a specified time; but provides that' the bill of exceptions shall be presented within a specified time. The language of the judge that he immediately “signed,” using the past tense instead of the present tense, may be improvidently chosen, but it is not misleading in the light of the certificate as a whole. In any event, this is the only certificate which appears of record before this court. See, in this connection, Minhinnett v. State, 106 Ga. 141 (32 S. E. 19); Ga., Fla. & Ala. Ry. Co. v. Lasseter, 122 Ga. 679, 684 (51 S. E. 15); Cordray v. Savannah Union Station Co., 134 Ga. 865 (68 S. E. 697); Stilwell v. Watkins, 135 Ga. 149 (68 S. E. 1114); Sweat v. Barnhill, 171 Ga. 294 (3) (155 S. E. 18); City of East Point v. Christian, 40 Ga. App. 633 (1, 4) (151 S. E. 42); Crawford v. Cook, 48 Ga. App. 456 (173 S. E. 187). Since this is the only certificate of record before this court, it follows that those cases, cited by the movant, wherein there were two certificates are not applicable to this case. The motion to dismiss the writ of error is denied.

The bill of exceptions recites that Mrs. B. C. Henderson filed suit in the municipal court of Atlanta against the American Hat Manufacturing Company Inc., for $182; that the defendant failed to appear on the return day, and a default judgment was taken against it; that the defendant filed a motion, and an amendment [13]*13thereto, to set aside the default judgment; that the trial judge, after hearing evidence, set aside the default judgment and ordered that the case be assigned for trial; and on this order the plaintiff assigned error in an appeal to the appellate division of the municipal court of Atlanta; that the appellate division of the municipal court sustained the trial judge; and on this judgment the plaintiff assigns error in her bill of exceptions to this court. Counsel for the defendant company, in his motion to set aside the default judgment, alleged that the suit was returnable to the December term of court, and that when copy of same was received by him he read the same over, and “through inadvertence and negligence” thought the suit was returnable to the January term, and so marked his files. This “is not such excusable neglect as will authorize the judge, in the exercise of the sound discretion vested in him under the statute, to allow the default to be opened.” Ingalls v. Lamar, 115 Ga. 296 (41 S. E. 573); Martin v. Shields, 144 Ga. 179 (86 S. E. 538); Moore v. Kelly & Jones Co., 109 Ga. 798 (2) (35 S. E. 168); Jackson v. Grant, 152 Ga. 751 (111 S. E. 192).

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Bluebook (online)
194 S.E. 254, 57 Ga. App. 10, 1937 Ga. App. LEXIS 540, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/henderson-v-american-hat-mfg-co-gactapp-1937.