Moore v. Green

70 S.E.2d 782, 86 Ga. App. 70, 1952 Ga. App. LEXIS 877
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedApril 17, 1952
Docket34001
StatusPublished

This text of 70 S.E.2d 782 (Moore v. Green) 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
Moore v. Green, 70 S.E.2d 782, 86 Ga. App. 70, 1952 Ga. App. LEXIS 877 (Ga. Ct. App. 1952).

Opinion

Gardner, P. J.

The defendant, W. E. Green, moves to dismiss the bill of exceptions, on the ground that it “is not certified to or approved as true, as required by statute; that the bill of exceptions itself verifies it in part only and shows it to be in part untrue, and for that reason” should be dismissed, as it is not such a bill of exceptions as is required by law, and because same is not as “a whole approved by the court, in that the bill of exceptions recites on page 2 . . as follows: ‘Be it further remembered that plaintiff objected to the allowance of said amendment upon the ground that it was contradictory to the plaintiff’s theory of the case, and was not a proper matter to constitute a part of the defendant’s counterclaim which was brought in only one count as it attempted to set up an entirely different theory of the defendant’s right to recover as the plaintiff in counterclaim against W. Frazier Moore as defendant in. counterclaim. (Not approved—see notation of court on the exceptions pendente lite, Vm. W. Mundy, J. S. C. T. C.) ’ ” The certificate to the bill of exceptions recites, “I do certify that the foregoing bill of exceptions is true,” without qualification.

The exceptions pendente lite show: that on the trial the defendant offered an amendment to his answer, in which he alleged that “as an additional defense [he added] the defense that he was placed in an emergency by an automobile hitting him from the rear and knocking him across the left-hand side of the road in front of plaintiff’s car”; that the plaintiff objected thereto “on the ground it was contradictory to the plaintiff’s theory of the case and was not a proper matter to constitute a part of plaintiff’s counterclaim, which was brought in only one count, as it attempted to set up an entirely different theory of [72]*72defendant’s right to recover as plaintiff in counterclaim against W. Frazier Moore as defendant in counterclaim”; and that said amendment was allowed over the plaintiff’s objection on February 20, 1951, “and the substance of said amendment and the contentions set out therein were charged to the jury on the trial of the case.”

On the margin of these pendente lite exceptions, is the following notation, signed by the judge: “When the entire stenographic record is submitted on this motion hearing I fail to find any objection to the amendment and my recollection is none was made. This Dec. 18, 1951.” This is the notation referred to in the notation made on the margin of the second page of the bill of exceptions to this court. The bill of exceptions is certified, without qualification, as being true, and the cases referred to in the brief of the defendant in error, such as Youmans v. Consumers Financing Corp., 80 Ga. App. 676 (57 S. E. 2d, 238), and others, to the effect that, when a bill of exceptions is not certified as true without qualification, the same will be dismissed in this court, are not applicable. However, where certain recitals of fact, contained in a bill of exceptions, are not approved by the court as true, and there is a notation to that effect in the bill of exceptions, although the certificate recites that the bill of exceptions is true and correct, this notation and failure to approve certain recitals of fact as true, does not render the bill of exceptions subject to dismissal, but such recited facts embodied in these recitals will not be considered by the court in passing on the errors complained of in the bill of exceptions. This case will be passed upon as if there was no objection filed to the allowance of the amendment by the defendant on February 20, 1951. It follows that the motion to dismiss the bill of exceptions is denied.

The exceptions pendente lite, in which the plaintiff sets out that the court below erred in allowing the amendment of the defendant of February 20, 1951, to his counterclaim, are not approved by the trial court and will not be considered.

The plaintiff’s petition, as amended, shows that the collision resulting in the injury sued for took place on January 2, 1949. The petition was filed December 29, 1950. The defendant’s answer, in which he claims certain damages growing [73]*73out of this collision, was filed August 15, 1951, more than two years after the collision and the accrual of the damages asked for in the answer. The plaintiff moved orally to strike from the defendant’s answer the allegations thereof relating to the defendant’s claim for damages, as being barred under the provisions of Code § 3-1004. The court overruled these objections, and the plaintiff filed his exceptions pendente lite, assigning error thereon in the bill of exceptions. The jury returned a verdict finding against the plaintiff and for the defendant, but did not find in favor of the defendant for the damages claimed in his counterclaim. The finding of the jury was favorable to the plaintiff insofar as the defendant’s counterclaim for damages was concerned. It is unnecessary to pass upon the error assigned in these exceptions pendente lite, that is, on the ruling of the court refusing to strike from the defendant’s answer allegations referring to the damages which the defendant seeks to recover in the counterclaim. Alleged errors of law relating to an issue on which the finding of the jury was favorable to the plaintiff in error do not constitute a ground for reversal. The plaintiff cannot properly complain thereof. Such an assignment of error will not be considered by this court. Bowen v. Holland, 184 Ga. 718 (193 S. E. 233); Dawson &c. Co. v. Montezuma Fertilizer Co., 19 Ga. App. 42 (90 S. E. 984); Hardin v. Almand, 64 Ga. 582; Reeves v. Lancaster, 159 Ga. 540 (126 S. E. 480); Southern Cotton Oil Co. v. Thomas, 155 Ga. 99 (117 S. E. 456). The plaintiff in error must show that the error complained of was prejudicial to him. Richter v. Cann, 191 Ga. 103 (11 S. E. 2d, 774). He was not prejudiced by a finding on an issue favorable to him. A plaintiff in error cannot complain of a favorable verdict, even where the same is error,. being unauthorized by the pleadings and the evidence. Greenwood v. Starr, 174 Ga. 503 (163 S. E. 500).

The same would be true as regards the amendment to the defendant’s answer and counterclaim, to the allowance of which the plaintiff objected and the court overruled the objection, if this were properly before this court for its consideration.

In special ground 1 of the motion for new trial, the plaintiff says that the court erred in charging the jury as follows: “Or it may be when you come to the evidence you may find it [74]*74to be an accident and neither party is responsible. That is, if someone driving a car in the rear of the defendant’s car ran into him, and his running into him causing his car to go across the center line and hit the Buick car as the defendant says he did, he would not be responsible unless he contributed or participated in the act of the party hitting him.

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Related

Youmans v. CONSUMERS FINANCING CORPORATION
57 S.E.2d 238 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1950)
Richter v. Cann
11 S.E.2d 774 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1940)
Hardin v. Almand
64 Ga. 582 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1880)
Southern Cotton Oil Co. v. Thomas
117 S.E. 456 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1923)
Reeves v. Lancaster
126 S.E. 480 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1925)
Greenwood v. Starr
163 S.E. 500 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1932)
Bowen v. Holland
193 S.E. 233 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1937)
Dawson Paper Shell Pecan Co. v. Montezuma Fertilizer Co.
90 S.E. 984 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1916)

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Bluebook (online)
70 S.E.2d 782, 86 Ga. App. 70, 1952 Ga. App. LEXIS 877, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moore-v-green-gactapp-1952.