Myers v. Pearce

115 S.E.2d 842, 102 Ga. App. 235, 1960 Ga. App. LEXIS 596
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedJune 22, 1960
Docket38121
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 115 S.E.2d 842 (Myers v. Pearce) 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
Myers v. Pearce, 115 S.E.2d 842, 102 Ga. App. 235, 1960 Ga. App. LEXIS 596 (Ga. Ct. App. 1960).

Opinions

Felton, Chief Judge.

The defects in the brief of evidence did not warrant a dismissal of the writ of error and were corrected by the additional transcript dated December 23, 1959. The motion to dismiss the writ of error is denied. Reserve Life Ins. Co. v. Gay, 99 Ga. App. 661(1) (109 S. E. 2d 919).

It is first contended that tlie court erred in overruling defendant’s general demurrer because the petition failed to allege the defendant’s residence or any other matter which would confer jurisdiction on the court. “All necessary jurisdictional facts must be clearly and distinctly set out in the petition, and their absence may be taken advantage of by demurrer.” Dutton v. Freeman, 213 Ga. 445, 449 (99 S. E. 2d 204) and cit. Where jurisdiction depends upon residence, a petition which fails to allege the residence of the defendant in the county where the action is brought fails to show jurisdiction and is subject either to general demurrer specially pointing out this defect or to special demurrer. Dutton v. Freeman, supra; Weatherly v. Southern Co-Op. Foundry Co., 111 Ga. 826 (36 S. E. 59); Coney v. Horne, 93 Ga. 723 (20 S. E. 213). The demurrer in this case, however, does not specially point out the defect in the petition, but seeks its dismissal on the ground that it “sets out no cause of action against the defendant.” This is not sufficient to raise the question of jurisdiction except in cases where it affirmatively appears from the petition that the court does not have jurisdiction. Burton v. Wadley Sou. Ry. Co., 25 Ga. App. 599, 605 (103 S. E. 881). Here there is nothing to show affirmatively that the court does not have jurisdiction. The petition simply fails to show affirmatively that the court does have jurisdiction. “A petition which fails to show jurisdiction of the person of the defendant, by failing to allege that she is a resident of the county in which the suit is brought, is not subject to a demurrer which does not specially point out that defect.” Moore v. Roberts, 55 Ga. App. 268(2) (190 S. E. 41) and cit. The court did not err in overruling the general demurrer on this ground.

[241]*241It is further argued that the general demurrer should have been sustained because the petition shows on its face that the plaintiff failed to exercise due care for his own safety. “A workman employed in working on or along the street or highway is required to exercise such care as a reasonably prudent or careful person would exercise under the same circumstances, and is justified in assuming that the driver of an automobile will exercise some care to avoid striking him. He may assume that such driver will use reasonable care and caution commensurate with visible conditions, and that he will approach with his car under reasonable control, and will observe and obey the rules of the road. To state the rule another way, a worker in the street or highway may assume that the driver of a vehicle will exercise due care to avoid injury to him, taking into account his required presence in the highway and his probable preoccupation with his task. While a worker engaged in the performance of tasks in the street or highway cannot utterly disregard the matter of his own safety from passing motor vehicles or wagons, his duty of care or vigilance is not the same as that of an ordinary pedestrain crossing a street or highway. Since his duties require his presence in the highway he occupies a special status, which must be considered in determining the degree of care he must exercise for his own safety. One employed at work in a street must necessarily devote his attention to his work and he should not be held guilty of contributory negligence merely because of a failure to keep a sharp lookout for approaching vehicles. He is not obliged to- neglect his work to escape collision with those not exercising reasonable care, and is not required to keep a constant lookout for approaching vehicles.” 5A Am. Jur. 705, Automobiles, § 738. Applying these principles to the case now before us, we conclude that the plaintiff, during his alleged work as a surveyor, was entitled to be upon the roadway and that it was a question for the jury whether he exercised such care during the performance of his duty1 as a reasonably prudent person would exercise under the same circumstances.

It is further contended that the plaintiff by ordinaiy care could have avoided the consequences to himself caused by the defendant’s negligence and is therefore not entitled to recover. [242]*242Code § 105-603. It is true that where the danger is apparent or is reasonably to be apprehended, the rule requiring the- plaintiff to avoid the consequences of defendant’s negligence applies. Buchanan v. Atlanta Newspapers, Inc., 95 Ga. App. 428, 430 (98 S. E. 2d 96) and cit. While it is possible that under the allegations of the petition the plaintiff might have observed the approach of the defendant’s vehicle, we cannot say as a matter of law that he could have or should have observed the acts of negligent driving alleged in the petition in time to have avoided their unfortunate consequences to himself. Under the facts here alleged the determination of these issues lies peculiarly within the province of the jury and the court did not err in overruling the general demurrer to the amended petition.

The defendant demurred specially to the following allegation of paragraph 8 of the amended petition: “Plaintiff avers that it was the duty of the defendant . . . not to drive the same into and against another human being” on the ground that it is an erroneous conclusion of law and is immaterial because a breach of the duty alleged does not in and of itself constitute actionable negligence. In another ground of special- demurrer, the defendant sought to strike the allegation “disregarding her duties” in paragraph 9 of the amended petition for the reason that it failed to specify the duties which the defendant is alleged to have disregarded, which duties she is entitled to know specifically. In demurring specially to these paragraphs the defendant has in each instance lifted a particular phrase out of context from the whole paragraph and then complains that the language used, as in paragraph 8, is an erroneous conclusion of law, which it might be if taken out of context, but when the paragraph is taken and considered as a whole its obvious import is that the defendant was under a duty to and should have used ordinary care in the driving of her automobile on the highways so as to avoid colliding with other human beings thereon. While it is true that in paragraph 9 of the petition, the duties which defendant is charged with having disregarded are not particularized in that specific paragraph, the defendant nevertheless had already, and prior to the allegations of paragraph 9 of the petition, been charged with the duty of operating [243]*243her vehicle with ordinary care and in conformity with the traffic laws. Moreover, in the petition, as amended, it was- charged that she was, at the time, not keeping a sharp lookout ahead, that she failed in her duty to keep to the right side of the road, failed to apply her brakes, operated her car at a speed that was greater than was reasonable and safe having due regard to the conditions then existing, including the width, grade, character, traffic and common use of the road and in such manner as to endanger life and limb, and that she failed to anticipate and detect the plaintiff’s presence in the road and avoid striking him.

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Myers v. Pearce
115 S.E.2d 842 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1960)

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Bluebook (online)
115 S.E.2d 842, 102 Ga. App. 235, 1960 Ga. App. LEXIS 596, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/myers-v-pearce-gactapp-1960.