Parrish v. Yeiser

298 S.W.2d 556, 41 Tenn. App. 690, 1955 Tenn. App. LEXIS 70
CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedNovember 3, 1955
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 298 S.W.2d 556 (Parrish v. Yeiser) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Parrish v. Yeiser, 298 S.W.2d 556, 41 Tenn. App. 690, 1955 Tenn. App. LEXIS 70 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1955).

Opinion

CARNEY, J.

These two cases arose out of the deaths of two small hoys who were riding the same bicycle when struck by an automobile driven by the defendant Hugh Anderson Thompson. Wayne Douglas Parrish was 11 years of age and W. C. Rose was 11 years of age.

The accident happened about 5:45 p. m. February 15, 1954, in or near the town of Savannah, Tennessee.

Both declarations charged the defendant, Thompson, with active negligence in driving the automobile.

The defendant, Emmett Yeiser, an automobile dealer in Savannah, Tennessee, was charged with negligence as follows: That Yeiser furnished the automobile to Thompson to drive in order to get Thompson’s support in the sale of the automobile to Thompson’s father; that the defendant, Hugh Anderson Thompson had been injured in an automobile wreck on Dee. 29, 1953, and that on Feb. 15, 1954, when Yeiser furnished Thompson with the car, Thompson’s face was bandaged so that his vision was partially obscured. The declaration further alleged that Yeiser knew or should have known that Thompson’s vision was impaired and that Thompson was an incompetent driver. Hence, Yeiser should also be held liable in damages for the wrongful death of these two boys.

Both cases were tried together.

*693 The Trial Judge directed a verdict in favor of the defendant Yeiser at the conclnsion of all the proof and submitted the two cases to the jury on the question of Thompson’s negligence.

The jury was unable to agree as to Thompson’s liability. The jury was discharged after which the plaintiff took a non-suit as to the defendant Thompson and moved for a new trial as to the defendant Yeiser.

The record shows that the motions for a new trial as to defendant Yeiser were overruled by the Trial Judge on April 20, 1955, and plaintiffs were granted 30 days in which to file a Bill of Exceptions and perfect appeals to the Court of Appeals.

Prom page 23 of the record in this Court we quote the order extending time in which to prepare the Bill of Exceptions and perfect the appeals:

“Wednesday Morning May 25, 1955, Court Met Pursuant To Adjournment Present And Presiding The Hon. Andrew T. Taylor, etc. When The Following Proceedings Were Had and Entered of Eecord To-Wit:
“Order of Extension of Time For Perfecting Appeal and Filing Bond.
“Alvin Parrish, Administrator of the estate of Wayne Douglas Parrish vs. Hugh Anderson Thompson and Emmett Yeiser
No. 1783 In the Circuit Court for Hardin County, Tennessee
*694 “Order.
“On motion of the plaintiff, Alvin Parrish., Administrator of estate of Wayne Douglas Parrish supported by good cause shown, the plaintiff is allowed thirty days additional time, being from May 20,1955, fon the perfecting of his appeal, preparation of his Bill of Exceptions, and to file his cost bond for appeal to the Court of Appeals.
“The plaintiff’s Motion for A new Trial was overruled on April 20, 1955, and at that time he was granted the original 30 days for the preparation and perfecting of his appeal.
“Andrew T. Taylor
Judge.
“This order was marked by the Clerk ‘Piled May 20, 1955, J. S. Smith, Clerk.’ ”

The original thirty days granted by the Trial Judge expired on May 20, 1955, and if the order shown on the minutes of the Court for Wednesday, May 25, 1955, quoted above was ineffective as of May 20,1955, then the extension is void and the Bill of Exceptions was filed too late and the appeals perfected too late and the judgments of the lower Court must be affirmed in both cases.

Plaintiffs-in-error have sought to correct the record by affidavits. The appellate court must try'the cause upon the record as certified by the clerk and we hold that affidavits are incompetent to vary or contradict the record as certified by the clerk.

In the case of Chattanooga Dayton Bus Line v. Burney, 160 Tenn. 294, 23 S. W. (2d) 669, it was held that where a nunc pro tunc order was entered of record on the minutes of date May 28,1928, overruling a motion for a new trial *695 and granting time for filing a Bill of Exceptions and reciting that said motion was actually heard and disposed of on May 7, 1928, that the time for filing said Bill of Exceptions actually began to run on May 7, 1928.

In Anderson v. State, 195 Tenn. 155, 258 S. W. (2d) 741, the Trial Judge on Feb. 21,1953, signed a nunc pro tunc order purporting to extend the time for filing a Bill of Exceptions from Nov. 8,1952, and recited that the order should have been entered on Nov. 8,1952. The Supreme Court held that since the order was not actually signed within the original thirty-day period the nunc pro tunc order was ineffectual to extend the time.

In these cases at bar, the order extending time was entered on the minutes of the Circuit Court as of date May 25, 1955, but the statement made by the clerk, also contained on the minutes, shows that the order, which appears regular and to have been signed by the Trial Judge, was filed in the clerk’s office on May 20, 1955. Therefore, we hold that the record before us shows that an order granting an extension of time signed by the Trial Judge was filed in the office of the clerk on May 20, 1955 and that for some reason unexplained the order was not entered upon the minutes of the Circuit Court of Hardin County until Wednesday, May 25, 1955.

Therefore, we hold that the order granting an extension of time was valid and the Bill of Exceptions was properly approved and filed within the period covered by the extension of time.

What we have said above in connection with the Bill of Exceptions applies also to the filing of an appeal bond in the case of Parrish v. Yeiser.

*696 In the case of Arnold v. Yeiser there was no appeal bond filed and only a cashier’s check deposited with the clerk which the clerk accepted within the extended time described above. Defendant-in-error insists that this is not a proper appeal bond and that therefore this appeal nmst be dismissed. Upon the oral argument in this Court the plaintiff-in-error, Mrs. Bessie Arnold, executed and tendered an appeal bond in the event that this Court should determine that the cashier’s check was insufficient to perfect the appeal.

We are cited to no case holding that a plaintiff-in-error may not put up cash in lieu of an appeal bond. It appears to us that the purpose of the usual appeal bond is to guarantee payment of the costs in case the plaintiff-in-error is cast on his appeal. Obviously the costs of a cause could be collected out of cash on deposit with the Clerk easier than by judgment and levy of execution against an appellant and his sureties.

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Bluebook (online)
298 S.W.2d 556, 41 Tenn. App. 690, 1955 Tenn. App. LEXIS 70, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/parrish-v-yeiser-tennctapp-1955.