United States Security Warehouse, Inc. v. Tasty Sandwich Co.

156 S.E.2d 392, 115 Ga. App. 764, 1967 Ga. App. LEXIS 1246
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedMay 4, 1967
Docket42505
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 156 S.E.2d 392 (United States Security Warehouse, Inc. v. Tasty Sandwich 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
United States Security Warehouse, Inc. v. Tasty Sandwich Co., 156 S.E.2d 392, 115 Ga. App. 764, 1967 Ga. App. LEXIS 1246 (Ga. Ct. App. 1967).

Opinion

Pannell, Judge.

1. Under Sec. 17 of the Appellate Practice Act of 1965 as amended (Code Ann. § 70-207), it is necessary that an appellant make proper objection to a charge as given or to a request refused and state the grounds therefor, before the jury returns its verdict. This rule is practically identical with Federal Rule 51 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in this respect, so we look to the Federal cases for the purpose of determining the sufficiency of the objections made in the present case. The court failed to give certain numbered re[765]*765quests to charge of the defendant and the exceptions to this failure were in the following language: “Our Request Number 3 was generally on the basis that the jury could not return a verdict for the plaintiff if the jury found that the electric lines were not energized. That was not given, and we except to that. . . We would like to except to the failure to give Charge Number 4. We except to the failure to give Charge Number 7. We except to the failure to give Charge Number 8. We except to the failure to give Charge Number 10. We except to the failure to give Charge Number 11. We except to the failure to give Charge Number 12. We except to the failure to give Charge Number 12 (a). We except to the failure to give Charge Number 13. We except to the failure to give Charge Number 14. We except to the failure to give Charge Number 16. We except to the failure to give Charge Number 17. We except to the failure to give Charge Number 18.”

While the objections as made specified the particular charge and this might in some instances satisfy the requirement that the objection must state distinctly the matter to which one objects, the grounds of objection are nowhere stated.

Where a general exception was made to the failure to give certain requests to charge “in so far as they are in conflict with what” the court charged the jury, the Circuit Court of Appeals of the Eighth Circuit ruled “[t]he Federal courts have always held that an objection in the language quoted presents nothing for an appellate court to review, because it does not indicate specifically wherein the charge given by the court failed to include the law as requested or to point out precisely the alleged conflict between the requests refused and the charge given. Beaver v. Taylor, 93 U. S. 46, 55, 23 L.Ed. 797; American Sugar Refining Company v. Nassif, 1 Cir., 45 F.2d 321, 326; Detroit Edison Co. v. Stricker et al., supra; Hall v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., supra; O’Connor v. Ludlam, 2 Cir., 92 F.2d 50, 54. Rule 51 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which provides that ‘No party may assign as error the giving or the failure to give an instruction unless he objects thereto . . . stating distinctly the matter to which he objects and the grounds of his objection,’ is but a statement of what Federal courts have said prior to the adoption of the rules. The reason for the rule is that fairness to the trial court and to the parties to an action requires that ‘objections to a charge'must [766]*766be sufficiently specific to bring into focus the precise nature of the alleged error.’ Palmer v. Hoffman, 318 U. S. 109, 119, 63 S.Ct. 477, 483, 87 L.Ed. 645, 144 A.L.R. 719; Hall v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., supra; Krug v. Mutual Benefit Health & Accident Ass’n, 8 Cir., 120 F.2d 296, 301. The objection relied on by appellant in this case failed to direct the attention of the trial court specifically to the alleged points of conflict between the court’s charge and the law as stated in appellant’s requests. Neither this court nor the trial court is under the duty of assuming the burden of comparison and analysis of the charge given and the instructions requested which appellant attempts to place upon them.” Hansen v. St. Joseph Fuel Oil &c. Co., 181 F.2d 880, 886.

In the case of Westchester Fire Ins. Co. v. Hanley, 284 F.2d 409, 418 (6 Cir.), the court held that an objection similar to that in the present case was sufficient to save for review the trial court’s refusal to give a request to charge. This decision is in conflict with the very language of the Federal rules and the statute in Georgia. The statute specifically says that the grounds of objection must be given. No grounds of objection were given in the present case. Our ruling here is in accordance with previous rulings of this court. See Georgia Power Co. v. Maddox, 113 Ga. App. 642 (149 SE2d 393).

It follows that the exceptions to the refusals to charge the requests of the defendant as set forth in enumerated errors Nos. 4 through 9, in the absence of sufficiently stated grounds of exceptions, will not be considered on appeal to this court.

2. The following portion of the charge of the court, particularly that underscored, was objected to and error enumerated thereon. “I charge you that while the burden of proof is upon the plaintiff to prove' its right to recover by a preponderance of the evidence, nevertheless in all cases of bailment after proof of loss, the burden of proof is on the bailee to show proper diligence.

“Now, when the plaintiff proves the delivery of goods to the defendant in good condition and proves a loss of or damage to the same while in the defendant bailee’s possession, then the burden is on the defendant bailee to show that the loss was not occasioned by its negligence. Whether or not the defendant has carried this burden is a matter for you, the jury, to determine.

“If you find from a preponderance of the evidence in this case [767]*767that the plaintiff delivered the property to the defendant in good condition and that the property was damaged in the defendant’s possession, and that the defendant has failed to carry the burden of showing proper diligence in the protection of the property and that the loss was proximately caused by one or more of the particulars of negligence alleged in the plaintiff’s petition, then you would return a verdict for the plaintiff.

“On the other hand, if you find from a preponderance of the evidence in the case that the defendant under such circumstances has carried the burden of showing that it used ordinary care with regard to the particulars of negligence charged against it in the plaintiff’s petition, and you further find that such showing, if any, was not rebutted to your satisfaction by the plaintiff, then you would find for the defendant.

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Bluebook (online)
156 S.E.2d 392, 115 Ga. App. 764, 1967 Ga. App. LEXIS 1246, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-security-warehouse-inc-v-tasty-sandwich-co-gactapp-1967.