Smith v. Kelley
Smith v. Kelley
Opinion of the Court
This is the second appearance of this case in this court. Smith v. Kelley, 43 Ga. App. 706. Smith and others, as trustees, brought suit in the superior court of Tatnall county against Kelley on a promissory note dated May 4, 1926, in the sum of $5600, bearing interest from date, and having a credit thereon of $2262.26 dated November 1, 1927, and a credit of $324.60 dated December 3, 1928. In the petition there was an allegation setting up that notice of the bringing of said suit to the October term, 1929, of the superior court of Tatnall county was given the defendant in order to bind him for fifteen per cent, attorney’s fees as provided therein. A verdict in favor of plaintiffs was directed, in the sum of $23.38 principal with interest from October 12, 1929, at 8% per annum, and $647.25 attorney’s fees. On motion by the defendant the trial court granted a new trial, and the plaintiffs excepted thereto. This court in its former opinion, supra, said: “The defendant having by plea admitted the plaintiffs’ right to recover an alleged balance due on a note and attorney’s fees, ‘unless the defendant makes good his defense’ that prior to the return day of the court he tendered the plaintiff the full amount of principal and interest due at the time of the tender, and it appearing from the record and the uncontradicted evidence that the suit was for a balance due of $4,010 with interest at 8 per cent, per annum from November 1, 1928, and attorney’s fees as contracted for in the note, and that the sum tendered, which was $4,292.26, was not tendered earlier than September 26, 1929, and was therefore $7.40 less than
Before the case was tried the second time the defendant amended his plea and alleged that on September 27, 1929, he tendered to the plaintiff $4292.26, which was the full amount due, the same being in solvent bank exchange as had been requested by plaintiff, in settlement of said note, believing in good faith that was the full amount due thereon, and at the time made the following request: “If for any reason this is not the correct amount due, kindly advise me and I will adjust it,’ defendant meaning this as an offer to pay such correct amount as might be due when the same was ascertained;” that this offer was and has been a continuing offer, and the very exchange offered on September 27 was afterwards cashed by plaintiff and applied as a credit on said note. By amendment the plea admitting a prima facie case was stricken and the date of payment was alleged to be September 27, 1929, and there was attached thereto an itemized calculation and it was alleged that said sum of $4292.26 actually overpaid the amount due on September 27 by eighteen cents. It will be seen therefore that the pleadings in the present case present a different case from those in the first trial.
The evidence showed that notice of attorney’s fees was sent to the defendant September 18, 1929. C. L. Smith was a party plaintiff and also attorney, and seems to have been acting for the other holders of the note. It was shown by the evidence that the defendant, on September 26, procured from the Tattnall County Bank, in Beidsville, exchange on the Citizens and Southern Bank of Savannah, in the sum of $4292.26, and mailed the same on the afternoon of the 26th to C. L. Smith, at Valdosta, Georgia. It was further shown that in the ordinary course of mail transmission, the letter should have reached Valdosta by the afternoon of the 27th of September. It was further shown by letters written by plaintiff to defendant that it was suggested that remittances on said note be sent by “Atlanta or Savannah Exchange, and that other remittances had
In granting the new trial complained of in this case the trial judge said: “The Court of Appeals held in this case that the defendant lacked $7.40 of tendering the principal and interest, and for this reason the tender was not good. I directed the verdict accordingly, and for some reason the plaintiff took verdict for more than that amount. So far as I have been able to see, no two persons have calculated the amount due the same. There is no dispute as to the amount of the note or as to the amount of the several payments.” The trial court further said, in the order granting a new trial, that if interest were calculated up to September 30, 1929, there would be only $2.52 principal due after crediting the $4292.26 as of that date. “ Moreover, it is probable that the cause before me is somewhat different from what it was before the Court of Appeals. I have not the record, but it is rare that the case is the same on the second trial. In deciding this motion I am not unmindful that the judgment of the Court of Appeals in the case is the law of the case. Nor do I overlook that an attorney can not accept anything but cash in payment, that checks until paid are not payment, and in considering this case it is interesting to observe, plaintiff’s counsel suggested in a letter on October 20, 1927, that if defendant would reduce his note to $4000 that payment for the balance would be extended, and thereupon defendant sent him Savannah exchange for
We are convinced that the learned trial judge is correct in ordering a new trial. Under the allegations of the plea and the evidence submitted, the jury would have been warranted in finding that the parties had by conduct and agreement made the exchange offered such a medium as to make it a valid tender rather than currency. The exchange was unquestionably tendered unconditionally. It did request plaintiff to execute transfer of the deed he held as a security for the note, but this the plaintiff had offered to do in his letter of September 18th as follows: “I will be glad to send papers transferred to your bank or such other person as you request.” Furthermore, the defendant did not make such a request a condition to the payment of the exchange. A debtor has until return day to pay the obligation in order to relieve himself of attorney’s fees and costs, and until suit is actually filed on the return day itself. A creditor may file suit at any hour on return day and a tender after that time will not avail the debtor to avoid attorney’s fees and costs. Holland v. Mutual Fertilizer Co., 8 Ga. App. 714 (70 S. E. 151). The return day was October 1. The tender was made either September 27, or on September 30 at the outside, and if it was a valid tender, it relieved the defendant from costs and attorney’s fees.
We come now to consider the question of amount of tender. It does not appear that the plaintiff has ever claimed any certain or
The present case, as suggested by the trial judge, presents a different complexion and issue from the former trial. We are saying this because we are mindful of what has already been decided by this court with respect to this matter. We are also mindful of the principle laid down in the Henderson case, supra, and are unwilling to say that a defendant, if the jury shall hold that he has made a valid tender by reason of conduct and agreement of parties, shall be taxed in the sum of $645 attorney’s fees because of an alleged error in calculation. It was a question for the jury to determine under proper instructions by the court whether the plaintiff, as was pleaded by the defendant, had by his letters and conduct induced the defendant to believe that exchange on the Citizens and Southern Bank of Savannah would be accepted in payment instead of actual currency. The defendant tendered such exchange before the re
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.