Langford v. Edmondson
Langford v. Edmondson
Opinion of the Court
The third special ground of the motion for a new trial is in the following language: “Because the court directed a verdict against movants at the conclusion of the introduction of evidence. That the case should have been submitted to the jury and the refusal to do so was hurtful to movants because there was not sufficient evidence to authorize a verdict against movants and said verdict was contrary to the evidence and the law governing the case.” This is the only ground that purports to assign error on the action of the court in directing the verdict and as will be seen the only reason assigned as to why the verdict was improperly directed is that “there was not sufficient evidence to authorize a verdict against movants and said verdict was contrary to the evidence and the law governing the case.” This is nothing more than an amplification and restatement of the general grounds of the motion, and under the repeated rulings of this court and of the Supreme Court is not a sufficient assignment of error to raise the question of the propriety of the judgment directing the verdict. See, for example, Head v. Towaliga Falls Power Co., 27 Ga. App. 142 (107 S. E. 558); Stone v. Hebard Lumber Co., 145 Ga. 729 (2) (89 S. E. 814); Alley v. Candler, 155 Ga. 739 (1) (118 S. E. 354). In this connection, then, we have for consideration only the question of whether the evidence authorized the verdict directed. The evidence, while conflicting in some material particulars, was sufficient to support the verdict, and the trial court did not err in overruling the motion for a new trial on the general grounds, and on the third special ground.
The second special ground of the motion for a new trial complains because the court excluded testimony by Woodrow Shelton that all of the money received by him was applied by him to debts which would have been liens against the property of the defendants. While it is competent for the owner of the real estate to defend the foreclosure of a materialman’s lien by showing that he has paid to the prime contractor the full contract
The first ground of the amendment to the motion for a new trial assigns error on the refusal of the trial court to grant a nonsuit at the conclusion of the plaintiff’s evidence, on the ground that no suit against the prime contractor for the recovery of the amount due had been filed by the plaintiff. It is well settled that exceptions to the refusal of the trial court to grant a nonsuit may not be made the ground of a motion for a new trial. Don v. Don, 163 Ga. 31 (3) (135 S. E. 409); Willis v. Seiberling Rubber Co., 44 Ga. App. 468 (8) (161 S. E. 789).
With respect to the general grounds and the right of the plaintiff to maintain this action without first suing the prime contractor, Shelton, the evidence in this case sufficiently shows that the prime contractor, Shelton, had been adjudicated a bankrupt and that he had by the judgment of the United States District Court of the Northern District of Georgia, been discharged from his civil liabilities. Under such state of facts the provisions of the second paragraph of subsection 3 of § 67-2002 (Ga. Code, Ann. Supp.) would seem to apply. The pertinent portion of the paragraph is as follows: “In the event any contractor procuring material, labor or supplies for building, repairing or improving any real estate, building, or other structure shall abscond or remove from the State within 12 months from the date such labor, supplies or material are furnished him, so that personal jurisdiction cannot be obtained of said contractor in a suit for said material labor or supplies, or if, after the filing of suit against such contractor, no final judgment can be obtained against him for the value of such material, labor or supplies, by reason of the bankruptcy of said contractor and his subsequent
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.