Western & Atlantic Railroad v. Hughes
Western & Atlantic Railroad v. Hughes
Opinion of the Court
The exceptions pendente lite to the overruling of the defendant’s special demurrers to the original petition on November 28, 1950, though specified in the final bill of exceptions, are not argued or generally insisted upon in the briefs of counsel for the defendant and are treated as abandoned. Code § 6-1308, and numerous cases cited under catchword, “Abandonment.”
The judgment of the trial court which was entered on November 28, 1950, in which it overruled certain special demurrers, sustained certain special demurrers, and allowed the plaintiff ten days (or until December 9, 1950) within which to amend to meet the criticisms of the demurrers, was a valid judgment; and, had the plaintiff permitted the ten-day period of “indulgence” or “grace” to elapse without filing and having such
The effect of the rulings on December 7, 1950, was this: The reallowance of the amendments subject to demurrer, as was true of their first allowance subject to demurrer, ipso facto opened the question of whether such amendments met the criticisms of the defendant’s special demurrers, which had been sustained on November 28, 1950. See Trust Company of Georgia v. Mobley, 40 Ga. App. 468, 473 (150 S. E. 169); and citations. The subsequent order on that date, December 7, 1950, overruling the defendant’s demurrers, superseded the earlier order of November 28, 1950, and this later order adjudicated that the amendments met the criticisms of the demurrers which had been sustained on November 28, 1950. The defendant did not demur
The defendant did not preserve any exceptions, either by exceptions pendente lite or in the bill of exceptions, to the court’s ruling that the amendments had met the criticisms of the demurrers which had been sustained previously; and right or wrong, that ruling, on December 7, 1950, established as the law of the case that the amendments were sufficient.
The defendant’s motion to set aside the judgment of December 7, 1950, overruling the defendant’s demurrers, which has been dealt with above, and to strike the case from the docket, on the ground that the amendments did not meet the criticisms of the demurrers was not meritorious, and the trial court did not err in overruling it. “When a judgment has been rendered, either party may move in arrest thereof, or to set it aside for any .defect not amendable which appears on the face of the record or pleadings.” Code, § 110-702. No such defect appears on the face of the record or pleadings with reference to the court’s ruling of December 7, 1950, upon the sufficiency of the amendments to meet the demurrers. As has been shown above, the defendant’s counsel had notice of the proposed proceedings of December 7, 1950, the court was empowered to proceed as it did, and having established as the law of the case that the amendments met the demurrers, to which no exception
Assuming for the sake of argument that after the hearing on demurrers on December 7, 1950, of which the defendant had notice, that the special demurrers filed on December 12, 13, and 18, 1950, were within time (see Code, Ann. Supp., §§ 81-301, 81-1001, 81-1002; Southern Cotton Oil Co. v. Raines, 171 Ga. 154, 156, 155 S. E. 484, and citations), and we do not here express an opinion on that point, it is a well-established rule that, while an amendment may open the pleadings to demurrer anew, it does not open them to new rulings upon the identical questions previously adjudicated. General Tire & Rubber Co. v. Brown Tire Co., 46 Ga. App. 548 (168 S. E. 75), and citations. The special demurrers filed on December 12, 13, and 18, were essentially upon the same grounds as those of the special demurrers filed on November 27, and overruled by the court on November 28, and December 7.
Coming now to the general demurrers to counts 1 and 2 of the petition, it is, of course, so well known that none will gainsay it, that a general demurrer, going to the whole pleading to which it is addressed, should be overruled if any part thereof is good in substance. Greene v. Kelly, 193 Ga. 675 (19 S. E. 2d, 718); Pardue Medicine Co. v. Pardue, 194 Ga. 516 (22 S. E. 2d, 143); Napier v. Union Cotton Mills, 93 Ga. 587 (20 S. E. 80); May v. Jones, 88 Ga. 308 (14 S. E. 552).
After a rather sedulous consideration of the allegations of both counts 1 and 2, we are of the opinion that each sets forth a cause of action.
In Shaw v. Georgia Railroad Co., 127 Ga. 8, 13 (55 S. E. 960) it is said: “ ‘Where no permission is given, but there is a habit on the part of individuals or the public of traveling over the track on foot, and nothing is done to prevent it, that does not modify or change the legal-rights or obligations of either the public or the company. By such use the public are not tacitly licensed to go upon the track and the consent of the company to the qse is not implied; but the fact that they do go there enters into the situation as it is known to the company, and affects the caution and amount of care required in running the trains.’
Affirmed.
070rehearing
ON MOTION FOR REHEARING.
The court did not overlook the case of Atlantic Refining Co. v. Peerson, 31 Ga. App. 281 (120 S. E. 652). That case is distinguishable from the instant case in that there the court did not revoke its earlier order during the period allowed for amending and had, at the stage when he undertook to do so, already lost jurisdiction of the case.
Rehearing denied.
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