Myers v. Pearce
Myers v. Pearce
Opinion of the Court
The defects in the brief of evidence did not warrant a dismissal of the writ of error and were corrected by the additional transcript dated December 23, 1959. The motion to dismiss the writ of error is denied. Reserve Life Ins. Co. v. Gay, 99 Ga. App. 661(1) (109 S. E. 2d 919).
It is first contended that tlie court erred in overruling defendant’s general demurrer because the petition failed to allege the defendant’s residence or any other matter which would confer jurisdiction on the court. “All necessary jurisdictional facts must be clearly and distinctly set out in the petition, and their absence may be taken advantage of by demurrer.” Dutton v. Freeman, 213 Ga. 445, 449 (99 S. E. 2d 204) and cit. Where jurisdiction depends upon residence, a petition which fails to allege the residence of the defendant in the county where the action is brought fails to show jurisdiction and is subject either to general demurrer specially pointing out this defect or to special demurrer. Dutton v. Freeman, supra; Weatherly v. Southern Co-Op. Foundry Co., 111 Ga. 826 (36 S. E. 59); Coney v. Horne, 93 Ga. 723 (20 S. E. 213). The demurrer in this case, however, does not specially point out the defect in the petition, but seeks its dismissal on the ground that it “sets out no cause of action against the defendant.” This is not sufficient to raise the question of jurisdiction except in cases where it affirmatively appears from the petition that the court does not have jurisdiction. Burton v. Wadley Sou. Ry. Co., 25 Ga. App. 599, 605 (103 S. E. 881). Here there is nothing to show affirmatively that the court does not have jurisdiction. The petition simply fails to show affirmatively that the court does have jurisdiction. “A petition which fails to show jurisdiction of the person of the defendant, by failing to allege that she is a resident of the county in which the suit is brought, is not subject to a demurrer which does not specially point out that defect.” Moore v. Roberts, 55 Ga. App. 268(2) (190 S. E. 41) and cit. The court did not err in overruling the general demurrer on this ground.
It is further contended that the plaintiff by ordinaiy care could have avoided the consequences to himself caused by the defendant’s negligence and is therefore not entitled to recover.
The defendant demurred specially to the following allegation of paragraph 8 of the amended petition: “Plaintiff avers that it was the duty of the defendant . . . not to drive the same into and against another human being” on the ground that it is an erroneous conclusion of law and is immaterial because a breach of the duty alleged does not in and of itself constitute actionable negligence. In another ground of special- demurrer, the defendant sought to strike the allegation “disregarding her duties” in paragraph 9 of the amended petition for the reason that it failed to specify the duties which the defendant is alleged to have disregarded, which duties she is entitled to know specifically. In demurring specially to these paragraphs the defendant has in each instance lifted a particular phrase out of context from the whole paragraph and then complains that the language used, as in paragraph 8, is an erroneous conclusion of law, which it might be if taken out of context, but when the paragraph is taken and considered as a whole its obvious import is that the defendant was under a duty to and should have used ordinary care in the driving of her automobile on the highways so as to avoid colliding with other human beings thereon. While it is true that in paragraph 9 of the petition, the duties which defendant is charged with having disregarded are not particularized in that specific paragraph, the defendant nevertheless had already, and prior to the allegations of paragraph 9 of the petition, been charged with the duty of operating
For the above reasons the trial court did not err in overruling the special demurrers to paragraphs 8 and 9 of the petition, as amended.
The defendant also demurred specially to the allegations of paragraph 11 (g) concerning impairment or loss of ability to work on the ground that it constitutes “a duplication of damages sought elsewhere in the petition.” Assuming that this demurrer is itself free from imperfection and that it was meritorious, any error in overruling it was rendered harmless by the instructions of the court specifically submitting loss of ability to work and labor as a part of pain and suffering.
The remaining grounds of special demurrer urged by the defendant attack allegations in the petition as to loss of future earnings. Since the plaintiff at the trial abandoned all his claims except for pain and suffering, the prior ruling on these demurrers is moot and will not be considered.
The general grounds of the motion for a new trial are without merit. Special grounds 1 through 3 complain that the verdict was excessive and special ground 4 complains that such verdict was excessive and the result of bias or prejudice because of certain facts alleged to have occurred on the trial of the case.
No error is assigned on the occurrences alleged to have oc
In the present case there was evidence, although not all uncontradicted, of a permanent injury to the plaintiff’s back and spinal column and of an injury to his leg, there was evidence that he, in an effort to prevent further injury and additional pain to his back, should not engage in certain activities, that he had to (and should in the future), sleep on a hard surface, in addition to the evidence referred to with reference to the plaintiff’s pain and suffering. Under these circumstances and the holdings in the above cases as well as the decision in Seaboard Air-Line Ry. v. Miller, 5 Ga. App. 402 (63 S. E. 299), it cannot be said that the verdict was excessive. Special grounds 1 through 4 are without merit.
Special ground 6 complains that the court erred in charging th'e jury that the plaintiff claimed damages for diminished capacity to labor and work as a part of pain and suffering. It is contended that this is erroneous because the plaintiff claimed such damages “as a part of the alleged damages of $37,953 which the court charged the jury the plaintiff had abandoned.” It is well settled that “impairment of ability to work and labor is an element of pain and suffering for which damages may be recovered by one who is physically injured by the negligence of another. It is the fact of impairment or loss of ability to work, with or without compensation, that is to be considered by the jury in determining the amount to be allowed for pain and suffering, and no evidence as to earnings is necessary in such calculation, the only standard of measurement being the enlightened conscience of impartial jurors.” Railway Exp. Agency, Inc. v. Standridge, 68 Ga. App. 836, 837 (24 S. E. 2d 508) and cases cited therein; City of Manchester v. Beavers, 38 Ga. App. 337, 342 (144 S. E. 11); Wall Realty Co. v. Leslie, 54 Ga. App. 560 (3) (188 S. E. 600). In City Council of Augusta v. Drawdy, 75 Ga. App. 543, 549 (43 S. E. 2d 569) this court, after an exhaustive annotation of cases on this subject, concluded: “Our interpretation of these decisions is that, where there is no al
Special ground 8 assigns error on the following charge: “Now, diminished capacity to labor and work is. an element of pain and suffering and is a legitimate item upon which damages may be recovered in consideration of pain and suffering. You are authorized to consider this element, if it exists, in arriving at the damages to be awarded for pain and suffering.” It is contended that there is no evidence to show such diminished capacity, but on the contrary the evidence shows that the plaintiff has had three raises at regular intervals since the accident and is earning a good monthly salary. The jury could find from the evidence that the plaintiff’s ability to lift objects is much less than before the injury; that his back hurts all the time and his left leg goes to sleep on occasions and that he suffers a slight atrophy of this leg. We think the jury could infer from these conditions that the earning capacity of the plaintiff diminished after the injury. As this court held in Southern Hotel Co. v. Evans, 28 Ga. App. 161 (4) (110 S. E. 459): “There being evidence from which the jury could infer that the earning capacity of the plaintiff diminished after the injury, the exception to the charge on this contention of the plaintiff, upon the ground that such charge was unauthorized by the evidence, is without merit. The receipt of higher wages by a person after having been injured does not preclude the idea that his earning capacity has been diminished since the injury.” It therefore appears that there is no merit in this ground of the amended motion.
The remaining special grounds of the amended motion for a new trial complain of the admission of various evidence over objection. In each ground it is averred that the ruling of the
None of the errors complained of requires a reversal of the judgments of the trial court.
Judgments affirmed.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting. I prepared the majority opinion in this case with the exception of divisions 4 and 6. I do not agree with the views expressed in those divisions or in the judgment.
The special demurrer to the allegation of paragraph 8 of the amended petition that it was the duty of the defendant not to drive her automobile into and against another human being is well taken. In Minkovitz v. Fine, 67 Ga. App. 176, 181 (19 S. E. 2d 561) this court observed: “Generally the defendant’s negligence will not be presumed from the mere happening of the accident. In negligence cases the plaintiff has the burden of showing that the defendant failed to perform a duty owing to the plaintiff.” The mere fact that the defendant drove her automobile into and against another human being does not of itself make her liable for the injury. In order to render her liable the collision must be caused by some negligence- on her part which is the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injuries. It was therefore error to overrule this ground of special demurrer. “An error in overruling a demurrer to a pleading is prima facie harmful. Such error is not cured and rendered harmless unless it appears with reasonable certainty that no injury has resulted to the complaining party.” McDonald v. Wimpy,
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