Williams v. Lane
Williams v. Lane
Opinion of the Court
The sole question to be decided in both cases is whether the trial court erred in refusing to grant the. defendants’ motion for a continuance, which motion was made after the plaintiffs’ counsel asked the prospective jurors: “Are any of you policy holders in the American Fire & Casualty Insurance Company?”
Assuming, but not deciding, that the motion was proper (See Fievet v. Curl, 96 Ga. App. 535, 536, 101 S. E. 2d 181), the question asked the prospective jurors was not an improper question per se. In the case of Parker v. Bryan, 96 Ga. App. 283, 284 (99 S. E. 2d 810), it was held not to be error for the prospective jurors to be asked: “Are either of you policy holders, stockholders, employees of, or relatives of any stockholders, employees or policy holders in the Great American Indemnity Company?” In that case, as in the present case, interest of the insurance company was admitted, and here it is admitted that stockholders and employees and their relatives were properly purged from the prospective jurors, and the sole objection deals with the policy holders, and under the decision in the Parker case, supra, and Code Ann. § 59-705 such question was proper. There was no showing, and this court cannot take judicial notice, of whether the insurance company was a “stock” or “mutual” company or whether it issued contracts whereby the policy holders received dividends. The trial court did not err in overruling the motions for new trial.
Judgments affirmed.
Concurring Opinion
concurring specially. The gravamen of the exception in this case is that the following question was propounded to prospective jurors: “Are any of you policy holders in the American Fire & Casualty Insurance Company?” and that the effect of the question was to inform the members of the jury that the insurance company was interested in the outcome of the case. It does not appear in the special ground of the amended motion that any juror disqualified by reason of such question. The court, after having asked the above question of the jury, qualified the jury with reference to their employment by the insurance company, as to whether they
Reference
- Full Case Name
- WILLIAMS Et Al. v. LANE (Two Cases)
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published