Green v. Wilkerson
Green v. Wilkerson
Opinion of the Court
1. While it is true (a) that only one who was a party to the cause in the trial court has a right to sue out a bill of exceptions in which he names himself as sole plaintiff in error, and (b) that one vouched in by the defendant in the trial court is not properly a party defendant to the law action and cannot be made such party defendant to the record over the objection of the plaintiff (Masters v. Pardue, 91 Ga. App. 684, 86 S. E. 2d 704, affirmed, 211 Ga. 772, 88 S. E. 2d 385), and (c) that in a garnishment proceeding undissolved the only parties are the plaintiff and the garnishee, and the defendant in fi. fa. is not such a party to the record as will entitle him to move to set aside the judgment (Rowe v. Peoples Credit Clothing Co., 37 Ga. App. 535, 140 S. E. 800) or appeal from the judgment rendered therein (Leake v. Tyner, 112 Ga. 919, 38 S. E. 343); nevertheless, in the present garnishment proceedings where the garnishee vouched in the defendant in fi. fa. who, without being made a formal party to the proceedings, conducted the defense to the action through his attorney and thereafter filed a motion for
2. The issue for decision in this garnishment proceeding is whether the judgment debt on which the garnishment was run had been discharged by the discharge in bankruptcy of the defendant in fi. fa. The defendant garnishee pleaded the debt schedule and discharge in bankruptcy, upon which it based its defense, admitting indebtedness, and it accordingly became a question for proof as to whether the conclusion of the garnishee that the debt had in fact been discharged was meritorious. The defendant in fi. fa. and garnishee contended that the discharge “except such debts as are, by said [Bankruptcy] Act, excepted from the operation of a discharge in bankruptcy” applied to this judgment debt arising from a tort action involving an automobile collision. The plaintiff contends that such judgment comes under 11 U.S.C.A. §35 (a) (2) excepting debts for wilful and malicious injuries to the person or property of another.
The petition, verdict and judgment in the tort action were introduced in evidence. The verdict and judgment merely showed an adjudication in favor of the plaintiff. The petition alleged that the plaintiff was parked on the right side of the county line adjacent to the extreme right side of the road and was walking behind the automobile; that the defendant approached from the rear, on the left side of the road, with plenty of room to pass; that when he was 40 feet from the plaintiff he suddenly and without warning cut to the right and directly into the plaintiff and the rear of the plaintiff’s car, although visibility was good and nothing prevented him from observing the plaintiff’s dangerous position; that the defendant was intoxicated to the extent that it was less safe for him to drive; that the plaintiff was thrown about five feet from the point of impact and his left leg was bleeding so severely he stated to
This case is distinguished from Currence v. Fisher Body Co., 54 Ga. App. 457 (188 S. E. 268), in that there the petition was duplicitous, charging both negligence and wilful misconduct,
3. The special grounds of the amended motion for new trial, being but amplifications of the general grounds, will not be specially considered.
The trial court did not err in overruling the motion for a new trial.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.