Associates Discount Corp. v. Lindsey Chevrolet Co.
Associates Discount Corp. v. Lindsey Chevrolet Co.
Opinion of the Court
1. When a retention-of-title contract is executed by a nonresident for the purchase price of personal
The burden was on the plaintiff to prove that its retention-of-title contract was timely and properly recorded. Under the circumstances above described it was incumbent upon the plaintiff to prove that the retention-of-title contract was recorded in the county where the property was located and that the property held as security was brought into this state within six months immediately prior to the time the retention-of-title contract was recorded. See Continental Nat. Bank v. Short, 101 Ga. App. 304 (113 SE2d 491). In the instant case we find no evidence of probative value showing when the property in question was brought into this state. Thus the plaintiff failed to prove that the property in question was brought into this state within six months prior to the time the retention-of-title contract was recorded. Accordingly, the evidence was insufficient to make an issue for the jury, and the court did not err in directing a verdict for the defendant.
2. Special grounds 1 and 2, respectively, assign as error the
The plaintiff contends that the document entitled “Florida Automobile Registration” was admissible as a circumstance to show that the vehicle was in Florida on January 11, 1961, since such registration was issued on that date and therefore it would necessarily follow that the vehicle was brought into Georgia thereafter (hence evidence to show the vehicle was brought into Georgia within six months prior to the time the contract in question was recorded). We do not reach this point because the purported document was properly excluded from evidence due to the fact that it was not authenticated properly so as to make it admissible in evidence. Code § 38-630; Bankers Health &c. Ins. Co. v. Nichols, 44 Ga. App. 536 (162 SE 161).
Judgment affirmed.
070rehearing
On Motion for Rehearing.
It is contended in the motion for a rehearing that this court overlooked the testimony of W. M. Vining on direct examination wherein he stated in response to the question: “Had Mr. Sutton been in the State of Georgia as long as six months?”, that “No he could not have been.” However, this witness’ testimony on cross-examination shows that this statement by him was pure conjecture and speculation based on the fact that he had seen an owner’s identification card for the automobile dated in November of 1960. The contention of the movant completely ignores the fact that the witness testified on cross-examination that as a matter of fact he did not know where Sutton was; that Sutton was “a skip;” that Associates Discount Corporation could not find him, and that they did not know where he was. This testimony on cross-examination showed unequivocally that
The evidence introduced in this case to support the plaintiff’s theory that the automobile had not been in the State of Georgia more than six months at the time the conditional-sale contract was probated and recorded was wholly circumstantial, and was as consistent with the fact that the automobile and the owner had been in Georgia more than six months as with the fact that they had not been in Georgia six months. Under these circumstances the evidence was wholly insufficient to prove this essential element of the plaintiff’s case. Georgia R. &c. Co. v. Harris, 1 Ga. App. 714 (1) (57 SE 1076); Armour & Co. v. Gulley, 61 Ga. App. 414, 420 (6 SE2d 165).
Rehearing denied.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.