Atlantic Coast Line Railroad v. Grover
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad v. Grover
Opinion of the Court
The defendant appeals from a judgment against it upon a verdict of $65,000 and from the overruling of its motion for new trial.
1. The first four enumerations of error contend that the trial court erroneously admitted certain opinion testimony of State patrolmen and a sheriff to which the defendant objected at the trial. The admission of this evidence, if error, does not require the grant of a new trial because the defendant elicited
2. The fifth enumeration is that it was error for the trial court to sustain the plaintiff’s objection to the defendant’s asking the plaintiff on cross examination whether the plaintiff and his brother had a suit pending for the death of their father (the present suit being for the death of the plaintiff’s mother). The plaintiff contends that the testimony sought by this questioning was proper to show the interest of the witness. The fact that the witness was the plaintiff in this case establishes his interest and adverse position to the defendant whether or not he had an interest in another suit against the defendant. We cannot see that the refusal to permit this questioning of the plaintiff was harmful or that the trial judge abused his discretion in refusing to permit questioning to show further the plaintiff’s interest, bias, or feeling. See Sasser v. State, 129 Ga. 541, 548 (59 SE 255); Loomis v. State, 78 Ga. App. 336, 354 (51 SE2d 33); 98 CJS 495, § 556.
3. The sixth enumeration contends that the court prejudicially erred in denying the defendant’s motion for mistrial and failing to comply with the defendant’s request to admonish plaintiff’s counsel for repeatedly attempting to elicit from a witness her opinion or statement as to what was needed to protect the crossing, and then upon objection withdrawing
4. Enumerations of error 7 through 9 contend that the court inapplicably charged the provisions of Code §§ 94-503 and 94-504, respecting the duty of railroad companies to keep their crossings, rights of way at crossings, and approaches thereto in good order for a traveler to get on and off the crossing safely and conveniently. We do not agree with the defendant’s contention that this law does not embrace a duty to keep the right of way and approaches clear of obstructions to a motorist’s view of the crossing. In view of the evidence that there was vegetation in the right of way near the crossing that obstructed the view of a motorist approaching the crossing, the court did not err in giving these charges to the jury. Atlantic C. L. R. Co. v. Spearman, 42 Ga. App. 536, 540 (156 SE 824). This is not inconsistent with the decision in Southern R. Co. v. Gordons Transports, 117 Ga. App. 740, 742 (161 SE2d 879). The opinion in that case states that there was no evidence of a failure to comply with the Code sections, supra, and evidence of a different kind was held not to support a charge of this law.
5. The charges complained of in Enumerations 10 and 11, respecting the law requiring a motorist to stop before crossing a railroad (Ga. L. 1953, Nov. Sess., pp. 556, 593; Code Ann. § 68-1661), were not error or harmful as contended by the
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.