Saffold v. Hattaway
Saffold v. Hattaway
Concurring Opinion
concurring specially. Under the decision in Hancock v. King, 133 Ga. 734 (supra), where “homestead” was construed to mean “home place,” the judgment setting aside a year’s support was not necessarily void. Evidence was admissible to apply the description to the subject-matter. See also Blackwell v. Part
Opinion of the Court
The executrix of the will of Mrs. S. E. E. Saffold, deceased, instituted an action against A. E. Saffold, to enjoin interference with plaintiff’s possession and disposal of timber on described land. The defendant filed a demurrer to the petition and the separate paragraphs thereof, on general and special grounds; also an answer. At an interlocutory hearing the judge overruled the defendant’s motion to continue the case, and, after consideration of all the pleadings and evidence, temporarily enjoined the defendant “from interfering in any manner with” the plaintiff’s lessees “in the cutting of the pine and poplar trees” on the land, and from interference with their “sawing and removing” the timber. There was no separate ruling upon the demurrer. Error was assigned on the omission to rule upon the demurrer, and upon the judgment granting the temporary injunction.
The court did not err in overruling the motion to continue.
The executrix was the widow of T. P. Saffold, who died testate, and defendant was one of their sons. The evidence tended to show that in his lifetime T. P. Saffold executed a security deed to a loan company, conveying a large quantity of land including the land in question; that after his death the widow made application for a year’s support, which was set apart for her and one minor child; that a plat was made for the loan company, which identified 500 acres of land “cut off” for the widow; that litigation ensued with the loan company, which resulted in a consent decree whereby the company should have a judgment binding all the property in its deed, “except the 500 acres above referred to, . '. and set apart to the widow of Thos. P. Saffold as a year’s support;” that the widow and all the heirs except the defendant executed to the loan company a quitclaim deed to all the land in its security deed on consideration of $5, “and that the loan company shall execute to the widow a quitclaim deed to the 500 acres” set apart to her as a year’s support, “which 500 acres is described and refers to the returns of the commissioners to the court of ordinary . . to set apart said year’s support;” and that the defendant executed to the company a separate deed conveying “501' acres . . [in]
The plaintiff offered in evidence certain pages of the record book of deeds in the office of the clerk of the court, showing the deed from the heirs at law of T. P. Saffold to the widow. This was admitted over the objection that the original deed would be higher and better evidence of the fact, and that absence of the deed had not been sufficiently accounted for. The evidence relied on to lay the foundation was the testimony of the plaintiff, who testified: “I have searched my papers for that original deed, and have not been able to find it. It was never turned over to me. Some papers were turned over to me by Marvin Anderson, but that deed was not in those papers, and I have never been able to find it, and I did not come down to look for it. I sent my attorney down here to look for it.” This was insufficient to authorize admission of secondary evidence of the deed. The error in admission of evidence as just referred to necessarily entered into the judgment of the court granting a temporary injunction, and requires a reversal.
Judgment reversed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.