Cheatham v. Palmer
Cheatham v. Palmer
Opinion of the Court
Some elaboration of the rulings made in the 4th paragraph of the syllabus seems proper. “The true criterion for determining whether an amendment is admissible is this: whether the amendment is of another cause of controversy, or whether it is the same contract, or injury,” so that an allowance of the amendment would be merely to grant “permission to lay it in a manner which the plaintiff considers will best correspond with the nature of his complaint, and with the proof and the merits of his case. The plaintiff can not introduce an entirely new cause of action; but if he adheres to thé original cause of action, he may add a count substantially different from the declaration.” Maxwell v. Harrison, 8 Ga. 61 (52 Am. D. 385); City of Columbus v. Anglin, 120 Ga. 785 (5), 789 (48 S. E. 318), and cit.; Charleston & Western Carolina Ry. Co. v. Lyons, 5 Ga. App. 668, 672 (63 S. E. 862), and cit.; Becker v. Kenney, 15 Ga. App. 239, 242 (82 S. E. 936); Hunt v. Ponder, 41 Ga. App. 293 (152 S. E. 593), and cit.
(a) “The interposition of a court of equity to correct mistakes, both as to law and fact, by ordering a proper deed to be executed, according to the true intent of the parties, is a very ancient doctrine. . . It has always been a familiar branch of equity jurisdiction to grant relief to parties against agreements made under a misconception of their rights. In every [proper] case under this head of the law, the only inquiry is, does the instrument contain what the parties intended it should and understood that it did? Is it their agreement ? If not, then it may be reformed by aliunde proof, so as to make it the evidence of what was the true bargain between the parties. And it is wholly immaterial from what cause the defective execution of the parties originated.” [Italics ours.] Wyche v. Greene, 16 Ga. 49 (1, 3, 4), 61. “The proper inquiry,” in cases where chancery may reform a deed for mutual mistake, “is, does the instrument contain the true agreement between the
(b) Although the court submitted to the jury only the second (new) count of the petition, which was added as an amendment after the decision of this court in Cheatham v. Palmer, supra, holding that the original count stated a cause of action for reformation of the deed between the parties on account of a mutual mistake, without designating the kind of mistake, and was not subject to general demurrer, and although there is no present exception to any ruling on additional grounds of demurrer to the original count, the former decision of this court is the law of the case in so far as the two counts may not differ. Under the ruling in the preceding paragraph, the two counts being essentially the same in containing the' same basic cause of action, with elabora
Judgment affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- CHEATHAM v. PALMER
- Status
- Published