Rackley v. Miller
Rackley v. Miller
Opinion of the Court
(After stating the foregoing facts.) Upon the former appearance of this case in this court it was held in part: “The record is silent as to any mutual mistake of the parties as to the boundary expressed in the petitioner’s deed and, hence, there was no basis for reformation of the instrument. Eeformation being a prerequisite to the relief sought, the verdict in favor of the petitioner was unauthorized.” Miller v. Rackley, 199 Ga. 370, 376 (supra). Although on the second trial an amendment was made to the petition, it related to claimed repairs and improvements made by the petitioner to the property in dispute. On the question of reformation of the deed for alleged mistake, the pleadings were alike in both the first and second trials. The plaintiff in error states in her brief: “As we understand it, the question now is whether or not there was sufficient evidence to carry the case to the jury on the question of the reformation of the deed.”
It is a well-settled rule that the decision of an appellate court is controlling on a subsequent appeal, where the pleadings and evidence are substantially the same. Smoot v. Alexander, 192 Ga. 684 (16 S. E. 2d, 544); Taylor v. Felder, 11 Ga. App. 742 (76 S. E.
Since the evidence was substantially the same on both trials insofar as it related to the question of the alleged mistake, and, under the law of the ease, the evidence was insufficient to reform the deed for mutual mistake, the trial court did not err in directing a verdict for the defendants on that issue, or in overruling the motion for new trial as amended. American National Ins. Co. v. Nelson, 69 Ga. App. 537 (26 S. E. 2d, 203).
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.