Case Name: STANDFORD et al. v. DAVIDSON
Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
Jurisdiction: Georgia
Decision Date: 1962-04-11
Citations: 105 Ga. App. 742
Docket Number: 39379
Parties: STANDFORD et al. v. DAVIDSON.
Judges: Bell, J., concurs. Hall, J., concurs specially.
Reporter: Georgia Appeals Reports
Volume: 105
Pages: 742–745

Head Matter:
39379.
STANDFORD et al. v. DAVIDSON.
Decided April 11, 1962.
Foley, Chappell, Young & Hollis, Howell Hollis, for plaintiffs in error.
James H. Fort, G. Gerald Kunes, contra.

Opinion:
Felton, Chief Judge.
1. The only question in this case is whether, in an action under the Nonresident Motorists Act, the true residence of the plaintiff, which is the basis of alleged venue, is jurisdictional as to subject matter, or whether it is jurisdictional only as to the persons of the nonresident defendants. "At common law a transitory action such as an action in tort may be brought in any county which the plaintiff elects." Lloyd Adams Inc. v. Liberty Mutual Ins. Co., 190 Ga. 633, 638 (10 SE2d 46). The original Nonresident Motorists Act provided that an action could be filed by a resident in any county in the State. Any court of the State named in the act thus had jurisdiction of the subject matter of the action. The amendment to the act simply fixed the venue of the actions. See Code Ann. § 68-803, acts cited and editorial note. Arnold v. Chupp, 93 Ga. App. 583 (3) (92 SE2d 239). Plaintiff in error contends that the evidence showed the residence of the plaintiff in the trial court to have been in a county other than that in which the action was brought and that therefore the court was without jurisdiction of the subject matter and cites cases relating to actions against railroad companies under Code § 94-1101. The answer to this contention lies in the fact that Code § 94-1101 specifically provides that "any judgment rendered in any county other than the one herein designated shall be utterly void." (Italics ours.) There is no such provision in the Nonresident Motorists Act. The provision in the railroad act does not mean that the question of bringing an action in the wrong county is jurisdictional as to subject matter.
2. From what is said above, it follows that such an action, brought by a resident against nonresidents, neither in the county where the action arose nor in the county of the plaintiff's residence, confers jurisdiction of the subject matter upon the court if named in the Nonresident Motorists Act, and the plea to the merits without filing a plea to the jurisdiction as to the person is a waiver of the lack of such jurisdiction. Code § 81-503. Objection to jurisdiction of the person because of improper venue cannot be raised in a motion for a new trial when it was not raised before verdict. Hawkins v. Chambliss, 120 Ga. 614 (48 SE 169). An answer which neither admits nor denies the allegation as to venue is not equivalent to a. plea to the jurisdiction (Crockett & Co. v. Garrard & Co., 4 Ga. App. 360 (2a), 61 SE 552) as such a plea is equivalent to a denial. While some language in Garver v. Smith, 90 Ga. App. 892, 895-6 (84 SE2d 693) seems to indicate that in a case like this jurisdiction of subject matter is involved, the entire opinion and judgment are not contrary to what we here rule.
The court did not err in failing to dismiss the action on its own motion, did not err in refusing to set aside plaintiff's judgment on the motion of the defendants,' and did not err in refusing to grant a new trial based on the grounds that the court erred in failing to charge the jury as to the definition of "residence," and that the court failed to charge the jury on the effect of the Nonresident Motorists Act upon the court's jurisdiction.
Judgments affirmed.
Bell, J., concurs. Hall, J., concurs specially.