Title: City of Anniston v. Rosser
Citation: 158 So. 2d 99
Docket Number: N/A
State: Alabama
Issuer: Alabama Supreme Court
Date: August 1, 1963

158 So. 2d 99 (1963)
CITY OF ANNISTON
v.
Bertha Kelley ROSSER.
7 Div. 546.

Supreme Court of Alabama.
August 1, 1963.
Rehearing Denied December 12, 1963.
*100 Emerson, Watson, Wilson &amp; Propst, Anniston, for appellant.
Robt. C. Dillon, Anniston, for appellee.
LIVINGSTON, Chief Justice.
This appeal is from a final judgment awarding $2500 to the appellee, Bertha Kelley Rosser, in an action against the appellant, the City of Anniston, a Municipal Corporation, to recover damages resulting from injuries received by the appellee when she stepped into an open water meter receptacle of appellant located approximately in front of her residence.
The complaint as last amended contained three counts, each, in substance, charging the City of Anniston with negligently leaving such water meter box uncovered.
Count 1 alleges, in substance, that plaintiff was injured while walking or running on a public highway or street across a plot of grass between the sidewalk and the curbing, approximately in front of her residence, when she stepped into an open water meter receptacle approximately 18 inches in depth. Appellee alleged that her injuries were directly and proximately caused by an agent, servant or employee of the City of Anniston, Alabama, acting within the line and scope of his employment as such servant, agent or employee in removing the cover of said water meter and thereafter negligently failing to replace said cover.
Count 2 is substantially the same as Count 1 with the exception that it avers that plaintiff was injured while crossing a portion of said public highway in front of her residence, as opposed to approximately in front of her residence, as stated in Count 1.
Count 3 is similar to Count 1 with the exception that in this Count, appellee avers that "said hole or receptacle remained in said public highway or public street for an unreasonable length of time, and as a proximate consequence of stepping in said hole or receptacle she was injured and damaged as follows," etc.
Each of the three counts avers that on, to wit, the 20th day of August, 1959, the appellee filed with the City Clerk of the City of Anniston a sworn statement which stated substantially the manner in which her injuries were received and the day, time and place where the accident occurred, and the amount of damages claimed.
*101 Appellant interposed the plea of general issue in short by consent, with leave, etc.
There are 13 assignments of error, only 8 of which are argued in brief. The 8 argued assignments of error present in various forms three principal questions for review: (1) Was the statement of claim filed with the city sworn to in the manner and form exacted by the statute? (2) Was there a fatal variance between the statement of claim filed with the city and the evidence offered in support thereof? (3) Whether or not there was sufficient proof to support an award of damages for any expenditures made or obligations incurred by appellee for doctors' services.
The case must be reversed because of a fatal variance between the claim filed by the city and the evidence introduced in support of the claim.
Sec. 504 of Title 37, Code of Alabama 1940 (Recompiled Code of 1958), is as follows:
Following appellee's statement of claim was an affidavit, as follows:
Appellant argues that a verification that a claim filed against a city for personal injuries is true to the best of one's knowledge, information and belief is an insufficient compliance with the statute. In support of this argument, appellant cites numerous decisions of this Court to the effect that such a verification is insufficient. True enough, but all of the decisions cited deal with subjects foreign to the issue here to be decided. They deal with verification of claims against estates, mechanics' liens, discovery of assets, vendors' liens, and affidavits for appointment of receivers. We do not think they are apt authorities in the instant case.
We have repeatedly held that technical accuracy is not required by Sec. 504, Title 37, supra, but only substantial compliance is required.
The purpose of the statute requiring notice to the city before bringing suit for injury or death is to enable the municipality to investigate and determine the merits of the claim, Smith v. City of Birmingham, 243 Ala. 124, 9 So. 2d 299; and to adjust claims without the expense of litigation if the circumstances warrant. Cole v. City of Birmingham, 243 Ala. 561, 11 So. 2d 148; Ray v. City of Birmingham, Ala., 154 So. 2d 751; Tolbert v. City of Birmingham, 262 Ala. 674, 81 So. 2d 336, 63 A.L.R.2d 901.
It is true that some of the authorities cited construed the requirement of Sec. 659, Title 62, Code of 1940, a local act applying to the City of Birmingham, but for the purposes of the instant case, Sec. 659, supra, is identical with Sec. 504, supra. We said in the Tolbert case, supra:
We hold that the verification of the claim filed with the City of Anniston in the instant case was sufficient.
We come now to the question of a variance between the claim filed with the City of Anniston and the proof introduced to support it.
The statement of the claim filed stated that the accident complained of occurred on June 11, 1959. All of the evidence introduced showed that the accident occurred on June 10, 1959. Plaintiff herself testified that she was positive that the mishap occurred on June 10, 1959.
In Benton v. City of Montgomery, 200 Ala. 97, 75 So. 473, in construing § 1275, Code of 1907, which is identical to § 504 of Title 37, supra, this Court stated:
The trial court erred to reversal in refusing defendant's requested written Charge 15, which reads as follows:
As the case must be reversed, we see no point in discussing the evidence relative to appellee's doctors' services.
For the error pointed out, the case is due to be, and is, reversed and remanded.
Reversed and remanded.
SIMPSON, MERRILL and HARWOOD, JJ., concur.