Court Opinion

ID: 9566552
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 19:40:47.938617+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:38:26.792721
License: Public Domain

On Motion for Rehearing.
Quillian, Judge.
The defendant in error by way of motion for rehearing protests the ruling made on the cross-bill of exceptions. The protest is predicated on the holding of the-Supreme Court in Hendrix v. Pirkle, 208 Ga. 751 (69 S. E. 2d 267). That case is parallel neither factually nor upon principle with the case sub judice.
There was an order in the Hendrix case sustaining certain special demurrers and allowing the petition to be amended within 10 days. Obviously, the judgment was not a final judgment to which exception could be taken.
The judgment of August 27, 1956, in the instant case, is final and overrules the defendant in error’s general and special demurrers to the petition. The judgment reads: “It appearing to the court that on February 20, 1956, the court entered an order that the plaintiff redraft and consolidate its petition, as amended, and that the defendant redraft and consolidate its demurrers to plaintiff’s petition, as redrafted and consolidated; and that pursuant to said order, plaintiff and defendant each redrafted and *382consolidated and re-wrote their pleadings, and filed the same, and it appearing to the court that on June 27, 1956, the court entered an order upon the defendant’s said rewritten demurrers directed to plaintiff’s said rewritten petition, and in said order the court sustained certain special demurrers to count one of plaintiff’s petition as re-written, and allowed plaintiff twenty (20) days within which to amend; and
“It appearing to the court that the time allowed for amendment has now expired; and
“The court having, after the expiration of the time for amendment allowed in said order, considered the petition and the pleadings for the purpose of making a final ruling upon the defendant’s demurrers and upon the sufficiency of the petition:
“It is the judgment of the court, that all issues between the parties to this suit relating to the subject matter of this suit were determined, and adjudicated and concluded between the parties in this suit, by virtue of the pleadings in Case No. 11,037 in DeKalb Superior Court, and by the verdict and final and unreversed judgment therein rendered, excepting only the issue as to the actual quantities of crushed stone constituting the requirements of petitioners during the contract period, and the issue as to the amount of damages, if any, due the petitioner by the defendant, because of defendant’s failure to supply said quantities of crushed stone as required by the contract of August 20, 1943, and that the only issues of fact before the court in above styled cases, are (1) the issues as to the actual quantities of crushed stone constituting the requirement of the petitioner during the contract period. (2) The issue as to what proportion of those requirements were furnished by the defendant. (3) The issue as to whether petitioner was damaged, by the failure of defendant to furnish those requirements or part of those requirements, if it is found that defendant did not furnish all of such requirements, and if damaged, then in what amount.
“It is ordered, considered and adjudged by the court:
“ (1) Plaintiff’s motion to strike certain paragraphs or grounds of defendant’s rewritten demurrers is denied and overruled on each and every ground thereof.
“ (2) Defendant’s re-drafted and consolidated special demur*383rers Nos. 12, 13, 13(a) and (b), 14, 15, 16, 18(a) and (b) and 29 to count one of plaintiff’s petition, as re-drafted and consolidated are each sustained.
“(3) All other of defendant’s demurrers, both general and special, are each overruled.
“Ordered, this 27th day of August, 1956.
Clarence Vaughn, Judge
Superior Courts
Stone Mountain Circuit.”
“The defendant demurred to plaintiff’s petition, as amended, upon the ground that it set forth no cause of action against him. The court overruled the demurrer; and to this judgment no exception was taken by the defendant. This was an adjudication that the petition set out a cause of action against the defendant.” Copeland v. McElroy, 49 Ga. App. 490, 491 (176 S. E. 67).
The amendment came about 14 months subsequent to the judgment, and merely increased the amounts sued for, which was not of a material nature.
An amendment to a petition is not of a material nature unless it materially changes the cause of action; that is makes a recovery obtainable upon different principles or by different procedure from that upon which recovery under the petition as originally drawn depended. Maryland Cas. Co. v. Dobson, 57 Ga. App. 594 (1, 2) (196 S. E. 300).
The defendant in error in its motion for new trial apparently overlooked certain facts in the record, principles and precedents that are controlling and require the holding made in the original opinion.
“An amendment to a petition, made after the expiration of 30 days from service of the petition, does not open the petition to special demurrer where, if the petition was defective as contended, the defect was apparent before as well as after the amendment. Pierce v. Harrison, 199 Ga. 197, 199 (5) (33 S. E. 2d 680).” Dixie Broadcasting Corp. v. Rivers, 209 Ga. 98 (2a) (70 S. E. 2d 734).
In LaHoste v. Yaarab Mounted Patrol, 89 Ga. App. 397, 401 (79 S. E. 2d 570) it was held: “An immaterial amendment does not open the petition anew to demurrer. Code § 81-1312; Pritch*384ett v. Ellis, 201 Ga. 809 (41 S. E. 2d 402); Central of Ga. Ry. Co. v. Waldo, 6 Ga. App. 840 (65 S. E. 1098). . . Where a petition is amended by setting up foreign statutes which only amplify and aid the right already claimed in the original petition, the amendment does not materially change the cause of action. Missouri State Life Ins. Co. v. Lovelace, 1 Ga. App. 446 (58 S. E. 93). Also, the amendment did not alter or change the mode and nature of the defense available to the defendant as to the allegations of the original petition. In this connection see Quillian v. Johnson, 122 Ga. 49 (49 S. E. 801); Southern Bell Tel. Co. v. Parker, 119 Ga. 721 (47 S. E. 194); Kelly v. Strouse, 116 Ga. 872 (43 S. E. 280); Gibson v. Thornton, 107 Ga. 545 (33 S. E. 895).”
In Ganner v. Wolport, 84 Ga. App. 876 (1, 2) (67 S. E. 2d 824) it was held: “An amendment to a petition, made after the first term, does not open the petition to special demurrer where, if the petition was defective as contended, the defect was apparent before as well as after the amendment. . . Where the general demurrer and the three special demurrers to the petition as first amended were overruled, thereby adjudicating that the petition set out a cause of action, such judgment, not being excepted to, fixed the law of the case; and where the second amendment was immaterial insofar as having the effect of reopening the whole petition to demurrer, it was error for the court to sustain the renewed and additional demurrers to the petition after the second amendment thereto was filed, and to dismiss the petition.”
The amendment in the present case, offered 14 months after the petition had been adjudicated to set forth a cause of action, did not alter the petition by changing the theory upon which recovery was sought, nor did it vary in any manner the basis of the original cause declared upon; or require additional pleading by the defendant to meet the averments of the amendment. The amendment was not of a nature that opened the petition to the grounds of demurrer that had already been passed upon by the trial judge.

Gardner, P. J., Townsend, Carlisle, and Nichols, JJ., concur. Felton, C. J., dissents.