Court Opinion

ID: 9622999
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 06:26:26.334288+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:41:58.436438
License: Public Domain

Deen, Judge,
dissenting. I cannot conceive how this case can be reversed without overruling Ga. Highway Express v. Do-All Chem. Co., 118 Ga. App. 736 (165 SE2d 429) and Jordan v. Clark, 119 Ga. App. 18 (165 SE2d 922).
The facts of this case are: Smith was the authorized agent for service of the defendant insurance company. He was served with two companion actions. Thinking they were the same he negligently forwarded only one to his principal. Thirty days after filing (which was on December 7, 1968) the case was in default. The motion to open the default was filed on January 28, 52 days after the suit was filed. The motion did not set out a meritorious defense.
It was not by reference incorporated into the motion.
1. This situation is identical with the one in Ga. Highway Express, where the defendant, in a motion to vacate, also stated that it had a meritorious defense. The court, including Judge Eberhardt, held: “The defendant’s motion to vacate states only that defendant has a good. and meritorious defense to the declaration. No facts regarding the defense are set forth, only this conclusion. All the facts set forth relate to certain events which transpired and which form the ground upon which the motion to vacate is based, i.e., excusable neg*214lect. Thus a condition precedent to opening the default was not met and the trial judge had no discretion in the matter.” Here the defendant also made a motion to open the default. The mere fact that he stated in the motion that he was filing defensive pleadings does not make the defensive pleadings a part of the motion. I therefore conclude that, under this case, the court had no discretion and was correct in so holding.
2. If Ga. Highway Express is overruled, however, we are met with another identical situation. In Jordan v. Clark, supra, the ground of the motion to open the default was that movant “had confused the service of the petition with service of pleadings in a companion case having a similar caption” and accordingly did not contact his attorney in time. The court in holding that the default could not be opened for this reason stated: “In Brucker v. O’Connor, 115 Ga. 95, 96 (41 SE 245) the Supreme Court made it clear that if a party on reading a writ, reaches the wrong conclusion and therefore pays no attention to the process and fails to answer, his neglect is inexcusable and gross, and that the trial court has no authority to open a default for reasons which fall short of a reasonable excuse for the negligent failure to answer.”
In this case the authorized agent of the defendant, being properly served, confused the case with a companion case, reached the wrong conclusion and paid no attention to the process. In such event both this court and the Supreme Court have ruled that the trial court has no discretion to open the default.
The motion to rehear should be granted.
I am authorized to state that Chief, Judge Felton and Judges Pannell and Quillian concur in this dissent.