Court Opinion

ID: 9619386
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 05:27:09.817514+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:11:55.043861
License: Public Domain

Felton, Chief Judge,
dissenting. I dissent from the ruling in Divisions 4 and 5 and from the judgment.
Special grounds 8, 9, 10 and 11 complain of the court’s charge to the effect that the plaintiff’s recovery depended upon proof by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant was negligent in at least one of the alleged particulars of negligence, whereas the evidence failed to show that the alleged particulars with regard to use of vent pipes, failure to follow manufacturer’s *841specifications, use of wooden braces and use of only one thermostat, respectively, did in fact amount to negligence. Where an issue, though raised in the pleadings, is not supported by the evidence, it is error to give a charge authorizing a finding upon such issue, and, unless it is apparent from the record that the jury could not have been misled and confused by it, such charge is cause for a new trial. Atlantic C. L. R. Co. v. Godard, 211 Ga. 373 (2) (86 SE2d 311); Central of Ga. R. Co. v. Keating, 177 Ga. 345 (4a,b) (170 SE 493); Atlantic C. L. R. Co. v. Anderson, 75 Ga. App. 829 (3) (44 SE2d 576); Columbus Mfg. Co. v. Gray, 9 Ga. App. 738 (72 SE 273); Americas Gas &c. Co. v. Coleman, 16 Ga. App. 17 (84 SE 493); Atlantic C. L. R. Co. v. Baker, 32 Ga. App. 513 (123 SE 909); Western &c. R. Co. v. Branan, 123 Ga. 692 (3) (51 SE 650); Executive Committee of the Baptist Convention v. Ferguson, 213 Ga. 441 (99 SE2d 150); Investors Syndicate v. Thompson, 172 Ga. 203 (2b) (158 SE 20); Beadles v. Bowen, 106 Ga. App. 34, 36 (4) (126 SE2d 254); Code Ann. § 70-207, catchwords “Negligence, contributory negligence.” Each of the above-mentioned alleged acts of negligence was shown by the evidence to be either not negligent at all, or, even if negligent, not the sole or concurrent proximate cause of the damage. Since there is no way to determine whether the jury found against the defendant on any or all of these issues unsupported by the evidence, the charge could have been misleading; therefore a new trial should be granted on special grounds 8, 9, 10, and 11. Williams v. Vinson, 104 Ga. App. 886, supra, cited by the majority, is contrary to the rule stated in the above cases by this court and the Supreme Court. In no other circumstances have the courts held that before a party can except to the submission of an issue to a jury which is not supported by evidence, he must make some kind of motion to call the matter to the court’s attention. I realize that the judgment n.o.v. law authorizes directed verdicts as to separable issues but I do not construe the law and decisions as requiring that the matters be specifically called to the court’s attention in other instances such as this one.
I think the court erred in its judgment overruling special grounds 8 through 11 of the motion for a new trial.