Court Opinion

ID: 9684011
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 13:44:15.123892+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:52.180736
License: Public Domain

COLEMAN, Justice
(Concurring Specially) :
In State v. Dunlap, 279 Ala. 418, 186 So. 2d 132, my dissent sets out at length reasons why I disagreed in that decision. The majority of this court held that a party who appeals to this court, cannot have a review of rulings on admissibility of evidence, bearing on the amount of damages, unless the party has first filed in the Irial court and has there obtained a ruling on motion for new trial on the ground that the verdict is excessive, has assigned as error the judgment overruling the motion, and has adequately argued the ruling on that ground of the motion in his brief on appeal.
Under our rule of review; Cobb v. Malone & Collins, 92 Ala. 630, 635, 9 So. 738, 740; when there is competent evidence which sustains the amount of the verdict, it is an utterly useless thing for a party to complain on appeal that the verdict is excessive. Nevertheless, the majority held in Dunlap that the party must do this useless thing before the party is entitled to have review of a ruling of the trial court overruling the party’s objection to the admission of evidence bearing on the amount of damages.
The same obstacle was placed before the review of other rulings in State v. Graf, Ala., 189 So.2d 912,1 wherein I reiterated my views on this question, but the majority remain adamant. Their errors be on their own heads.
At this point, no useful purpose would be served by requiring the whole court to spend time to consider the instant case and decide again on a question recently twice decided. For that reason, I concur in the instant decision, although my views as expressed in Dunlap and Graf remain unchanged

. Ante p. 71.