Court Opinion

ID: 9851589
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 05:15:31.418863+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:22:07.675021
License: Public Domain

Gardner, Presiding Judge,
concurring specially. This case was originally assigned to me, and after the opinion had been written and sent to my distinguished associates on the Second Division of this court, one of the judges wrote a special concurrence which was agreed to by the other judge of this division. The special concurrence by the two judges then became the majority opinion and my original opinion thus became the special concurrence.
Without any sort of reflection upon my distinguished colleagues, I feel that my opinion reflects my view of the case so much more satisfactorily to me, therefore, I am adopting my original opinion as my concurring opinion. I have not changed the original opinion whatsoever except to substitute the first person singular, wherever necessary.
W. 0. Dempsey (hereinafter called the plaintiff) filed in the Civil Court of Fulton County a suit for property damages against Dr. Mason I. Lowance (hereinafter called the defendant) same being damages to the plaintiff’s automobile, and such damages alleged to have, resulted from the defendant’s negligence. This suit was filed December 15, 1958. To this action the said defendant filed no' demurrers, no pleas and no defensive pleadings *597whatever. On the first Monday in January of 1959, the defendant paid into the office of the clerk of said Civil Court of Fulton County the sum of $815, the amount of damages for which suit was brought, together with the costs then due the court. Thereafter, on January 6, 1959, the Honorable J. Wilson Parker, Judge of said Civil Court, rendered this order and judgment: “The within and foregoing suit having been paid off in full by the payment in the court of the full principal amount sued for . . . the first action is dismissed of record as settled.”
Thereupon, on January 14, 1959, the plaintiff filed a petition and motion to have vacated the said order and judgment of the Civil Court of Fulton County rendered January 6, 1959. On January 26, 1959, the defendant filed his demurrer and also a motion to dismiss the petition of the plaintiff and to dismiss the motion to vacate filed by the plaintiff (which petition and motion sought to set aside the order and judgment of Judge Parker of said Civil Court rendered January 6, 1959). The trial court thereupon overruled such demurrer and motion interposed by the defendant seeking to dismiss the plaintiff’s petition and motion wherein the plaintiff sought to set aside and vacate the order and judgment rendered by Judge Parker of the Civil Court of Fulton County on January 6, 1959.
The defendant then filed his response to such motion of the plaintiff in this case seeking to vacate the order of January 6, 1959, and thereafter, Judge J. Wilson Parker, presiding, rendered an order and judgment whereby he vacated such former order and judgment of January 6, 1959, same being within the term, and rendered the following final order and judgment in the premises: “The foregoing demurrer and motion to' dismiss coming on regularly before me to be heard, after hearing argument of counsel for both parties, it is considered and adjudged that the same be overruled, and it is so ordered, this 26th day of January, 1959.”
The court thereupon on the same day rendered this judgment: “The within and foregoing motion coming on to be tried, and evidence having been presented, and the court being of the opinion that the order of this court dated January 6, 1959, should be set aside and vacated as a matter of law, that the *598court does not exercise any judicial discretion but holds that this judgment is demanded as a matter of law.
“It is therefore considered, ordered and adjudged that the order of this court dated January 6, 1959, be and the same is vacated and set aside and the clerk of this court is directed to refund to defendant the sums paid into court, including the cost. This 26th day of January 1959.”
To the foregoing judgment, permitting said case to proceed in the trial court, the defendant excepted and assigned error thereon in the bill of exceptions to this court.
In my opinion the order and judgment of the Civil Court of Fulton County, Judge J. Wilson Parker presiding, were rendered within the same term and within the court’s discretion, that they -were not erroneous in any respect, were proper as a matter of law and the said order and judgment should be affirmed.