Court Opinion

ID: 9854847
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 06:15:22.757075+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:23:29.526034
License: Public Domain

McMurray, Judge,
concurring specially.
I concur in the opinion and judgment here because the Civil Practice Act has abolished issue pleading and substituted in its place notice pleading and directs that all pleadings shall be so construed as to do substantial justice. See Code Ann. § 81A-108 (§ 8 CPA). Section 8 also requires an original complaint which shall contain facts "upon which the court’s venue depends,” "set forth a claim for relief,” and shall contain "a short and plain statement of the claim,” and "a demand for judgment.” We have for decision here the question of whether the complaint and summons in this instance is sufficient. In this instance same is a combination complaint and summons, which is apparently a holdover from the old Justice of the Peace practice in the Municipal Court of Savannah. The entire complaint is as follows:

*44

*45A default judgment was issued and at least two garnishments have resulted from the judgment in favor of the plaintiff. Defendant has moved to vacate and set aside the judgment because "the summons is so defective that no legal judgment can be rendered,” and "the summons and complaint fail to comply with the provisions of Ga. Code Ch. 81A.”
This case seems to extend to the very limit the brevity with which our notice pleadings can be used in considering such cases as Loukes v. McCoy, 129 Ga. App. 167, 168 (199 SE2d 125); Martin v. Approved Bancredit Corp., 224 Ga. 550, 552 (163 SE2d 885); Bourn v. Herring, 225 Ga. 67, 70 (166 SE2d 89); McKinnon v. Neugent, 225 Ga. 215, 217 (167 SE2d 593); Residential Developments, Inc. v. Mann, 225 Ga. 393 (169 SE2d 305); Chancey v. Hancock, 225 Ga. 715, 716 (171 SE2d 302); Mitchell v. Dickey, 226 Ga. 218, 220 (1) (173 SE2d 695); Oliver v. Irvin, 230 Ga. 248 (196 SE2d 429). However, by looking to the "four corners” of the combination complaint and summons and construing same most strongly in favor of the pleader, as we must in consideration of our new notice pleadings, it appears that the requirements of Code Ann. § 81A-108 have been met. For this reason I must concur.