Court Opinion

ID: 9562085
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 18:21:20.931853+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:17:12.343363
License: Public Domain

Felton, Justice,
dissenting. It seems to me that when Mrs. Yereen agreed that the jury could be discharged for the reason that she and the attorneys for both sides, in perfect good faith, were under the impression that all of the issues had been settled by an agreement between the parties which left only those questions which the judge could decide, either by law or agreement, she was relieved of such an agreement when at the time, for the hearing of the case it was apparent that there was no such agreement. Especially so, because the appellant’s attorneys filed a motion for a hearing on the differences between the parties as to the agreement. This motion put the questions not agreed on back into the divorce and alimony case in which the court would be required to settle the question of the disputed agreement, if possible, or to leave the unsettled questions to the jury. On this hearing requested by the appellee there was still *502no complete final agreement and the judge decided what he thought was the agreement at the time shortly after the jury was excused, and was guided by notes he took from oral statements of the attorneys in his chambers as to what the agreement was. In my opinion, the question for the court was what was the agreement at the hearing called for and not what the agreement was several months before at chambers. Even if there had been a clear and undisputed agreement at the time the judge took notes in chambers, either party could have changed his or her mind, since no agreement had been reduced to writing by the parties and signed by them. There was no undisputed agreement at the time of the judge’s final order and the questions raised by the disputed parts of the order should have been referred to a jury in the absence of a binding agreement at the time of the trial. The fact that the trial judge may approve or disapprove part or all of an agreement on alimony signed by the parties, in this case he did not proceed on that theory and the fact that when properly done he may disapprove such an agreement has nothing to do with this case; A jury decides disputed alimony agreement matters unless the questions are left to the judge by consent. See Mathews v. Mathews, 204 Ga. 247 (49 SE2d 497); Heath v. Heath, 212 Ga. 407 (93 SE2d 348). I think that the rulings in the two cases above apply to executed as well as executory settlement contracts. There is one question not mentioned by either party and may be an undiscovered mistake which I feel both parties will wish to correct. The first provision of monthly alimony for appellant is set in the judge’s order at $450 per month, nothing being mentioned as to what effect, if any, the son’s living apart from appellant would have on the amount. Another provision fixes appellant’s monthly alimony at $650 per month as long as appellant is in life and unmarried and as long as the minor son is under the age of 21, and not self-supporting and resides with the appellant. Another provision of the order provides that during the period of time that the minor child is actually attending college, the $200 per month child support payments to appellant would be suspended, and in lieu thereof, permanent alimony payments to appellant would be increased from $650 per month to $700 *503per month. This last paragraph indicates an intention to award $650 monthly alimony to the wife regardless of whether the minor son resides with her or not.