Court Opinion

ID: 9761166
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 01:33:09.274162+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:29:20.520650
License: Public Domain

Opinion on Petition to Rehear
A petition to rehear has been filed based on the contention that neither the Court of Appeals nor this Court considered and ruled on the Executor’s third assignment of error.
The Executor is mistaken in this contention. The third assignment of error makes the point that the trial judge erred in refusing to direct a verdict on motion of the Executor, which motion was in this language: “If Your Honor please, at this time the defendants to this lawsuit, that is Executor of this estate, moves the court to return a verdict of not guilty. ’ ’
This motion raised the question whether there was any material evidence on which a jury verdict could be predicated. Both the Court of Appeals and this Court responded to this question. The Court of Appeals in its opinion considered, together, the first and third assignments of error, and expressed the opinion that the two assignments made the single question whether there was sufficient evidence to support the verdict against a motion for a directed verdict. In the course of considering that question the Court of Appeals thoroughly and extensively reviewed the pertinent facts, and overruled the assignment of error. This Court, being satisfied that the Court of Appeals had ruled correctly, concurred in the Court of Appeals action.
*446Neither the Court of Appeals nor this Court responded to the argument that the trial judge’s action in overruling the motion for a new trial was reversible error because the trial judge stated that his reason for so doing was that the case was being tried by a jury and that if he were Hying the case as a non-jury case he would sustain the motion for a directed verdict. This argument, was not considered because it did not merit attention. However, since this proposition is again insisted upon by the petitioner to rehear, we respond by pointing out to the Executor that it is a fundamental rule of law that an appellate court will not reverse a correct judgment of a trial court which is based upon an insufficient or wrong reason therefor. Some twenty-five or more cases wherein this rule has been applied are collected in 2 Tennessee Digest, Appeal & Error, 854(2).
It follows that the petition to rehear should be, and hereby is, denied.