Court Opinion

ID: 9849219
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 04:36:21.57318+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:19:08.161381
License: Public Domain

Smith, Justice
dissenting.
Biblical incantations notwithstanding, the, doctrine- of interspousal immunity has been abandoned by an overwhelming majority of jurisdiction “with the unanimous approval of legal writers.” Prosser, Handbook of the Law of Torts (4th Ed.), § 122, p. 864. In my view, this court has passed up a golden opportunity to lay to rest an antiquated and thoroughly discredited common law rule.
The doctrine of interspousal immunity stems from the common law notion that “a husband and wife [are], in legal fiction, one and the same person.” Taylor v. Vezzani, 109 Ga. App. 167 (1) (135 SE2d 522) (1964). This legal fiction no longer exists. However, “[t]he [few] courts which [adhere to the doctrine] have buttressed their conclusion by inventing new arguments, not found in the early cases, for denying the remedy.” Prosser, supra at 862. This court is no exception.
First, the majority finds that a judgment ordering one spouse to pay another for personal injury is, “in essence, a taking from Peter to pay Paulfine].” The majority seems to be unaware of the following: 1) under Georgia law, one spouse may sue another for violation of property rights (Eddleman v. Eddleman, 183 Ga. 766 (189 SE 833) (1937)); 2) many judgments in personal injury suits between spouses would ultimately be paid by insurance companies; and 3) the doctrine of interspousal immunity has been abandoned even in community property states (see, e.g., Freehe v. Freehe, 81 Wash. 2d 183 (500 P2d 771) (1972)).
The majority also finds the doctrine of interspousal immunity necessary to prevent “friendly and/or collusive suits.” This position, *311however is based “on the very dubious assumption that a wife’s love for her husband is such that she is more likely to bring a false suit against him than a genuine one.” Prosser, supra at 863. Moreover, “to deny one spouse the opportunity to recover for the tortious conduct of the other because of the possibility of fraud and collusion, belies the centuries old trust in our jury system. An interspousal tort claim should not be saddled with the presumption of fraud ab initio. Courtney v. Courtney, 87 P2d 660 (Okla. 1938).” Rupert v. Stienne, 90 Nev. 397, 401 (528 P2d 1013) (1974). “When ... a wrong has been done, giving rise to a cause of action, our society regards it of the highest primacy that a remedy be afforded, by resort to Court action if necessary. A generalized policy concern to prevent fraud or collusion, as well as a paternalistic interest to protect the citizenry against itself through the elimination of temptations for fraud or collusion, are, in [my] view, insufficiently weighty to render tolerable the basic unfairness and inequity inhering in the denial of a remedy to one who has suffered wrong at the hands of another. [I] do not have so little trust in the general ethics and honor of our citizenry, and in the abilities of our judges and jurors to discern the genuine from the spurious, that [I] must take refuge in the kind of unselective ‘overkill’ [indulged in by the majority].” Moulton v. Moulton, 309 A2d 224, 229 (Me. 1973).
Apart from the above “reasons” for maintaining the doctrine of interspousal immunity, the majority believes the relevant “expressions of public policy should come from the legislative branch.” However, we deal here with a common law rule, not a statute (cf. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Brown, 247 Ga. 361 (276 SE2d 24) (1981) (Smith, Justice, dissenting)), and the underlying rationale for the rule disappeared long ago. “When the rationales which gave meaning and coherence to a judicially created rule are no longer vital, and the rule itself is not consonant with the needs of contemporary society, a court not only has the authority but also the duty to reexamine its precedents rather than to apply by rote an antiquated formula. Chief Justice Vanderbilt described this interaction between the judiciary and the evolving common law in an oft cited passage from State v. Culver, 23 N. J. 495,505, cert. denied, 354 U. S. 925 (1957): ‘One of the great virtues of the common law is its dynamic nature that makes it adaptable to the requirements of society at the time of its application in court. There is not a rule of the common law in force today that has not evolved from some earlier rule of common law, gradually in some instances, more suddenly in others, leaving the common law of today when compared with the common law of centuries ago as different as day is from night. The nature of the common law requires that each time a rule of law is applied it be carefully scrutinized to make sure *312that the conditions and needs of the times have-not so changed as to make further application of it the instrument of injustice. Dean Pound posed the problem admirably in his Interpretations of Legal History (1922) when he stated, “Law must be stable, and yet it cannot stand still.” ’ ” Lewis v. Lewis, 370 Mass. 619, 628 (351 NE2d 526) (1976). Rather than maintain an outmoded doctrine on the basis of wholly unconvincing arguments, I would start anew, as have so many other courts, with a rule permitting suits between spouses for personal injuries.
It has been noted that appellant sustained her injuries in an automobile accident which occurred prior to her marriage. Despite overwhelming authority to the contrary, a majority of this court tells her that, if she wanted legal redress, she should not have gotten married. In my view, the holding of the majority in the instant case is both legally unjustifiable and grossly unfair. I respectfully dissent.