Court Opinion

ID: 9826872
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 16:50:19.383798+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:42:17.451206
License: Public Domain

*298On Petition to Rehear.
At a former day of tbis term, we reversed the action of the trial judge in refusing to sustain the motion of the defendant, General Outdoor Advertising Company, for directed verdicts in its favor made at the conclusion of all the evidence heard on the first trial of these cases, sustained these motions and dismissed the suits. By a petition to rehear we are asked to rule on the assignments of error predicated upon the record of the second trial.
In the petition appears the following: “Petitioner would show that there is some confusion in the law as to whether or not the petitioner, General Outdoor Advertising Company, would have a right to file a petition for certiorari for the purpose of having the Supreme Court of this State pass upon the foregoing pretermitted assignments of error without first filing this petition to rehear requesting your Honors to pass upon said pretermitted assignments.”
This confusion in the mind of petitioner appears to have arisen from certain language of the learned Special Judge who delivered the opinion in the case of Lillard v. Tolliver, 154 Tenn., 304, 285 S. W., 576, which dealt with assignments of error pretermitted by this court in the consideration of that case.
From this language the petitioner concludes that “. . . in the event the Court of Appeals pretermits any assignment of error that the party seeking to urge those assignments in the Supreme Court should first call the pretermitted assignments to the attention of the Court of Appeals and then file a petition for certiorari. ’ ’
In the case referred to, the Court was dealing with a situation where the party complaining had filed no petition for certiorari seeking a review of the pretermitted questions, and it was therefore held in accordance with the settled practice that in the absence of such a petition the court was without jurisdiction of such questions. So much of the language as indicated by implication that it was necessary that the pretermitted questions be again called to the attention of this court before a petition for certioraii could be filed, we think was unnecessary to the decision upon the determinative question. From this language, alone, of the learned Special Judge, and that is all there is on the point, we cannot conclude that it was thereby intended to repudiate the long established practice whereby questions which this court finds it unnecessary to pass on may be, without more, reviewed by certiorari. Knight v. Cooley, 131 Tenn., 21, 22, 173 S. W., 435; Tri-State Fair v. Rowton, 140 Tenn., 304, 204 S. W., 761, L. R. A. 1918F, 657; Independent Life Ins. Co. v. Hunter, 166 Tenn., 498, 63 S. W. (2d), 68. While there are exceptional cases principally arising out of the fact that we are an intermediate appellate tribunal, this court as a general rule endeavors to confine its decision to the question or questions that are determinative of the controversy and having decided these, brings its *299opinion to a conclusion upon tbe theory that the entire controversy having been decided, a decision upon other questions, being unnecessary, would be of doubtful value from any viewpoint.
Experience has proven beyond a doubt that, generally speaking, the wisest course is to pass on what is necessary to dispose of a controversy and then stop.
 If we pretermit a question on the theory that it is immaterial in the view we take of the ease, then our action in this respect is subject to review by certiorari and it has long been so understood by the profession. The petition for the writ proceeds upon the theory that we erred in concluding that the question was immaterial. In short, on the part of this court, errors of omission as well as errors of commission are reviewable by certiorari. Independent Life Ins. Co. v. Hunter, supra.
In the situation presented in the instant case, the rule of practice is that the appellate court will, if necessary, hear and consider separately and in order the records of each trial. In passing upon the questions arising upon the first trial all subsequent proceedings are ignored. If a decision of these questions is determinative of the entire controversy it does not become necessary to go further and consider the questions arising upon the second trial. Cf: Railroad v. Scott, 87 Tenn., 494, 11 S. W., 317. And see numerous cases cited by Judge Williams in his notes to Williams Tenn. Code Annotated, section 8986.
The petition to rehear is denied at the cost of the General Outdoor Advertising Company.
Senter and Ketehum, JJ., concur.