Court Opinion

ID: 9850034
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 04:51:17.37785+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:20:30.636567
License: Public Domain

Felton, Chief Judge,
concurring specially. I concur in the judgment of reversal for the reason that the Muscogee County Board of Adjustment is an inferior judicatory and is without constitutional authority to provide for or grant a rehearing. *11That part of the act of 1951 (Ga. L. 1951, pp. 3160, 3166) which authorizes the board of adjustment to adopt supplemental rules of procedure is not unconstitutional on its face and is therefore not subject to attack for unconstitutionality. However, Article 10 of the rules and regulations of the board of adjustment which provides for rehearings by the board of' adjustment is unconstitutional in that it violates Art. 6, Sec. 4, Par. 6 of the Constitution of the State of Georgia (Code § 2-3906), which provides “New trials—The Superior, and City Courts may grant new trials on legal grounds” for the reason that no other inferior judicatory has the power to grant new trials or rehearings except such courts as have been established by the General Assembly to take the place of justices’ courts under Art. 6, Sec. 7, Par. 1 of the Constitution (Code § 2-4201). See Booth v. Stamper, 6 Ga. 172; Pitts v. Carr, 61 Ga. 454; Stewart v. State, 98 Ga. 202 (25 S. E. 424); Crosson v. State, 124 Ga. 651 (52 S. E. 880); Byrd v. Riggs, 210 Ga. 473 (80 S. E. 2d 785); Tibbs v. City of Atlanta, 125 Ga. 18 (53 S. E. 811). The contention by the defendant in error that the plaintiffs in error are estopped to deny the jurisdiction of the board of adjustment to grant a rehearing on the ground that they did not object to the same and participated in it is without merit because jurisdiction of subject matter can not be conferred by consent, or be waived or be based on an estoppel of a party to deny that it exists. Langston v. Nash, 192 Ga. 427, 429 (15 S. E. 2d 481) and cases cited.