Court Opinion

ID: 9591511
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 00:04:40.227064+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:21:28.249886
License: Public Domain

Beasley, Judge,
dissenting.
We granted an interlocutory appeal in order to consider whether the trial court erred in granting defendant’s motion to set aside a judgment in favor of plaintiff.
The plaintiff brought this action on a check against Bank of the South, South DeKalb Branch. The complaint alleged the defendant Bank of the South had its office and place of doing business at 2594 Candler Road, Decatur, DeKalb County, Georgia; that plaintiff’s name was deleted from a joint account without her consent by defendant bank, so that a check she wrote on such account, after being deposited to her individual account, was dishonored and charged back to her individual account by defendant bank; that the defendant bank refuses to honor the check. The plaintiff sought the amount of the check, plus interest, attorney fees and punitive damages.
After service on the branch manager, the defendant/appellee answered the complaint stating that its name was “Bank South, N.A.” and for its first defense that “Bank of the South, South DeKalb Branch, is not a discrete legal entity amenable to suit.” In its third defense Bank South, N.A. admitted jurisdiction but denied it was “a corporation having its office and place of doing business at 2594 Candler Road, Decatur, DeKalb County, Georgia . . .” Instead it alleged that “it is a national banking association organized and existing under the laws of the United States, having its principal office at 55 Marietta Street, Atlanta, Georgia, and operating a branch office at 2594 Candler Road, Decatur, Georgia.”
Despite the notice given by defendant’s pleadings, the plaintiff did not amend her complaint. The case came on for trial before a jury. Defendant did not appear. No reason is given. The case was sub*388mitted to the jury on plaintiff’s evidence, and it returned a verdict for the plaintiff for the principal sum, attorney fees and a portion of the punitive damages sought. The verdict stated it was for plaintiff and did not denominate the defendant but was merely on a form which styled the case in the same manner as the complaint: “Carol G. Harrell, Plaintiff vs. Bank of the South, South DeKalb Branch, Defendant . . .” The trial court entered judgment on the verdict, reciting that it was “in favor of the Plaintiff and against the Defendant. . . .” The judgment was styled by the name defendant insisted in its answer was its proper name. The caption read: “Carol G. Harrell v. Bank of the South, N.A. (Bank South).”
At the following term of court defendant moved to set aside the judgment because it did not conform to the verdict as required by OCGA § 9-12-9. The grant of that motion brought about this appeal.
1. OCGA § 9-12-9 requires a judgment to conform to the verdict. Such provision is not violated by a discrepancy between the verdict and judgment which is immaterial. Mitchell v. Printup, 19 Ga. 579 (2) (1856). See Carter v. Parson, 230 Ga. 177, 178 (196 SE2d 19) (1973). In Saulsbury, Respess & Co. v. Blandys, 65 Ga. 45 (2) (1879) it was stated that since a verdict must be reasonably interpreted “a verdict in favor of plaintiffs for a stipulated amount would be that such finding was against the defendants who had been made parties to the case, and no others . . .” (Emphasis supplied.) It has often been stated that a judgment must follow the true meaning and intent of the jury’s finding. King v. Cox, 130 Ga. App. 91, 93 (5) (202 SE2d 216) (1973); Taylor v. Taylor, 212 Ga. 637 (1) (94 SE2d 744) (1956). Here the jury intended to find for the plaintiff and against the only defendant who was actually in the case. That is the party who now appeals; it is not a non-entity.
2. “A motion to set aside a judgment under [OCGA § 9-11-60 (d)] must be ‘predicated upon some nonamendable defect which appears on the face of the record or pleadings or upon lack of jurisdiction.’ ” Emery Enterprises v. Automatic Fastners Div., 155 Ga. App. 24 (2) (270 SE2d 261) (1980). “The motion will not be granted where matters upon which it is predicated must be developed by evidence.” Wiley v. Wiley, 233 Ga. 824, 826 (2) (213 SE2d 682) (1975).
In Carroll v. Equico Lessors, 141 Ga. App. 279 (1) (233 SE2d 255), a defendant appealed from a denial of a motion to set aside a judgment predicated on a claim that the plaintiff was not a legal entity. In affirming we said: “ ‘A corporation conducting business in a trade name may sue or be sued in the trade name.’ [Cit.] An affidavit filed by the plaintiff in opposition to the motion to set aside shows that Equico Lessors is a trade name. Code Ann. § 81A-160 (d) [OCGA § 9-11-60 (d)] provides in part that ‘A motion to set aside must be predicated upon some nonamendable defect which does appear upon *389the face of the record or pleadings, . . .’ A misnomer is amendable if it does not result in the substitution or addition of another party. [Cit.] ‘ “Where the name does not import a legal entity, but in fact it is a corporation, such defect may be cured by an. amendment alleging the corporate character. [Cits.]”’ [Cit.] The basis for the motion to set aside filed by the defendants is not within the purview of Code Ann. § 81A-160 (d).”
Decided March 15, 1985
Rehearing denied March 29, 1985
E. T. Hendon, Jr., for appellant.
James A. MacKay, William B. Gunter, W. Stanley Blackburn, John J. Worley, for appellee.
Even though the motion to set aside was predicated on an alleged violation of OCGA § 9-12-9, the basis for the motion was a misnomer of defendant. Since a misnomer is amendable if it does not result in the substitution or addition of another party, the instant motion to set aside, which must be based on a nonamendable defect, was not well grounded. No new or different party was added when the court, on its own motion, amended the style of the case to conform to allegations asserted in the answer, which answer was filed by this defendant and in which answer Bank South N.A. repeatedly referred to itself as the defendant in the case.1
I am authorized to state that Judge Benham joins in this dissent.

 As to court sua sponte amending a case style, see McKinney v. Schaefer, 117 Ga. App. 595, 596 (1) (161 SE2d 446) (1968).