Court Opinion

ID: 9564218
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 18:56:12.202372+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:18:17.285304
License: Public Domain

Hall, Presiding Judge.
In a previous appeal involving the same *584parties, this court reversed a $20,000 judgment which had been rendered in favor of the appellee. Barnett v. Thomas, 126 Ga. App. 587 (191 SE2d 450). After judgment was taken on the remittitur in the trial court, the appellants filed a motion to tax costs against the appellee. The costs were itemized as "$470.80 for a transcript of the evidence and proceedings”, "$350.50 for costs in the trial court and sending the record to the Court of Appeals”, and "the sum of $30.00 as costs” (statutory costs due the state in the Court of Appeals). After a hearing, the motion to tax costs was denied.
Code § 6-1704 provides that the appellant is entitled to a judgment for the "costs in the appellate court” in case of a reversal. In Hartley v. Hartley, 212 Ga. 62 (90 SE2d 555), and cits., the Supreme Court held that the Code Section applies as well in cases where the appellant obtains a substantial modification of an adverse judgment. The issue here is what are the costs in the appellate court?
The appellee contends that all of the items listed in the appellants’ motion to tax costs, except the $30 costs in the Court of Appeals, are costs in the trial court. She contends further that Code Ann. § 81A-154(d) embodies the substance of former § 37-1105 and § 24-3401 and that its effect is to place the award of costs in any civil action within the discretion of the trial court. We disagree. Where there is an appeal, the costs on appeal are controlled by Code § 6-1804 rather than § 81A-154 (d).
The Hartley case refers to the "costs on appeal.” Among the cases cited in that decision, McGuire v. Johnson, 25 Ga. 604, speaks of "the costs incurred in bringing the cause to this court.” Central of Ga. R. Co. v. Glascock & Warfield, 120 Ga. 319 (47 SE 910), refers to "costs of transcript of record.” Other cases cited refer to the cost of the bill of exceptions. Over a period of many years when this court taxed the costs against the defendant in error, it used the language "all costs of the writ of error.”
Before the Appellate Practice Act of 1965 the clerk of the trial court transmitted to this Court a document containing the bill of exceptions, the required pleadings, and a brief of the evidence. Since the enactment of the Appellate Practice Act, he sends two documents if there is a Reporter’s Transcript of Proceedings. One is the Reporter’s Transcript and the other is the Clerk’s Record. The Reporter’s Transcript and the Clerk’s Record are both required for an effective appeal and both are included in the costs of appeal. In the event of a reversal or a substantial modification, *585the appellant is entitled to a judgment for these costs on return of the remittitur.
Argued May 7, 1973
Decided September 6, 1973.
Martin, Snow, Grant & Napier, George C. Grant, T. Baldwin Martin, for appellants.
Jones, Cork, Miller & Benton, H. Jerome Strickland, E. Bruce Benton, for appellee.
Judgment reversed with direction that the court enter judgment for the appellants and against the appellee for the $30 costs in the Court of Appeals, the $470.80, which appellants paid for the Reporter’s Transcript, and so much of the item of $350.50 as represents the cost of the preparation of the Clerk’s Record which was transmitted to this Court. The remaining costs in the trial court are to be cast in accordance with existing law.

Judgment reversed with direction.

Bell, C. J., Eberhardt, P. J., Deen, Quillian, Clark and Stolz, JJ., concur. Pannell and Evans, JJ., dissent.