CHANDLER v. GATELY (two cases)
44075, 44076
Court of Appeals of Georgia
April 4, 1969
119 Ga. App. 513
(b) The general grounds of enumerated error are without merit.
3. While it seems clear from Division 1, supra, that testimony concerning the indictments of Curtis and Garrett for arson, copies of the indictments, and the documentary evidence of the witnesses’ guilty pleas were inadmissible, there is no reversible error in the admission of any part of that evidence because of the failure of plaintiff‘s counsel to make sufficient objection.
4. “When a question is propounded, it belongs to the court to consider and to decide whether any direct answer to it can implicate the witness. If this be decided in the negative, then he may answer it without violating the privilege [against self-incrimination] which is secured to him by the law.” Bass v. Bass, 222 Ga. 378, 385 (149 SE2d 818); Empire Life Ins. Co. v. Einstein, 12 Ga. App. 380, 384 (77 SE 209). Where it was plain that the claim of privilege was not well taken the court did not err in requiring the witness to answer a certain question. See Warnell v. U. S., 291 F.2d 687, 688.
5. It was not error to exclude evidence of reasonable attorney‘s fees where the evidence on the trial showed reasonable and probable cause for refusal to pay plaintiff‘s claim. See U. S. Fidel. &c. Co. v. Biddy Lumber Co., 114 Ga. App. 358, 359 (151 SE2d 466).
Judgment affirmed. Hall and Quillian, JJ., concur.
44075, 44076. CHANDLER v. GATELY (two cases).
Henry R. Smith, for appellees.
EBERHARDT, Judge.
The statute requires that “Supporting and opposing affidavits shall be made on personal knowledge, shall set forth such facts as would be admissible in the evidence, and shall show affirmatively that the affiant is competent to testify to the matters stated therein.”
“An affidavit considered on motion for summary judgment must show that the affiant has personal knowledge of facts stated in [the] affidavit, and must contain evidentiary matter which, if affiant were in court and testified on the witness stand, would be admissible as part of his testimony.” Planters Rural Telephone Co-op. v. Chance, 108 Ga. App. 146 (132 SE2d 90). “An affidavit which shows on its face that it is not made on the personal knowledge of the affiant is insufficient to show to the court that there is a genuine dispute for the jury to decide.” Cochran v. Southern Business University, 110 Ga. App. 666 (2) (139 SE2d 400). And see Bussie v. Wilson, 114 Ga. App. 298 (151 SE2d 186).
“In considering depositions and affidavits in support of or in opposition to motions for summary judgments the facts contained therein, and not the conclusions stated, determine whether a genuine issue of fact exists.” Varnadoe v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 112 Ga. App. 366 (1) (145 SE2d 104). Mrs. Gately‘s statements are no more than conclusions, and would not be admissible in evidence. They are without probative value. “A witness can not state his mere conclusion that others than himself knew a fact.” Bush & Hattaway v. McCarty Co., 127 Ga. 308 (6) (56 SE 452, 9 AC 240). Where a witness testified “I am quite sure that she [petitioner] knew the details of that affidavit. She intimated to me she knew the contents of the paper and knew what she was signing,” it was
In a summary judgment proceeding we held that “The statement by the plaintiffs in their affidavits that the owner knew that the driver was incompetent and reckless and knew of his prior arrest record, without any showing of evidence to disclose actual knowledge, is merely a conclusion, and as such is of no probative value in overcoming the owner‘s sworn statement concerning the extent of his actual knowledge.” Saunders v. Vikers, 116 Ga. App. 733, 736 (158 SE2d 324). And see Mims v. Brook & Co., 3 Ga. App. 247, 250 (59 SE 711). “[I]t is not competent for a witness to state merely that another person knew a thing. In the future of advancing psychology it may become possible for one person to look into the mind of another and testify what the latter knows. But at present the law treats such statements as conclusions, not facts.” Slaughter v. Heath, 127 Ga. 747, 759 (57 SE 69, 27 LRA (NS) 1).
“Affidavits containing mere legal conclusions and allegations which would not be admitted into evidence present no issues of fact on a motion for summary judgment.” Benefield v. Malone, 112 Ga. App. 408 (2) (145 SE2d 732). And see Cooper v. Brock, 117 Ga. App. 501 (3) (161 SE2d 75).
There is thus a failure of Mrs. Gately to show scienter on the part of Mr. Chandler, the defendant, and “scienter was the gist of the action. Conway v. Grant, 88 Ga. 40; Reed v. Southern Express Co., 95 Ga. 108 [22 SE 133, 51 ASR 62].” Harvey v. Buchanan, 121 Ga. 384, 385 (49 SE 281). When this statement (or these statements) in her affidavits as to the defendant‘s scienter is discarded from consideration there is left no proof of it. It is to be recalled that in her deposition she testified that she did not know whether the defendant had any knowledge thereof, and in his affidavit Mr. Chandler positively denied that he did.
Scienter is a necessary and a material fact which must be shown before there can be any finding of liability against the defendant.
Not only did Mrs. Gately‘s affidavits fail to show knowledge on the part of the defendant, but his affidavit showed that he had no such knowledge, paralleling the situation in Crutcher v. Crawford Land Co., 220 Ga. 298, 302 (138 SE2d 580). The pleadings were pierced by defendant‘s affidavit, and it became the plaintiffs’ duty to produce at the hearing evidence of the kind that shows the existence of a genuine issue of material fact, and failing to do so, defendant‘s motion for summary judgment should have been granted.
There is another ground on which a reversal may rest.2 There are other rules of evidence which lead to the same conclusion—even if Mrs. Gately‘s affidavits be not regarded as fatally defective in the respects indicated. Her testimony delivered when the deposition was taken and that in the affidavit are in hopeless conflict, and as to her case, this requires that we construe her deposition and her affidavit against her to resolve the conflict.
At common law those having an interest in the subject matter of litigation, civil or criminal, were incompetent to
The common-law rule obtained in this State until the Evidence Act of 1866, from which derives our present
This is a substantial, fundamental rule of evidence which has
Both courts have followed the reasoning of the rule in dealing with summary judgment matters. There is no conflict with the rule and what we held in Capital Automobile Co. v. General Motors Acceptance Corp., 119 Ga. App. 186 (166 SE2d 584) where we construed the statement in plaintiff‘s affidavit that he “purchased said automobile from Capital Automobile Company through its salesman, James W. Bailey” to mean that he thought that he was dealing with the company through its agent, and it in no wise conflicts with the ruling made in Colonial Stores v. Turner, 117 Ga. App. 331 (160 SE2d 672) or with the rule therein quoted from Professor Moore‘s work on Federal Practice. Neither of these can be said to have the effect of suspending the application and operation of well-settled rules of evidence.
Under CPA § 50 (
While there is the general rule that on motion for summary judgment the movant has the burden of demonstrating the lack of a genuine issue of material fact, and that the evidence is to be construed in favor of the party opposing the motion, that rule does not prohibit the application of or suspend the well-settled, fundamental rules of evidence which the court must apply at all times and in all proceedings. Indeed, the Act,
Application of the rules of evidence in connection with a motion for summary judgment is somewhat analogous to the application of the rules of construction of contracts when an ambiguity appears. Construction of the contract is for the court unless, after application of all applicable rules of construction the ambiguity remains. Davis v. United Amer. Life Ins. Co., 215 Ga. 521 (2) (111 SE2d 488).
In considering the evidence submitted in connection with and in opposition to a motion for summary judgment the court should apply applicable rules of evidence and, after having done so, construe the evidence as it then stands in favor of the party opposing the motion. For example, all hearsay, unsupported conclusions, contemporaneous oral agreements contrary to an unambiguous written contract, and the like, as well as favorable portions of a party‘s self-conflicting evidence, must be stricken or eliminated from consideration.
After the rules are properly applied here there is a complete
If this is not to be done, the practical effect is to eliminate the summary judgment statute except in those types of cases in which, except for failure of the pleading to reveal the absence of a right to recover, the matter could have been disposed of on motion to dismiss, as, for example, where the statute of limitation has barred the action, or in which a recovery is sought against a municipal corporation for an injury alleged to have been inflicted by its servant while engaged in the performance of a governmental function. If the rule is not to be applied any opposing party may, by the simple device of filing conflicting affidavits, get the motion denied. The temptations to perjury are greater in this situation than in a jury trial. It is a paradigm of the necessity and importance of the rule. The conflict can easily be avoided. A party knows what he has sworn. If he has discovered error, it can be explained in his affidavit. The rule is just and fair.
The situation is analogous to that described in Manning v. A. A. B. Corp., 223 Ga. 111, 117 (153 SE2d 561) where it was held: “The answer of the defendants, admitting some of the plaintiff‘s allegations but denying others, did not thereby create issues of fact which should have been submitted to a jury. It has been well put that ‘If a motion for a summary judgment were to be denied in every instance where an issue appears in the pleadings by an allegation and a denial, there would indeed be little or no use or need for the statute. . . . It is obvious that the General Assembly intended for the statute to have a greater and more beneficial scope. We think the legislature had as a primary purpose in enacting the summary judgment pro-
Another rule of evidence would further demonstrate that the motion for summary judgment should have been granted. “[I]f a plaintiff testifies to facts in one instance and also testifies that he does not know them to be true, this neutralizes his testimony and proves nothing. Hamby v. Hamby, 99 Ga. App. 808, 820 (110 SE2d 133); Robertson v. Carroll Furn. Co., 54 Ga. App. 841 (189 SE 273); Wallace v. State, 55 Ga. App. 872, 875 (192 SE 81).” Dykes v. Hammock, 116 Ga. App. 389, supra.
It is true that in her affidavit Mrs. Gately testified that the horse had on an occasion at the Thomas stables kicked one of the employees and that the defendant knew of it. However, in her deposition she stated that while she had heard that the horse had kicked somebody on one occasion she did not know whether Mr. Chandler knew of it or not. There was no proof of scienter, even if it be said that there was some proof that the horse had previously kicked somebody, and proof of scienter was essential.
If the case were tried on the evidence submitted, a verdict for the defendant would be demanded and it would be error to deny a motion therefor. If a verdict for the plaintiff were returned by a jury it would be wholly unsupported. There is no genuine issue of material fact. It is the very purpose of the summary judgment law to avoid a waste of time and expense on the trial of a case of this kind. Crutcher v. Crawford Land Co., 220 Ga. 298, 304, supra; Manning v. A. A. B. Corp., 223 Ga. 111, 117, supra.
Appellant strongly urges that under the testimony of Mrs. Gately, an experienced and expert horsewoman, as reflected in her deposition, she has knowledge of the horse and its disposition equal, if not superior, to that of the defendant, who owned it, and that having this knowledge she assumed the risk of any injury which she might suffer from her riding and handling of
We deem the disposition made of the matter in the above divisions to be sufficient to make it unnecessary to rule on this contention.
Since Mrs. Gately is not a party to her husband‘s suit for the recovery of medical expenses and for loss of consortium, the rule as to the construction of the conflicting testimony of a party does not apply. However, his right to recover is derivative and dependent upon his ability to show a right existing in her to recover. Hightower v. Landrum, 109 Ga. App. 510, 514 (136 SE2d 425).
Under our ruling as to the insufficiency of her affidavit to meet the statutory requirements, and that her statements for showing scienter on the part of Mr. Chandler are no more than conclusions, without probative value, together with Mr. Chandler‘s positive denial of knowledge as to any vicious or dangerous character on the part of the horse, it must follow that a finding was demanded in his favor in the husband‘s case as well as in that of the wife.
It was error to deny the defendant‘s motions for summary judgment.
Judgments reversed. Bell, P. J., Quillian and Whitman, JJ., concur. Felton, C. J., concurs as to Divisions 1, 2, 4 and 5. Hall, J., concurs as to Division 1 (a). Deen, J., concurs as to Divisions 2, 3, 4 and 5. Felton, C. J., dissents as to Division 3. Hall, J., dissents as to Divisions 1 (b), 2 and 3. Deen, J., dissents as to Division 1. Jordan, P. J., and Pannell, J., dissent.
FELTON, Chief Judge, concurring in part and dissenting in part. I concur in the judgments and in all divisions of the opinion except Division 3. I am of the opinion that Division 3 is
JORDAN, Presiding Judge, dissenting. Division 1 (a) criticizes the form of the plaintiff‘s affidavit in that it does not contain a jurat or “affirmatively” show that it was made on the personal knowledge of the affiant. It was made clear in Holland v. Sanfax Corp., 106 Ga. App. 1 (126 SE2d 442), that courts will look to the affidavit and its contents as a whole in determining whether or not it meets the requirement as to personal knowledge of the affiant. In my opinion Mrs. Gately‘s affidavit, even absent a jurat, meets this basic test in that it is clear that at least certain material portions of her affidavit affirmatively show such to be positive statements of fact based on her personal knowledge. An examination of the record shows that the defendant‘s affidavit is in exactly the same form as that of the plaintiff and should not be given weight where plaintiff‘s affidavit is discarded on a technical objection.
Even omitting that portion of the plaintiff‘s affidavit referred to in Division 1 (b) of the opinion scienter is alleged elsewhere in Mrs. Gately‘s affidavit when she affirmatively states that the defendant was present at the Thomas stable where the horse suddenly threw his granddaughter to the ground, after which he approached the plaintiff and asked her to ride and try to gentle the horse. This is in direct conflict with the defendant‘s affidavit that “Mr. Bee was a gentle, good-natured, well mannered horse.” In my opinion, such conflict between plaintiff‘s and defendant‘s affidavits is sufficient to create a genuine issue both as to the animal‘s dangerous propensity and as to the defendant‘s knowledge of such. Scienter can be shown by circumstantial as well as direct evidence and is generally a question for the jury except in plain and palpable cases.
I dissent to the ruling made in Division 3 of the opinion as the holding there conflicts with the long line of cases both
I would affirm the denial of the defendant‘s motion for summary judgment in both cases.
I am authorized to state that Judge Pannell concurs in this dissent.
HALL, Judge, concurring specially. I concur with Division 1 (a) of the majority opinion to the extent that the contents of Mrs. Gately‘s affidavits do not affirmatively show that the material parts thereof were made on her personal knowledge.
Since it has been held that the affidavits fail to meet this fundamental test and are not entitled to consideration, I see no reason for this court to engage in any dictum as to whether the contents of these affidavits would or would not be sufficient to rebut the evidence presented by the defendant in support of his motion for summary judgment had they been made on personal knowledge.
“A statement in the jurat to the effect that the affidavit is made upon personal knowledge is generally sufficient” to comply with the Act, but the requirement of personal knowledge may be met by other material in evidence, at least when no objection to the form of the affidavit was made in the trial court. Holland v. Sanfax Corp., 106 Ga. App. 1, 5, supra; Lawson v. American Motorists Ins. Corp., 217 F.2d 724, 726 (5th Cir. 1954); Chambers v. United States, 357 F.2d 224, 228 (8th Cir. 1966).