130 Ga. 87 | Ga. | 1908
Lead Opinion
We think the court erred in holding that the plaintiff was relieved of the necessity of proving her title to the land, by the defendant’s failure to deny the paragraph of the petition in which the plaintiff alleged her title to the land in controversy. The judiciary act of 1799 prescribed that all suits in the superior court should be begun by a jDetition addressed to the court, signed by tho plaintiff or his counsel, plainty, fully, and distinctly setting forth the plaintiff’s cause of action. In 1847 the legislature prescribed certain forms of action, including a form of a petition for the recovery of land. See Code of 1882, §3389. This form was as follows: “The petition of A. B. showeth that C. D., of said county, is in possession of a certain tract of land in said county (here describe the land), to which your petitioner claims title; that the said C. D. has received the-profits of said land since, the-- day of-----, 18--, of the yearly value of--dollars, and refuses to deliver said land to your petitioner, or to pay him the profits thereof; wherefore,” 'etc. The legislative intent was not to abolish the distinctive features of good pleading, but to authorize a simplified and -concise form of a petition .applicable to certain actions. These forms were permissive, and not obligatory. Hilliard v. Connelly, 7 Ga. 172. While not intending to repeal the form of statement of the cause of action according to the rules of the common law, the statutory forms were allowable as a substitute. It could hardly have been the legislative purpose to devise a substantially different form of pleading so as to require the averment'of certain facts, if the petition was framed after the common-law standard, and excuse the averment of the same facts if the petition was in the statutory
Under the statutory form of action the abstract of title is not a part of the petition. Yonn v. Pittman, 82 Ga. 637 (9 S. E. 667). The plaintiff may make it a ¡Dart thereof by incorporating it in the body of his petition, or by making his exhibit which contains the abstract a part of his petition by reference or otherwise.' When, he does so, and the allegation is that he claims title to the land under the abstract of title annexed to his petition, such allegation, will not be treated as a simple allegation of title, but as an allegation that his title is limited to that defined in his abstract. “Where title is specifically as well as generally alleged, the specific-allegations control and qualify those that are general.” 21 Enc. Pl. & Pr. 725. In the case at bar the plaintiff alleges, as a distinct paragraph that she “claims title to said land, under a deed, and under the abstract of title hereto annexed, marked Exhibit A.” The exhibit purports to be an abstract of four deeds, the first a deed from Acy Evans to Ellery M. Brayton, dated in 1880 j then a deed from Ellery M. Brayton to Helen C. Brayton; then a deed from Helen C. Brayton to Henry H. Gumming; and lastly a deed from Henry H. Gumming to plaintiff, executed in 1902. There was no response to this paragraph, and under the pleading; act of 1893 the court ruled that defendant’s failure to answer this, paragraph was an admission that the plaintiff had prima facietitle to the land. The failure to answer can have no further effect than a direct admission; and what is that admission ? That the plaintiff has title beginning* with a conveyance in 1880, but under which no possession is alleged. In other words, that his title originates from a person who is not alleged to have had possession, or either a paper or prescriptive title. Suppose that the plaintiff had denied this paragraph, the mere introduction in evidence of the four deeds, an abstract of which was annexed to the petition, would, not have made a prima facie case. Therefore the failure to deny this paragraph could not have the effect of admitting that the plaintiff had title. It was but an admission that the plaintiff had the title which she alleged, and this was insufficient to cast the burden .on the defendant to show title. The court ruled otherwise, and we think this ruling was erroneous. .
Judgment reversed.
Concurrence Opinion
concurring specially. I concur in the judgment' in this case. I can not concur in' some of the statements in the headnotes and in the opinion. The exact point ruled is this: A plaintiff brought an action of complaint for land. She alleged that “petitioner claims title to said land under a deed and under the abstract of title hereto annexed, marked Exhibit A.” The defendant failed to respond to this paragraph of the petition. The court held that such failure was an admission of title in the plaintiff, relieved her from proving title to the premises, and furnished a sufficient basis for a verdict, or judgment in lieu of a verdict (the case being submitted to the court without a jury). This is held to be error, and the opinion of Presiding Justice Evans bases the ruling on the ground, that, when the petition alleged that the plaintiff expressly claimed title under a certain abstract, and the abstract did not show a prima facie title, a failure to answer this paragraph of the petition did not operate as an admission of title. I think this is clearly correct. But when the opinion goes further and declares that the act of 1893 (which is codified in §4961 of the Civil Code) intended to preserve and approve the old statutory or “short” forms of petition which were in the Code of 1882, at least in regard to suits for land, and apparently treats a mere general assertion, if it stood alone, that the plaintiff “claims title,” as good pleading, I am unable to concur in that view.
• The judiciary act of 1799 (Cobb’s Digest, 1135) declared that all suits of a civil nature “shall be by -petition to the court, which petition shall contain the plaintiff’s charge, allegation or demand, plainly, fully, and distinctly set forth.” It did not require the petition to be divided into distinct paragraphs and answered in
Applying the well-known method of construing statutes, here-was the old law of 1847, which declared what would suffice to meet the requirement of setting out a cause of action; here were the
Under the present law regulating pleading, if one sues to recover land (not using the fictitious form of an action of ejectment), the petition with the abstract attached must make out at least a prima facie case of title or right of possession. If the plaintiff has not title enough or sufficient right of possession to make out a prima facie case on paper by ex parte allegations, or abstract, or both, surely he should not be allowed to come into court and cause the expense of a jury trial for nothing. Excessive technicalities were the first evil; later followed pleadings which offered opportunity for legal “shooting in the dark;” and finally’came the present system, which looks to substance rather than to cobweb-like technical formulas, but requires a plaintiff- to plainly, fully, and distinctly set out a case — a real, substantial case, before the defendant shall be compelled to prepare to rebut by evidence an undisclosed or half-disclosed cause of action. One definition of the word “claim” often given is: “A challenge of the ownership of a thing which is wrongfully withheld from the possession of
It is unnecessary to discuss whether such an allegation, if unchallenged, would, as pleading, support a recovery; or whether it is merely irregular and may be perfected by amendment or cured by verdict, or is wholly inadequate; or whether general or special
The case of Marshall v. Shafter, 32 Cal. 176, is relied on as authority. Of that case several remarks maybe made. (1) The point was not raised by demurrer, or motion, or otherwise during the trial of the case in which the allegation was made; but when the judgment was afterwards pleaded as an estoppel, the sufficiency of the pleadings to put the title in issue was questioned. It was thus an attack or construction after judgment. (2) The allegation there involved was much stronger than a mere statement that the plaintiff claimed title. The plaintiff alleged that on a certain day he “was possessed of certain lands therein described, which said premises the said plaintiff claims in fee simple absolute.” And also, that, he “being so possessed thereof, and being so the owner thereof as aforesaid,” the defendant entered, ejected him,' and unjustly withheld the possession from him. Both of these statements were considered together as making out an allegation of title (pp. 190, 191). In the concurring opinion of Sawyer, J., it is stated that the plaintiff alleged that “he was possessed of” the land in controversy, “with the appurtenances, . . which said premises the said plaintiff claims in fee simple absolute,' and the said plaintiff being so possessed thereof, and being so the owner thereof, as aforesaid, the said defendants afterwards” entered into said premises and ejected the plaintiff. (3) No such statute as that of this State was being construed', but apparently the general allegation of title and.the general issue'or general denial were sufficient (p. }90). (4) In the concurring opinion of
I am authorized to state that Chief Justice Fish ‘concurs with me in the views above expressed.