1 Ga. App. 190 | Ga. Ct. App. | 1907
O’Donovan sued a defendant by attachment and 'had the Ocean Steamship Company served with a summons of garnishment, returnable to the February term of a justice’s court in Savannah. This court convened on February 14, and remained
1. Although a garnishee fail to answer until after judgment has been rendered against the defendant in the main case and also against the garnishee in the garnishment proceedings, it is still .a matter of judicial discretion to allow the garnishee to open the judgment against him and to file his answer at any time before the adjournment of the term of the court to which the summons of garnishment is returnable. Russell v. Freedman’s Bank, 50 Ga. 576; Emanuel v. Smith, 38 Ga. 603; Harris v. Breed, 38 Ga. 298; Bearden v. Railway Co., 82 Ga. 605, and cases cited; Atlanta Journal v. Brunswick Pub. Co., 111 Ga. 718. Since a justice of the peace has no power to set aside a judgment formally entered in his court, this discretion is not addressed to him, but is addressed to that tribunal which has the supervisory power over all the'transactions occurring in such inferior courts, namely the superior court. If the matter be brought before the superior court by certiorari, the trial judge is there invested with the same discretion that would have been addressed to the justice of the peace if that offi■cer were not denied the power, ordinarily inherent in courts, of controlling their judgments until the expiration of the session. 'Therefore the action -of the judge of the superior court, which in •effect vacated the judgment of default and ordered a new trial in the justice court, will not be reversed. Judgment affirmed. .