176 Ga. 902 | Ga. | 1933
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting. The petition in this ease, omitting the formal portions, is as follows:
“Lester Sheaxouse brings this his equitable petition against Dorothy Linderman, alias Dorothy Sheaxouse, who is hereby made party defendant to this petition, and alleges: First. That petitioner is a resident of said State and county, residing at Pooler, Georgia. Second. That defendant is a resident of said State and county, also residing at Pooler, Georgia. Third. That on March 29, 1932, a marriage ceremony was performed between the parties hereto at Ridgeland, S. C., purporting to unite in the bonds of matrimony petitioner and defendant, but that said marriage was only a pretended marriage, was null and void, for the following reasons, to wit: At the time said marriage ceremony was had and performed your petitioner was an unwilling party to said pretended marriage, and only took part in said pretended marriage by reason of threats of great bodily harm made against him by R. T. Linderman, a brother of defendant, and the father of defendant, a Mr. Linderman whose initials are unknown to petitioner. Petitioner further shows that he was fraudulently induced to visit the home of defendant, at which time said threats of great bodily harm was made against him, and that in company with said brother of defendant was forced to enter an automobile and journey to Ridgeland, S. C., and unwillingly take part in said pretended marriage, all of which was contrary to any intention of your petitioner and against his will and he only took part in said pretended marriage by reason of fear that great bodily harm, amounting to a felony, would be inflicted upon him instantly, upon his refusal.
“Wherefore petitioner prays: (a) That said pretended null and void marriage between petitioner and defendant be declared and adjudged to be null and void, and that he, your petitioner, be forever released and discharged from any and all obligations and duty, if any, arising from said pretended marriage, and for such other relief as to justice and equity may appertain, and as may seem meet and proper in the premises. (b) That process do issue directed to defendant, requiring her to be and appear at the next term of this honorable court to answer your petitioner’s complaint.”
The judgment of the court was as follows: “The pleader calls his petition in this case an equitable petition. There is nothing in a name. You might call a dog a bull, but that would not make the canine a bovine. The petition is for annulment. The trouble with it is that it does not set out sufficient facts to withstand the special demurrers. The 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grounds of demurrer are overruled; the 2nd, 7th, 8th, and 9th grounds are sustained, with right to petitioner to amend within ten days to meet the same.55 This order was dated November 10, 1932. On November 28, 1932, the defendant sued out a bill of exceptions assigning error on so much of the judgment as overruled any of the grounds of the defendant’s demurrer.
It will be observed that this is an equitable petition brought to annul a marriage on the ground’ that the plaintiff was forced to marry the defendant by the brother and father of the defendant, and that consequently the marriage was null and void. The issue is
In the present case the court overruled the general demurrer, but sustained the special demurrer with leave to amend within ten days, and there is nothing in the record to show that any amendment was filed within the ten days allowed by the trial court. The record does show that the bill of exceptions was signed after the ten days had expired, and therefore it will be inferred that no amendment in answer to the special demurrer was filed in order to meet the grounds of that demurrer. But, whether the petition was amended or not, it is plain that no amendment could have converted this equitable petition for the annulment of a marriage into a suit for divorce. To do so would be to allow the plaintiff to set out a different cause of action; and when the court overruled the general demurrer that was a final termination of the case within the meaning of Civil Code (1910), § 6138, which is as follows: “No cause shall be carried to the Supreme Court upon any bill of exceptions, so long as the same is pending in the court below, unless the decision or judgment complained of, if it had been rendered as claimed by
I can not concur, therefore, in the view of the majority of the court to the effect that the judgment rendered by the trial judge on the demurrers was not final, and that the suit is still pending in the court below. Among the powers conferred upon the Supreme Court is one giving it authority to give final direction to a case. If I am right in what I have said in this dissent, what would be the use of allowing the case to go back for another trial, when no amendment that the plaintiff could offer would change the petition from a suit to annul a marriage, to a suit for divorce ? Although the learned trial judge says that “there is nothing in a name,” thereby indicating that this is suit for divorce instead of an equitable petition to annual a marriage, yet the petition is denominated an “equitable petition,” and it merely prays for a decree setting aside the marriage between the parties in this case on the ground that it was obtained through duress. It is hard to discern upon what principle this writ of error is dismissed. Eegardless of the rulings on the special demurrer, in which the lower court gave permission to amend, the above-stated rule would still prevail even though the case is still pending for that purpose, or for any other purpose. I am of the opinion that the court erred in not sustaining the general demurrer and in not dismissing the case. Chief Justice Eussell concurs in this dissent.
Lead Opinion
The judgment overruling certain grounds of the defendant’s demurrer to the petition, but sustaining other grounds, with leave to amend, purports upon its face to be provisional only, and not final, indicating such a reservation of jurisdiction in the trial court as to prevent the bringing to this court of a bill of exceptions assigning error thereon. The bill of exceptions must therefore be dismissed, for want of jurisdiction in this court to entertain it. See Richards v. Georgia Power Co., 42 Ga. App. 741 and cit.; Olds Motor Works v. Olds Oakland Co., 140 Ga. 400 (78 S. E. 902).
Writ of error dismissed.