6 Ga. App. 43 | Ga. Ct. App. | 1909
Peek brought suit in the city court of Atlanta against the Southern Railway Company and Dwyer, as one of its servants or agents, to recover damages for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution. The jury returned a verdict in his favor for $500, as damages for false imprisonment; and the defendants’ motion for a new trial was overruled. Besides the general grounds, the motion alleges error in certain rulings on evidence, and in certain portions of the charge.
As to the general grounds, it may be stated that the evidence fully supports the material allegations of fact in the plaintiff’s petition, to wit, that while he was engaged as an engineer in the company’s yards in the city of Atlanta, he was arrested without a warrant or legal authority, by Dwyer, acting for the railway company, on the charge of simple larceny; that after his illegal arrest he was taken by Dwyer to the station-house in the city of Atlanta, and was there incarcerated for about eight hours, when he was taken before the recorder and was prosecuted by Dwyer, at the instance and under the direction of the railway company, on the charge of simple larceny, and, after a full investigation, he was acquitted and discharged by the recorder; that he had not
There was an attempt on the part of the defendant to impeach Peek as a witness by evidence of general bad character, which attempt was met by Peek by counter evidence proving his general good character; and the evidence as to the general custom or practice by the employees of the railway company, alluded to, was admitted by the court over the objection of the defendant. The special assignments of error may be reduced to two and will be considered in their order
From a careful consideration of the case, we are satisfied that no error of law was committed; that the verdict of the jury is supported by the evidence, and that the judgment refusing to grant a new trial should be Affirmed.