McLendon v. Floyd

McLendon v. Floyd, 1 S.E.2d 466 (Ga. Ct. App. 1939)

Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia · State Appellate Courts
Decided: February 23, 1939
Docket: No. 27249
Judges: Broyles
Citations: 1 S.E.2d 46659 Ga. App. 5061939 Ga. App. LEXIS 338

Cited by 13 2 descriptions by later courts

Opinion of the Court — Broyles

Text extracted by OCR from a scanned original; check the original for exact wording.

Broyles, C. J.

“Damages are given as compensation for the injury sustained.” Code, § 20-1402. Therefore, in an action to recover damages for personal injuries, where the evidence, although in sharp conflict, authorized the finding of the jury establishing the liability of the defendant, and the undisputed evidence showed *507 actual damages to the plaintiff resulting from the injuries sustained, in the loss of her wages as a nurse for four months, amounting to $400, and in doctor’s and hospital bills and medical expenses amounting to $300, and also severe pain and suffering, a verdict in favor of the plaintiff for $300 was grossly inadequate and “contrary to law and the evidence, and the refusal to grant the plaintiff a new trial was error. See in this connection, Travers V. Macon Ry. &c. Co., 19 Ga. App. 15 ( 90 S. E. 732 ); Anglin v. Columbus, 128 Ga. 469 ( 57 S. E. 780 ); Potter v. Swindle, 77 Ga. 419 ( 3 S. E. 94 ); Slaughter v. Atlanta Coca-Cola Bottling Co., 48 Ga. App. 327 ( 172 S. E. 723 ). This is true although the trial now under review was the second trial of the case, and on the first trial a verdict in favor of the plaintiff for $250 was returned, which, on a motion for new trial, was set aside by the court as being inadequate. If the first verdict for $250 was so inadequate as to indicate prejudice and bias by the jury, then, under the evidence, the present verdict for $300 is likewise grossly inadequate for the same reason, and the error committed by a previous jury is no excuse, legal or moral, for a similar error by the jury on the second trial. “The question of the amount of the verdict is ordinarily for the court below, and [but ?] where a grossly excessive [or a grossly inadequate] amount is returned, the trial court should never allow it to stand, no matter how many new trials it may be obliged to grant.” Rea v. Pittsburg &c. R. Co., 229 Pa. 106 ( 78 Atl. 73 , 140 Am. St. R. 721 ).

Judgment reversed.

MacIntyre and Guerry, JJ., concur.

How later courts describe this case

Explanatory parentheticals written by citing courts — 2 in all; the most informative distinct ones are shown.

(a case where the plaintiffs verdict came to less than the plaintiffs special damages and loss of wages)

Carter v. Reese, 258 S.E.2d 165 (Ga. Ct. App. 1979)
(award of $300 in past medical costs was inadequate, requiring a new trial, where it was undisputed that the plaintiff also suffered pain and suffering and other damages)

Evans v. Rockdale Hosp., LLC., 813 S.E.2d 601 (Ga. Ct. App. 2018)

Cited by 13 cases

View all citing references →

State Appellate Courts13

Relies on it most ⓘ

Tallent v. McKelvey125 S.E.2d 65 (Ga. Ct. App. 1962)
Powers v. Pate129 S.E.2d 193 (Ga. Ct. App. 1962)
Beecher v. Farley123 S.E.2d 184 (Ga. Ct. App. 1961)
Pierson v. M. M. Bus Company40 S.E.2d 561 (Ga. Ct. App. 1946)
Brooks v. Williams193 S.E.2d 231 (Ga. Ct. App. 1972)
Taylor v. Roberson192 S.E.2d 384 (Ga. Ct. App. 1972)

Most recent

EVANS v. ROCKDALE HOSPITAL, LLC.813 S.E.2d 601 (Ga. Ct. App. 2018)
Carter v. Reese258 S.E.2d 165 (Ga. Ct. App. 1979)
Reid v. Minter224 S.E.2d 849 (Ga. Ct. App. 1976)
Simmons v. Brock205 S.E.2d 716 (Ga. Ct. App. 1974)
Karlan v. Enloe198 S.E.2d 331 (Ga. Ct. App. 1973)
Brooks v. Williams193 S.E.2d 231 (Ga. Ct. App. 1972)

Citing references are not a citator: they show that a later opinion cites this case, not whether it followed, distinguished, or overruled it. Check negative history before relying on this case.

Authorities cited 5

Depth	Case	Cited by
	Rea v. Pittsburg & Connellsville R.R., 78 A. 73 (Pa. 1910)	34
	Anglin v. City of Columbus, 57 S.E. 780 (Ga. 1907)	22
	Slaughter v. Atlanta Coca-Cola Bottling Co., 172 S.E. 723 (Ga. Ct. App. 1934)	11
	Potter v. Swindle, 3 S.E. 94 (Ga. 1887)	10
	Travers v. Macon Ry. & Light Co., 90 S.E. 732 (Ga. Ct. App. 1916)	10

`/`	Focus the search box
`j` `k`	Next / previous result
`Enter`	Open the selected result
`x`	Add / remove the selected result from the download list
`n` `p`	Next / previous search term in a case
`c`	Copy the citation of the current case
`+` `−`	Larger / smaller reading text
`?`	Show this list