Berry v. Consumer Credit of Valdosta

Decision Date13 October 1971
Docket NumberNo. 1,No. 46480,46480,1
Citation184 S.E.2d 694,124 Ga.App. 586
PartiesJames BERRY, Sr. v. CONSUMER CREDIT OF VALDOSTA
CourtGeorgia Court of Appeals

Burch & Boswell, John S. Boswell, Sr., Valdosta, for appellant.

No appearance for appellee.

Syllabus Opinion by the Court

PANNELL, Judge.

This is an appeal to this court from the denial by the judge of the Superior Court of Lanier County, Georgia, of an appeal to that court from the small claims court of Lanier County under Section 20 of the Act of 1967 (Ga.L.1967, pp. 2624, 2631) which section reads as follows: 'Appeals may be had from judgments rendered in a small claims court, to the superior court, by the party desiring to appeal. Said party shall first pay all costs then due. Said party must then file on the superior court a written appeal which shall include the name and number of the case in the small claims court stating his grounds for appeal, which grounds must first be heard before the judge of the superior court. If after a full hearing the grounds for appeal are denied, said party shall have the right to appeal to a higher court in the same manner as other decisions of the superior court are appealed.' The primary question presented for decision is whether in a small claims court the plaintiff could voluntarily reduce the amount of an account so as to give that court jurisdiction. That court has 'civil jurisdiction in all cases at law in which the principal amount of the demand or damages claimed or value of the property involved does not exceed five hundred dollars ($500).' Section 1 of the Act of 1967, supra. Held:

Where, as in the present case, the sworn statement of account attached to the summons shows a claim in excess of the jurisdiction of the court, although the summons issue for an amount within the jurisdiction of the court and where the plaintiff admits it voluntarily reduced the amount of the claim, the court had no jurisdiction of the suit on account. See in this connection Cox, Hill & Thompson v. Stanton, 58 Ga. 406; Velvin v. Hall, 78 Ga. 136; Rimes v. Williams, 99 Ga. 281(2), 25 S.E. 685; Forbes Piano Co. v. Owens, 120 Ga. 449(1), 47 S.E. 938. The judge of the superior court erred in denying the appeal.

In reaching the decision in this case, we have pretermitted any question as to whether the proper procedure was appeal under the Act of 1967 or certiorari under Code § 19-203, and we have pretermitted any question as to the constitutionality of Section 20...

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3 cases
  • Ray v. Tattnall Bank
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • September 9, 1983
    ...due on the same 1979 account over and above the $1,500 sought in Case No. 80-233. See in this connection Berry v. Consumer Credit of Valdosta, 124 Ga.App. 586, 587, 184 S.E.2d 694. Without further evidence we would not hold that this 1979 account (if, in fact the two judgments result from t......
  • Champion v. Rakes
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • September 2, 1980
    ...has no subject matter jurisdiction. Forbes Piano Co. v. Owens, 120 Ga. 449, 450, 47 S.E. 938 (1904); Berry v. Consumer Credit of Valdosta, 124 Ga.App. 586, 587, 184 S.E.2d 694 (1971). Accordingly, it was error for the trial court to deny appellant's motion to set aside the judgment for lack......
  • Berry v. Consumer Credit of Valdosta, Inc.
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • February 19, 1974
    ...the provisions of the Act and the appeal was denied. That case was then appealed to this court, which held (Berry v. Consumer Credit of Valdosta, 124 Ga.App. 586, 184 S.E.2d 694) that the court erred in denying the appeal since the small claims court had no jurisdiction of the subject matte......
6 books & journal articles
  • 1 Small Claim Cases
    • United States
    • State Bar of Georgia Georgia Benchbook 2023 edition
    • Invalid date
    ...waiver, and judgment rendered without subject-matter jurisdiction is absolutely void [OCGA 15-1-2; 155 Ga.App. 134, 270 SE2d 272 (1980); 124 Ga.App. 586, 184 SE2d 694 (1971)]. F. Court's Duty to Inquire - it is the court's duty to inquire into jurisdiction, and if it is found lacking at any......
  • 1 Small Claim Cases
    • United States
    • State Bar of Georgia Georgia Benchbook 2022 edition
    • Invalid date
    ...waiver, and judgment rendered without subject-matter jurisdiction is absolutely void [OCGA 15-1-2; 155 Ga.App. 134, 270 SE2d 272 (1980); 124 Ga.App. 586, 184 SE2d 694 (1971)]. F. Court's Duty to Inquire - it is the court's duty to inquire into jurisdiction, and if it is found lacking at any......
  • 1 Small Claim Cases
    • United States
    • State Bar of Georgia Georgia Benchbook 2016 edition
    • Invalid date
    ...waiver, and judgment rendered without subject-matter jurisdiction is absolutely void [OCGA 15-1-2; 155 Ga.App. 134, 270 SE2d 272 (1980); 124 Ga.App. 586, 184 SE2d 694 (1971)]. F. Court's Duty to Inquire - it is the court's duty to inquire into jurisdiction, and if it is found lacking at any......
  • 1 Small Claim Cases
    • United States
    • State Bar of Georgia Georgia Benchbook 2017 edition
    • Invalid date
    ...waiver, and judgment rendered without subject-matter jurisdiction is absolutely void [OCGA 15-1-2; 155 Ga.App. 134, 270 SE2d 272 (1980); 124 Ga.App. 586, 184 SE2d 694 (1971)]. F. Court's Duty to Inquire - it is the court's duty to inquire into jurisdiction, and if it is found lacking at any......
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