Bryan v. Moncrief Furnace Co.

• Docket Number: 18712.
• Decision Date: 10 April 1928
• Citation: 142 S.E. 700,38 Ga.App. 107
• Parties: BRYAN v. MONCRIEF FURNACE CO. et al.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

142 S.E. 700

38 Ga.App. 107

BRYAN v. MONCRIEF FURNACE CO. et al.

No. 18712.

Court of Appeals of Georgia, First Division

April 10, 1928

Syllabus by Editorial Staff.

In damage suit for personal injuries against furnace company and Knights of Ku Klux Klan, error, if any, in denying timely motion of plaintiff to purge jury of all members of Knights of Ku Klux Klan, held not shown to have been prejudicial to plaintiff's cause, where record failed to affirmatively disclose that any juror passing on case was, at time of service, member of Klan.

Affidavit to establish contention that three members of jury were members of Ku Klux Klan, which was defendant in suit, made by person who had been one of jurors in case, cannot be considered by Court of Appeals.

As matter of public policy, juror cannot be heard to impeach his verdict either by disclosing incompetency or misconduct of fellow jurors, or by showing own misconduct or disqualification from any cause.

Supporting affidavits for new trial failing to give names of associates of witnesses on whose newly discovered evidence new trial was sought held fatally defective under Civ. Code 1910 § 6086.

Refusal to give written request to charge held not error where requested charge was substantially covered by charge given.

In damage suit for personal injuries, charge that employee going on premises of another to improve premises, if having equal means with owner or contractor hiring employee of knowing premises were dangerous, could not recover for injuries by defect on premises not known to owner or contractor held proper.

General grounds of motion for new trial not referred to in brief of counsel for plaintiff in error held treated as abandoned.

Error from Superior Court, Fulton County; John D. Humphries, Judge.

Action by Sterling Bryan against the Moncrief Furnace Company and others. Judgment for defendants, and plaintiff brings error. Affirmed.

Ben J. Conyers and J. K. Jordan, both of Atlanta, for plaintiff in error.

Harold Hirsch, Candler, Thomson & Hirsch, W. B. Cody, Hewlett & Dennis, and Paul S. Etheridge, all of Atlanta, for defendants in error.

Syllabus OPINION.

BROYLES C.J.

1. This was a damage suit for personal injuries, brought against Moncrief Furnace Company and Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Conceding (but not deciding) that the court erred in denying the timely motion of the plaintiff to purge the jury of all members of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, that error is not shown to have been prejudicial to the plaintiff's cause since the record fails to affirmatively disclose that any one of the jurors who passed upon the case was at the time of his service upon the jury a member of the Ku Klux Klan. The affidavits submitted by the movant to establish his contention that three members of the jury were at the time of their jury service members of the Klan were insufficient to affirmatively show that fact. Furthermore, one of the affidavits was made by a person who had been one of the jurors in the case. Such an affidavit, under repeated rulings of this court and the Supreme Court, cannot be considered. "As a matter of public policy, a juror cannot be heard to impeach his verdict, either by way of disclosing the incompetency or misconduct of his fellow jurors, or by showing his own misconduct or disqualification from any cause." Bowden v. State, 126 Ga. 578 (1), 55 S.E. 499; Thompson v. State, 4 Ga.App. 649 (5), 62 S.E. 99. Furthermore, the supporting affidavits, required by section 6086 of the Civil Code, were fatally defective, in that they failed to give the names of the...