Ellis v. Riley

• Decision Date: 16 November 1916
• Docket Number: 7633.
• Citation: 90 S.E. 724,18 Ga.App. 778
• Parties: ELLIS v. RILEY.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

90 S.E. 724

18 Ga.App. 778

ELLIS v. RILEY.

No. 7633.

Court of Appeals of Georgia

November 16, 1916

Syllabus by the Court.

An assignment of error that a verdict is contrary to the charge of the court, or to a portion thereof, is merely an assignment that the verdict is contrary to law, and presents no question for decision. Roberts v. Keeler, 111 Ga 181, 36 S.E. 617 (6); Wight v. Schmidt, 111 Ga. 858 36 S.E. 937; Napier v. Burkett, 113 Ga. 607, 38 S.E 941; Fryer v. State, 12 Ga.App. 533, 77 S.E. 830; Lamb v. McHan, 17 Ga.App. 5, 86 S.E. 252; McKelvin v. State, 17 Ga.App. 413, 87 S.E. 150.

Error is assigned upon the following instruction to the jury "Yet, on the other hand, if Mr. Ellis [the plaintiff] knew at the time that it was done for the purpose and as a part of a fraudulent scheme or device to evade this law in favor of a married woman, and he knew at the time he took these papers it was a scheme to involve the wife's property as security for her husband's debt, and you find that was a fact, and, as I stated to you, he had knowledge of this, Mr. Ellis will not be entitled to recover, and your verdict should be in behalf of the defendant." The ground of exception to this instruction is that there was no evidence to show that there was any fraudulent scheme or device on the part of the plaintiff to involve the property of the defendant as collateral for her husband's debt that the evidence showed that the borrowed money--at least a portion of it--went to pay the purchase price of the land in controversy, the property of the defendant. The exception is not well taken. The excerpt complained of is adjusted to the evidence and to the contentions, and fully and succinctly stated the law of the case.

It was contended that the court erred in ruling out certain material evidence of the plaintiff, consisting of the testimony of two witnesses, which is set forth in the motion for a new trial in seven typewritten pages, by question and answer. The assignment of error is as follows: "The evidence was material, admissible, and relevant to show the extent of authority of Riley [the husband] in the exercising and handling of the properties of Mrs. Riley [the wife] on the part of the agent, Riley, and for these reasons a new trial should be granted." This is not a good assignment of error. A general complaint that the trial judge committed error in rejecting specified evidence referred to as a whole is not...