Guthrie v. Berrien Products Co.

• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals
• Writing for the Court: QUILLIAN; FELTON, C. J., and NICHOLS
• Citation: Guthrie v. Berrien Products Co., 91 Ga.App. 45, 84 S.E.2d 596 (Ga. App. 1954)
• Decision Date: 03 November 1954
• Docket Number: No. 1,No. 35381,35381,1
• Parties: GUTHRIE v. BERRIEN PRODUCTS COMPANY

Page 596

84 S.E.2d 596

91 Ga.App. 45

GUTHRIE v. BERRIEN PRODUCTS COMPANY.

No. 35381.

Court of Appeals of Georgia, Division No. 1.

Nov. 3, 1954.

Syllabus by the Court.

1. The general grounds of the motion for a new trial are without merit. The evidence did not demand a verdict for the defendant, but authorized the verdict for the plaintiff.

2. The only ground of the amended motion for a new trial compains of the admission in evidence of certain documents over the objection of the defendant that they had not been identified by the testimony of a former witness, but this ground does not reveal whether the authenticity of these documents was supplied by other competent evidence. The ground is obviously too incomplete to present any question for review by this court. (a) However, the documents objected to were admissible under the provisions of Code (Ann.Supp.) § 38-711 (Ga.L.1952, p. 177).

Berrien Products Company, a corporation, filed suit on an open account against Samuel J. Guthrie in the Superior Court of Atkinson County. Guthrie filed a plea of general denial. The case proceeded to trial, and the plaintiff introduced the following evidence: George Jackson Moore testified for the plaintiff: 'I am the bookkeeper for Berrien Products Company, have been working there as bookkeeper since 1947; the signature on this sheet of paper (witness identifying a yellow sheet of paper which was exhibited to him) is Samuel J. Guthrie's; the signature on this sheet of paper (identifying another yellow sheet of paper which was exhibited to witness) is Samuel J. Guthrie's; this is Samuel J. Guthrie's signature on this sheet of paper (identifying yellow sheet of paper exhibited to him); he got the fertilizer listed on the sheets.' On cross examination, the witness testified: 'The yellow sheets just exhibited to me were taken from a ledger book; I did not make any of the entries on any of the sheets, I do not know who made them; I have never seen Samuel J. Guthrie sign his name; I do not know his signature; I have never seen Samuel J. Guthrie that I know of; I did not deliver the fertilizer to him; I did not see him get any fertilizer delivered to him; I do not know whether any fertilizer was ever delivered to him or not; I wouldn't swear that is his signature on the sheets; I am the bookkeeper but I did not do any of the writing on either of these sheets of paper; I was bookkeeper in charge of all the books on the dates shown on the sheets of paper; I do not know why they waited until May, 1953, to enter suit against Samuel J. Guthrie; I would not swear that he owes the amounts.'

The following documents were admitted in evidence for the plaintiff: (a) yellow sheet of paper, with No. F-6088 in right hand corner, dated 11-27-50; (b) yellow sheet of paper with No. 6429 in right hand corner, dated 12-18-50; (c) yellow sheet of paper, with No. F-7025 in right hand corner, dated 3-1-51; and (d) yellow sheet of paper with No. F-7026 in right hand corner, dated 3-1-51.

The only evidence offered by the defendant was his own testimony. On direct examination he testified as follows: 'I do not owe Berrien Products Company anything; I paid them up in the fall of 1949 and have never bought anything else from them; in 1950 and 1951 I bought my fertilizer from Ocilla Fertilizer Company at Ocilla Georgia; the dates they have got on these sheets are not correct, I did not get any of the fertilizer listed on the sheets; that looks like my signature, but the dates are not correct; and I did not get the fertilizer; I never knew they claimed I owed them a penny until the day before they filed the suit against me on May 18, 1953; Mr. M. L. Jackson, Attorney, came to my farm on that day and told me he had a claim against me for the Berrien Products Company. I told him that I had paid them all I owed them and did not owe them a dime; the next day the sheriff served a copy of the suit on me.' On cross-examination he testified: 'I don't owe them anything, I paid them up in the fall of 1949, and never traded with them any more; I looked for my paid checks and paid bills but someone had either misplaced them or...