Hadden v. Southern Messenger Serv.
| Decision Date | 18 November 1910 |
| Citation | 69 S.E. 480,135 Ga. 372 |
| Parties | HADDEN v. SOUTHERN MESSENGER SERVICE. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
(Syllabus by the Court.)
The nervous prostration and hysteria of the plaintiff's wife, alleged to have been caused by the failure of the defendant, the Southern Messenger Service, to deliver, in accordance with its contract with plaintiff so to do, a written message to his wife that he was called out of the city and would not be at home that night, were not the legal and natural result of such breach of contract by defendant; and therefore the plaintiff was not entitled to recover damages alleged to have been sustained by him for the loss of his wife's services, caused by such nervous prostration and hysteria.
[Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Damages, Cent. Dig. §§ 104, 105; Dec. Dig. § 56.*]
Exemplary or punitive damages are not recoverable for a mere breach of contract.
[Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Damages, Cent. Dig. § 203; Dec. Dig. § 89.*]
Generally the rule that in every case of breach of contract the other party has the right to recover nominal damages does not apply, where only special and punitive damages are sued for, and where such damages are not recoverable.
[Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Damages, Dec. Dig. § 13.*]
Error from Superior Court, Fulton County; Geo. L. Bell, Judge.
Action by N. N. Hadden against the Southern Messenger Service. Judgment for defendant, and plaintiff brings error. Affirmed.
Heyward & Garrett, for plaintiff in error.
Dorsey, Brewster, Howell & Heyman, for defendant in error.
FISH, C. J. Hadden brought his action against the Southern Messenger Service, in which the substance of the petition, in so far as here material, was as follows: The defendant, a corporation, is engaged in the business of delivering written messages, for a consideration, anywhere within the corporate limits of the city of Atlanta. On February 26, 1909, the plaintiff paid the defendant its usual fee to deliver to his wife, at his designated residence in the city of Atlanta a written message informing her that he was called from the city and would not be home that night. The defendant failed to de-liver the message; and, as plaintiff's failure to be at home that night was such an unusual occurrence, his unaccountable absence from home that night, and the fear and uneasiness thereby occasioned to his wife, caused her to suffer nervous prostration and hysteria, in which condition she remained for a week, undergoing great bodily pain, which prevented her from rendering him any services whatever. The wife's age and life expectancy were stated, and it was alleged that plaintiff was entitled to her services and society during the length of such life expectancy, The petition was demurred to on several grounds, one of which was that it failed to allege any damages legally recoverable against the defendant. The demurrer was sustained, and the plaintiff excepted.
1. The petition was properly dismissed on demurrer, on the ground that it alleged no damages which could be recovered against the defendant. Of course, the plaintiff could not recover for the mental and physical pain suffered by his wife by reason of the failure of the defendant to deliver the message. The special damages claimed by the plaintiff for the alleged permanent impairment of his wife's ability to render him such services as she was...
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Turpin v. North Am. Acceptance Corp., 44277
...Builders Supply Co., 217 Ga. 190, 195, 121 S.E.2d 633, supra; Ford v. Fargason, 120 Ga. 708(2), 48 S.E. 180; Hadden v. Southern Messenger Service, 135 Ga. 372(2), 69 S.E. 480; Overstreet v. Schulman, 77 Ga.App. 320(1c), 48 S.E.2d There were no issues for submission to the jury. Judgment aff......
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Bennett v. Associated Food Stores, Inc.
...v. Evans, 88 Ga. App. 84, 88 (76 SE2d 72). Punitive damages are not recoverable for mere breach of contract. Hadden v. Southern Messenger Service, 135 Ga. 372 (2) (69 SE 480). With these rules before us we move to a consideration of whether, under the evidence submitted, a verdict for the d......
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Bradley v. Godwin
...general or nominal damages was not allowed in the event the special damages were not recoverable. E. g., Hadden v. Southern Messenger Service, 135 Ga. 372, 374(3), 69 S.E. 480 (1910); Darlington Corp. v. Evans, 88 Ga.App. 84, 87, 76 S.E.2d 72 (1953); Wright v. Smith, 128 Ga. 432(3), 57 S.E.......
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Ryals v. Livingston
...does not apply, where only special * * * damages are sued for, and where such damages are not recoverable." Hadden v. Southern Messenger Service, 135 Ga. 372 (3), 69 S. E. 480. "Where the petition cannot be construed as asking for general or nominal damages, but is expressly limited to a pr......