Housing Authority of Atlanta v. Starcher
| Decision Date | 16 March 1979 |
| Docket Number | No. 57479,57479 |
| Citation | 149 Ga.App. 402,254 S.E.2d 515 |
| Parties | HOUSING AUTHORITY OF ATLANTA v. STARCHER et al. |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
Parks, Jackson & Howell, Lenwood A. Jackson, Atlanta, for appellant.
Stuart M. Neiman, Atlanta, for appellees.
The Housing Authority appeals from a jury verdict and judgment against it in the amount of $175,000 for damages to certain apartments occurring during the period it leased them from Starcher and other owners. We affirm.
1. Denial of the Authority's motion for summary judgment is moot and not now subject to review. Phillips v. Abel, 141 Ga.App. 291(1), 233 S.E.2d 384 (1977); Lanier Petroleum v. Hyde, 144 Ga.App. 441(1), 241 S.E.2d 62 (1978).
2. The Authority complains that testimony regarding the cost of replacing the apartments which were destroyed by its subtenants was irrelevant and improperly admitted. Associated Distributors v. Strozier, 144 Ga.App. 205(1(b)), 240 S.E.2d 761 (1977).
3. The Authority also objected to testimony of one of the owners as to value on the ground that he did not give the basis for his opinion of the market value of the property. This witness, in addition to being an owner, was qualified as an expert. Thus he was not required to give the facts upon which he based his opinion. Rowe v. City Council of Augusta, 119 Ga.App. 571(1), 168 S.E.2d 209 (1969); Rosenberg v. Mossman, 140 Ga.App. 694, 695(1), 231 S.E.2d 417 (1976).
4. At the end of plaintiffs-appellees' evidence the Authority moved for directed verdict, which was denied. It insists that appellees did not plead diminution in the market value of the property as a special item of damage and therefore could not recover upon that theory, citing Signal Oil etc. Co. v. Conway, 126 Ga.App. 711, 717(2), 191 S.E.2d 624 (1972). Since that case and those cited therein deal with pleading libel they are inapposite. Moreover, the damages asked for in Counts 2 and 4 constituted diminution in value: Count 2 claimed the loss of the present value of improvements which were in such bad condition at the termination of the lease they were demolished; Count Four alleged the cost of putting the premises back into the condition it was in when leased to be in excess of the value of improvements. Pleadings, including any doubts in their interpretation, should be construed in favor of the pleader. Cochran v. McCollum, 233 Ga. 104, 210 S.E.2d 13 (1974); Empire Banking Co. v. Martin, 133 Ga.App. 115, 120, 210 S.E.2d 237 (1974). Since the facts presented at trial supported these claims the trial court did not err in denying the motion...
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