Kelly v. Chrysler Corp.

• Decision Date: 20 June 1973
• Docket Number: No. 48215,No. 2,48215,2
• Citation: 199 S.E.2d 856,129 Ga.App. 447
• Parties: J. F. KELLY v. CHRYSLER CORPORATION
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

Page 856

199 S.E.2d 856

129 Ga.App. 447

J. F. KELLY v. CHRYSLER CORPORATION.

No. 48215.

Court of Appeals of Georgia, Division No. 2.

June 20, 1973.

Rehearing Denied July 19, 1973.

Syllabus by the Court

1. Admissions contained in pleadings by a party in a suit filed by him in another case are admissible in evidence against him when pertinent to an issue involved in another case.

2. Where the evidence is uncontradicted that plaintiff's damages resulted solely from a breach of bailment by another party which previous claim was settled through a general release, the trial court correctly directed a verdict against plaintiff's claim for breach of manufacturer's warranty for the same damages.

Roberts, Moore, Worthington & Hawkins, Samuel W. Worthington, III, Columbus, for appellant.

Hatcher, Stubbs, Land, Hollis & Rothschild, J. Madden Hatcher, Jr., Gary L. Coulter, Columbus, for appellee.

CLARK, Judge.

The instant imbroglio had its inception in the issuance of a manufacturer's warranty of Chrysler Corp. to plaintiff Kelly in March 1968 with his purchase of a new Chrysler automobile while stationed with the armed forces in Panama. This warranty guaranteed the automobile to be free from defect in material and workmanship for a period of 12 months or 12,000 miles whichever should first occur. Receiving orders to report for Vietnam duty plaintiff undertook to drive his new car to Columbus, Georgia. En route while in Mexico his car hit a bull. ¹ The radiator, headlights, grille, and body were damaged. Essential repairs to permit continuance of the journey were made by the Chrysler dealer in Mexico City. The car functioned properly for completion of the trip of almost 4,000 miles. Upon reaching his destination Kelly took his automobile to the Columbus Chrysler dealer who reported that concern did not do extensive body repair work and suggested the required repairs be done by the Columbus Body Works, Inc.

In response to this question from his attorney, 'Did you feel at this time that there was any defect in the engine?' he answered 'At the time I turned it in to the Columbus Body Works, no sir.' (T. 23). He also testified that after the automobile was repaired by Columbus Body Works and returned to him he discovered that the engine ceased to function. His first court action was a suit naming as defendants both the Chrysler Corp. and Columbus Body Works, Inc., but this joint action was voluntarily dismissed. The details of that initial action are not in this record but he followed the withdrawal of his initial double-barreled suit with another action brought against the Columbus Body Works, Inc. as sole defendant. A certified copy of that complaint was introduced in evidence by Chrysler Corp. He had there averred Columbus Body Works, Inc. had accepted the car as a bailment for repairs with a fair market value of $4,000 and had during the bailment damaged him in the sum of $3,900 on the basis that the vehicle's value was only $100 after the breach of bailment. That suit brought in the Superior Court of Muscogee County was terminated through dismissal with prejudice after a settlement for $750 which was consummated through a general release signed by Kelly and his wife.

Thereafter the instant suit was filed against Chrysler Corp. alone in the Civil Court of Fulton County. This action is based upon the manufacturer's warranty as contrasted with the previous Columbus Body Works action for breach of bailment. The instant complaint contained generally allegations identical with those in the complaint which had been filed in the Superior Court of Muscogee County, particularly as to the damages. Here paragraph 4 avers 'Upon examination it was discovered that the pistons had burst and that numerous other engine parts were damaged.' These words were the same which had been pleaded in paragraph 6 of the original complaint. Initially the damages sought here included $615.06 as expense of engine repairs plus loss of use for a period of 32 months during which time the car had been in storage at the direction of an attorney other than the firm now representing plaintiff. These damages were stricken. In lieu thereof a different measure of damages was stated, this being the difference between the represented value of $4,284.60 (the purchase price) and $100 as the value of the automobile with a defective engine.

In addition to denial of the allegations of the complaint Chrysler Corp. filed a special defense which read as follows:

'Defendant, Chrysler Corporation, shows unto the Court that plaintiff herein instituted a suit against Columbus Body Works, Inc., Civil Action No. 50114, in the Superior Court of Muscogee County, Georgia, on June 26, 1970 for substantially the same cause of action pending before this Court; that an answer and defenses were filed thereto and that Plaintiff and Defendant entered into a settlement agreement and that said claim was dismissed with prejudice to the Plaintiff on or about February 14, 1972; that Plaintiff executed a general release concerning the alleged damages to the engine of plaintiff's automobile including but not limited to the claim made by James F. Kelly in the above referred to Civil Action in the Superior Court of Muscogee County, Georgia; and that plaintiff has been compensated for his injuries and damages and can have only satisfaction for said injuries and damages and that said claim is barred by said release.' (R. 26).

Plaintiff moved to strike this special defense on the basis that this was an action for breach of warranty and therefore differed from a tort action in which release of one joint tortfeasor releases all. Pretermitting a ruling on this motion to strike, the case proceeded to trial. During the interrogation of plaintiff the trial judge decided to admit in evidence the pleadings of the Muscogee Superior Court suit against Columbus Body Works, Inc. which included the signed dismissal with prejudice as well as the general release executed by plaintiff and his wife. This general release was couched in the usual language reciting that the settlement was in compromise of disputed claims without being construed as an admission of liability which was expressly denied and that the release included but was not limited to the claims made in the Muscogee County Superior Court suit. It made no reference to reservation of rights against other parties.

A motion for a directed verdict in behalf of Chrysler Corp. was sustained. Thereafter a motion for new trial was filed on the general grounds along with special grounds that the court erred in directing a verdict for defendant and in overruling the plaintiff's motion to strike defendant's special defense. This appeal is from the judgment overruling that motion.

Plaintiff's legal theory is that the executed release in termination of the Columbus Body Works, Inc. action and all claims therein did not deal with a tort involving joint tortfeasors and therefore plaintiff was entitled to enforcement of the manufacturer's warranty as a separate and distinct contractual cause of action. This contention had validity as the former suit was for breach of a bailment contract and the instant suit was for breach of warranty. But the record in the case on appeal does not show that Chrysler Corp. was the party at fault. Plaintiff's presentation negates that contention.

Plaintiff made his election as to who was to blame for his defective engine. We are not provided with the allegations contained in the complaint filed against both Chrysler Corp. and Columbus Body Works, Inc. which was voluntarily withdrawn. But we do have in the record before us the complaint filed in the Muscogee County Superior Court against Columbus Body Works, Inc. alone. Plaintiff there pleaded that 'at the time of delivery of said Chrysler...