Lucas v. Garrett
Decision Date | 19 April 1946 |
Docket Number | 15831. |
Parties | LUCAS et al. v. GARRETT et al. |
Court | South Carolina Supreme Court |
Mann & Arnold, of Greenville, for appellant.
Stephen Nettles, of Greenville, for respondents.
This is an appeal from the order of Special Judge Thomas M. Lyles striking certain allegations from the answer of the appellant, David H. Garrett, upon the ground that such allegations were irrelevant and redundant.
The agreed statement of facts contains a clear statement of the facts necessary to the decision of the question raised by the appeal, which we set out herein below:
'This action was instituted on or about January 29, 1945, by the respondents by the service of a summons and complaint.
insurer and the other being the defendant Garrett's insurer, the two companies should share the loss on a pro rata basis.
'Plaintiffs thereafter moved to strike the three affirmative defenses from the answer of the defendant Garrett on the ground that they were irrelevant and redundant.
Before entering into a discussion of the merits, we feel it proper to point out that the Trial Judge in disposing of the motion considered the matters as if before him upon the merits rather than upon a motion to strike. In so doing he was in error. His actions in this regard are analogous to the action of the Trial Judge in Mason v. Williams, 194 S.C. 290, 9 S.E.2d 537, 541.
The Mason Case was twice argued before this Court. The final decision reversed the Circuit Court for ordering certain portions of the answer stricken, upon the ground that such allegations were immaterial and redundant.
The following language from the opinion in the Mason case, supra, is most apposite to the instant appeal: argument wherein it is suggested 'that the Circuit Judge lost sight of the limits of the questions before him on the motions and first decided questions of law and fact which were not at issue on the motions as a preliminary foundation for his final conclusion to strike the defenses.''
In the instant case the Acting Circuit Judge considered the complaint as if amended by the subrogation agreement after which he considered the portions of the answer sought to be stricken in the light of the complaint as so 'amended'. There was no motion to amend the complaint by alleging the subrogation agreement. It was therefore, error for the Acting Circuit Judge to treat the motion to strike in that manner.
The question before this Court is, Did the first defense, that is that the respondents are the real parties in interest, sought to be stricken constitute a defense to the cause of action alleged in the complaint, and not to the cause of action in the complaint as the same was 'amended' by the Trial Judge.
An allegation is irrelevant when it has no substantial relation to the controversy. Alexander v. Du...
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