Marcelli v. Teasley
| Decision Date | 21 April 1945 |
| Docket Number | 30836,30837. |
| Citation | 33 S.E.2d 836,72 Ga.App. 421 |
| Parties | MARCELLI v. TEASLEY (two cases). |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
Syllabus by the Court.
The petition set out a cause of action against both defendants and the court did not err in overruling the general and special demurrers.
Mrs Joyce C. Teasley filed a suit for $5000 damages against the defendants, A. J. Marcelli and his wife, Mrs. Billie Dunn Marcelli, jointly and severally. Omitting the formal parts the petition as amended alleged substantially that she was a young married woman, 21 years of age, and that on August 20 1944, she and her husband, Lt. John Teasley, U.S. Army, were tenants of certain described premises in Columbus, Georgia; that on August 12, 1944, a contract of sale of the premises was entered into by Mrs. Dorothy I. Campbell, the mother of the plaintiff as holder of the legal title to said property, but the plaintiff was the owner thereof, and Mrs. Billie Dunn Marcelli, wherein it was stipulated that and that on August 17, 1944, Mrs. Campbell conveyed the premises by deed to Mrs. Billie Dunn Marcelli, with the agreement that petitioner was to remain in possession of the premises for a period of 30 days; that the petitioner and her husband continued in possession as the sole and exclusive tenants of said property; that about noon, on August 30, 1944, the defendant A. J. Marcelli telephoned the petitioner that he would call in the afternoon with some other person for the purpose of inspecting the house, and the petitioner informed him it would not be convenient to her at that time, but that he might come some other time when her husband was present, and the defendant Marcelli declared he would come whenever he liked; that about 3 o'clock on the same day when the petitioner was reclining on her bed and there being no other person in the house except the colored maid, she heard loud knocking at the side door, and the maid in answer thereto discovered the defendants seeking to enter the house; the maid stated to them that the petitioner was asleep and requested the defendants to come at another time; whereupon, the defendant, A. J. Marcelli, stated: 'This is my God damn house and I am going to show it when I like,' and that the defendant Mrs. Billie Dunn Marcelli added, 'Yes, we will'; that the defendants then sought to enter the house at a rear door which was locked, and being unable to enter they came to the front door of the house. The petitioner further alleges: '(10) At the front of the house one of the defendants very loudly rapped on the door. Your petitioner thereupon arose from her bed and went to the front door, whereupon substantially the following conversation took place: Petitioner: 'Mr. Marcelli, what in the world is the meaning of this loud talking?' Marcelli: 'What in the hell is the meaning of you not letting us in our own house?' Petitioner: Marcelli: (11) Petitioner shows that the defendant was talking in a very loud and boisterous manner, as a result of which and because of the profane language employed, petitioner had become very much excited and alarmed. She thereupon, while standing on the front porch, requested the defendants to leave and to await the arrival of her husband from Fort Benning. To this request the defendant, Mrs. Billie Dunn Marcelli, loudly exclaimed: Defendant Marcelli then loudly said, 'If you had any God damn sense, you would know that I could throw you out any God damn time I wanted to.' Thereupon defendant Marcelli approached your petitioner in a menacing and threatening manner, and shaking his fist at petitioner, and placing his face within a very few inches of that of your petitioner, loudly exclaimed: 'I am going to throw your ass out of this damn house.'' It is alleged in the petition that Mrs. Teasley became greatly frightened and fainted and was rescued from falling by the colored maid, and that she lapsed into a state of unconsciousness and remained in that condition for fifteen or twenty minutes, and that when she had regained consciousness she had been removed to her bed and that her mother and a neighbor had arrived and were ministering to her. It is further alleged that petitioner was confined to her bed for a period of four days as a result of the fright and injury, and has remained to the present time in a highly nervous and excited condition, and at times she is unable to retain emotional control of herself; that for more than two years she has been in a delicate physical condition, requiring the treatment by physicians, and as a result of the conduct of the defendants her physical condition has become greatly aggravated and her health greatly impaired; that she has become extremely nervous and excitable and suffers greatly from insomnia and that her health has been permanently impaired; that as a result of the vile and profane language employed by the defendants, she has suffered extreme humiliation and mortification by reason of the fact the language used by the defendants was in the presence of her maid and neighbors; that the violation of her rights of privacy and the employment of the vile and profane language by the defendants were malicious and wanton; that the defendants are mean, vile, and boisterous persons; that the actual damage sustained by her as the result of the aforesaid injuries is $2500; that because of the wanton and malicious nature of the injuries inflicted and the violation of her rights set forth above the defendants are liable to petitioner in the sum of $2500 as exemplary damages; that the defendant, A. J. Marcelli, was acting for and on behalf of himself and also his wife, Billie Dunn Marcelli, who was present, aiding and abetting A. J. Marcelli, and participating in the commission of the acts above referred to; that the acts of the defendants in entering her home and in threatening, cursing, abusing, and attempting to eject her from the premises were voluntarily, wantonly, and intentionally done for the purpose of alarming, frightening, and terrorizing the petitioner, and were done maliciously for the purpose of injuring petitioner; that the defendants knew or should have known that such conduct would injure petitioner, and that her injuries were the direct and proximate result of the conduct of the defendants, which was done with the wilful and intentional purposes of injuring her; that in addition to the injuries hereinbefore described, petitioner has suffered great embarrassment, fright, and humiliation, and has suffered great physical pain; that the defendants were guilty of acts of trespass upon her home, as above alleged, and that petitioner was entitled to the exclusive, peaceful, quiet, and undisturbed use of her home, and that the defendants violated and ignored these rights and caused the injuries to the plaintiff as alleged.
The defendants filed separate general demurrers, identical...
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