National Ass'n for Advancement of Colored People v. Overstreet

• Decision Date: 20 April 1965
• Docket Number: No. 22814,22814
• Citation: 221 Ga. 16,142 S.E.2d 816
• Parties: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR The ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE et al. v. Haldred OVERSTREET.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

Page 816

142 S.E.2d 816

221 Ga. 16

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR The ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE et al. v. Haldred OVERSTREET.

No. 22814.

Supreme Court of Georgia.

April 20, 1965.

Rehearing Denied May 7, 1965.

Syllabus by the Court

1. (a) Every individual has a natural right to pursue a lawful occupation and to conduct his business according to his own plans and policies, where he does not offend the law or unlawfully infringe upon the rights of others. A person's business is property in the pursuit of which he is entitled to protection from tortious interference by a third person, who, in interfering therewith, is not acting in the exercise of some right.

(b) Plaintiff's petition alleging that he was operating a lawful business in a lawful manner and had not infringed upon the rights of the defendants, and that the defendants formed a conspiracy to damage and destroy his business as punishment of him for allegedly beating a fourteen year old negro employee, by picketing his store, and did pursuant to the unlawful conspiracy organize and conduct mass picketing of his store, where large numbers of pickets gathered around the premises, obstructed and interfered with the use of the public sidewalks and streets and entrance to plaintiff's store, harassed, intimidated and threatened customers who attempted to enter the store, and encouraged and induced the public to boycott his business and his employees to leave his employ, all of which was a part of the unlawful, wilful and malicious conspiracy to damage his business and to force him out of business, which did injure and damage his business, stated a cause of action for injunction and damages.

(c) Peaceful picketing for a lawful purpose is protected under the free speech provisions of the constitutions of the United States and of Georgia, but mass picketing by use of force, violence, and intimidation, harassment and other like activities is not peaceful picketing such as enjoys constitutional protection, nor does the protection extend to malevolent picketing for the sole purpose of punishing one who is accused of committing an assault and battery upon an employee, nor to picketing by the use of force, intimidation, violence or threats thereof to prevent or attempt to prevent any employee from continuing in the employ of his employer.

2. The court did not err in overruling the special demurrers for reasons set out in the opinion.

3. (a) As to the general grounds of the motion for new trial, the evidence amply supported the allegations that the picketing was not peaceful and was for an unlawful purpose.

(b) The evidence was sufficient to authorize the jury to find that an unlawful conspiracy to injure and damage plaintiff's property was formed by the defendants, Law, Jaudon, and other members of the Savannah Chapter of the N.A.A.C.P. acting as agents of the N.A.A.C.P. New York corporation and within the scope of their agency and that the conspiracy was carried out resulting in injury and damage to the plaintiff's property.

(c) There is no evidence to support the finding that the defendant, the Georgia State Conference of Branches of the N.A.A.C.P., participated in the conspiracy to picket and injure plaintiff's property or was in any way responsible for any damage done.

4. (a) The evidence amply supports the jury's award of compensatory damages in the amount of $35,793.05.

(b) The evidence of wilful, deliberate, wrongful and unlawful picketing of plaintiff's business causing great injury and damage to his property, was sufficient to authorize the jury to award punitive damages, Code § 105-2002; and this court cannot say that the amount awarded was excessive, as punitive damages are fixed by the enlightened conscience of an impartial jury, and, the jury's verdict will not be disturbed by this court as the amount awarded would not justify an inference of 'gross mistake or undue bias.' Code § 105-2015.

5. For reasons set out in Division 5 the court did not err in overruling the twenty five special grounds of the motion for new trial.

The plaintiff, Haldred Overstreet, brought his petition, as amended, in the Superior Court of Chatham County against the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, hereafter designated N.A.A.C.P., a New York corporation doing business in Georgia, the Georgia State Conference of Branches of the N.A.A.C.P., an affiliate of the New York corporation of the N.A.A.C.P., the Savannah Branch of the N.A.A.C.P., an affiliate of the New York corporation of the N.A.A.C.P.; W. W. Law, individually and as President of the Georgia and Savannah affiliate of the N.A.A.C.P. corporation of New York, and F. D. Jaudon, vice-president of the Savannah and Georgia affiliates of the New York corporation of the N.A.A.C.P., and as representatives of the classes composing all members of the N.A.A.C.P., alleging a conspiracy among said defendants and all those represented by them to destroy plaintiff's business, the operation of a retail grocery store in Savannah, by picketing the store premises and inducing others to refrain from patronizing the establishment. The petition prayed for a temporary and permanent injunction and for compensatory and punitive damages. The defendants filed general and special demurrers to the petition as amended, and a motion to dismiss, which, with the exception of two special demurrers, were overruled. At the close of plaintiff's evidence, motions for nonsuit were made as to the defendants, the N.A.A.C.P., incorporated, the Georgia State Conference of Branches of the N.A.A.C.P., and the Savannah Branch of the N.A.A.C.P., which motions were denied. The jury awarded the plaintiff compensatory damages in the amount of $35,793.05 and punitive damages of $50,000, a total of $85,793.05 and found for a permanent injunction. The exceptions are to the judgment of the trial court overruling the special and general demurrers and the motion to dismiss the petition, denying the motions for nonsuit, and the overruling of the defendants' motions for new trial on the general and special grounds.

Maria L. Marcus, Ann G. Feldman, Robert T. Carter, New York City, E. H. Gadsden, B. Clarence Mayfield, Savannah, Donald L. Hollowell, Atlanta, for plaintiff in error.

Dickey, Futrell & Parker, Robert E. Barker, Grady Lee Dickey, Savannah, for defendant in error.

MOBLEY, Justice.

1. (a) All the defendants were represented by the same attorneys and the defensive pleadings were in material respects the same. The rulings made here apply to each and all, as did the judgments of the trial court.

In brief, the petition as amended alleged that plaintiff owned and operated a retail grocery store at a named location in Savanah and had for 16 years, and had created good will and good faith in the course of his business with the public; that on May 30, 1962, he had in his employ a 14 year old Negro boy, who, one of his clerks advised him, had stolen some grocery items; that he admonished the boy and discharged him, and within about two hours, the boy and a police officer returned to the store and the boy accused him of beating him; that the boy's aunt on the same day swore out a warrant against him for assault and battery, and he charged the boy with stealing. That on the next night, May 31, 1962, at a named church of which F. D. Jaudon was pastor, there was a mass meeting of the N.A.A.C.P. and the Savannah Branch of the N.A.A.C.P. called pursuant to circulars distributed to members at the direction of Law to protest the alleged 'beating of a fourteen (14) year old negro boy by the owner of the Tropical Fruit Market.' Present were the defendants Law and Jaudon, the defendant, Law, appearing and acting as agent of the N.A.A.C.P., as its agent, employee and servant, within the scope of his agency, employment, and service, and in the furtherance of the business of the corporation and in a like capacity with the Savannah Branch and the Georgia State Conference of Branches of the N.A.A.C.P. At the meeting, the defendants unlawfully, wilfully, knowingly, and with malice and the intention of putting plaintiff out of business, organized what they termed a 'Selective Buying' campaign to begin the next day at plaintiff's place of business; that pursuant to said plan defendants caused pickets to be placed adjacent to his place, who stopped customers and prospective customers on their way to his place of business, told them of the beating of the boy and urged them not to trade with plaintiff; that the picketing consisted of mass picketing in that numbers of pickets gathered around the premises of plaintiff, obstructing and interfering with the use of the public sidewalks and streets and entrance to plaintiff's business. That said mass picketing was a part of the conspiracy of defendants to intimidate customers from entering plaintiff's store and to force, intimidate, and coerce him into going out of business. That the pickets are harassing and intimidating customers from going into plaintiff's store by creating an atmosphere of possible violence thereabout by having large numbers of pickets in and around plaintiff's premises, by stopping all customers, and inciting and inflaming them against plaintiff and by telling them false and misleading statements as to plaintiff's conduct, all of which caused his customers to be fearful of trading with him; that defendants encouraged and induced the public to boycott plaintiff's business in order to accomplish their unlawful purpose of putting him out of business; that when the picketing began more than 2/3rds of his customers were negroes, and defendants knew this and they, the defendants, initiated and carried on the unlawful, wilful and malicious conspiracy with the intent and purpose to damage him in the pursuit of his lawful business; that defendant Law was the leader of the pickets, was instrumental in placing them, directed their method of operation and participated as a picket, all of which...