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Kirkland v. Williams

Court of Appeals of Georgia
Nov 15, 1984
323 S.E.2d 891 (Ga. Ct. App. 1984)

Opinion

68826.

DECIDED NOVEMBER 15, 1984.

Wrongful death. Toombs Superior Court. Before Judge McMillan from Middle Circuit.

Robert W. Galloway, David G. Hammock, for appellant.

Hugh B. McNatt, Jiles M. Barfield, for appellee.


This is a wrongful death action. Plaintiff's husband died when his motorcycle collided with defendant's cow on a public highway. The jury returned a verdict for plaintiff in the sum of $10,000. Following the denial of her motion for new trial, plaintiff appeals. Held:

1. Plaintiff's first four enumerations of error complain of the giving or the failure to give instructions to the jury. As plaintiff failed to object when afforded the opportunity by the trial court before the jury returned its verdict, plaintiff is deemed to have waived the right to raise these issues on appeal. OCGA § 5-5-24 (a); Nelson v. Miller, 169 Ga. App. 403 ( 312 S.E.2d 867). Nor do any of these alleged errors fall within the exception provided by OCGA § 5-5-24 (c). See Nelson v. Miller, 169 Ga. App. 403, 404-405, supra.

2. Plaintiff contends that the verdict is so grossly inadequate as to justify the inference of gross mistake or undue bias. See in this regard OCGA § 51-12-12. However, the evidence in the case sub judice authorized the trial court's charge of the principles of comparative negligence (a state trooper estimated that the motorcycle was traveling at 70 m.p.h. prior to impact; defendant's expert estimated the motorcycle's speed prior to impact as 93 m.p.h. and testified that the motorcycle's front brakes had been inoperative, resulting in a 50 percent loss of braking capability). "When the rule concerning comparative negligence is involved in a case, the verdict of the jury cannot be set aside on the ground that the amount of the damages awarded is inadequate. [Cits.]" Powers v. Pate, 107 Ga. App. 25, 27 (1) ( 129 S.E.2d 193); Young v. Southern Bell Telephone c. Co., 168 Ga. App. 40, 41 (1) ( 308 S.E.2d 49). See also Jordan v. Ellis, 148 Ga. App. 286, 290 ( 250 S.E.2d 859); Maloy v. Dixon, 127 Ga. App. 151, 165 (6) ( 193 S.E.2d 19).

Judgment affirmed. Deen, P. J., and Sognier, J., concur.


DECIDED NOVEMBER 15, 1984.


Summaries of

Kirkland v. Williams

Court of Appeals of Georgia
Nov 15, 1984
323 S.E.2d 891 (Ga. Ct. App. 1984)
Case details for

Kirkland v. Williams

Case Details

Full title:KIRKLAND v. WILLIAMS

Court:Court of Appeals of Georgia

Date published: Nov 15, 1984

Citations

323 S.E.2d 891 (Ga. Ct. App. 1984)
323 S.E.2d 891

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