LIFE INSURANCE CO. OF GA. v. Blanton

Nichols, Presiding Judge,

dissenting. I must dissent from the ruling made in the first division of the opinion which overrules the plaintiff’s motion to dismiss the writ of error. I therefore express no opinion as to the correctness of the rulings made thereafter.

“Where two cases between the same parties are consolidated merely for the purposes of trial, and separate verdicts are returned against the losing party, who thereupon makes in each case an independent motion for a new trial, the proper practice, in the event both of his motions are overruled and he desires to except to the judgments thereon, is to sue out separate writs of error.” Harris v. Gano & Jennings, 117 Ga. 950 (1) (44 SE 8). In McCrary v. Salmon, 192 Ga. 313 (15 SE2d 442), the above case was distinguished upon the ground that an amendment filed before trial converted both cases into an action in equity seeking specific performance. In 1957 the General Assembly passed an Act (Ga. L. 1957, pp. 224, 234; Code Ann. § 6-919), which reads in part as follows: “Whenever two or more persons are defendants or plaintiffs in an action and a judgment, verdict, or decree has been rendered against each of them, jointly or severally, said plaintiffs or defendants, as the case may be, shall be entitled to file joint bills of exceptions, motions for new trial, motions in arrest, motions to set aside, and motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, without regard to whether such parties have a joint interest, or whether the cases were merely consolidated for purposes of trial.”

This Act deals with separate parties to a single action or separate parties to multiple actions where the cases are consolidated for the purpose of trial and involve only one cause of action. See Scales v. Peevy, 103 Ga. App. 42 (118 SE2d 193). It does not deal with multiple actions on different contracts between the same parties where the cases are consolidated for the purpose of trial and separate verdicts and judgments are rendered in each action. In such cases this court is bound by the holding of the Supreme Court in the case of Harris v. Gano & Jennings, 117 Ga. 950, supra, and similar cases. See also Wilson v. Davis, 218 Ga. 643 (129 SE2d 910). The writ of error in the present case should be dismissed.

Frankum, J., concurs in this dissent.