A divorce verdict has to hang together. Where two of its findings cannot both be true, the verdict will not stand.
Two Findings That Cannot Both Be True
In Hinson v. Hinson, 219 Ga. 287 (1963), the husband sued for willful desertion and the wife counterclaimed for cruel treatment. The jury returned this: “We the jury find in favor of divorce for both parties and award to defendant alimony in the amount of $9,000.”
The Georgia Supreme Court reversed and ordered a new trial. The verdict said at once that the wife had deserted and that the husband’s cruelty had driven her out. As the Court put it, “[t]he two findings are wholly inconsistent and diametrically opposite findings and cannot stand.” If his cruelty justified her leaving, her leaving was not willful desertion.
Courts Try to Harmonize First
The statute tells them to. OCGA 9-12-4 provides that verdicts “shall have a reasonable intendment and shall receive a reasonable construction,” and “shall not be avoided unless from necessity.”
Byers v. Byers, 225 Ga. 263 (1969), shows what that looks like. The husband pleaded both desertion and cruel treatment, the decree never said which ground it rested on, and the wife was awarded alimony. Rather than treat the decree as self-defeating, the Georgia Supreme Court read the divorce as granted on cruel treatment, the ground “which would be consistent with the remainder of the decree.”
So the question on appeal is not whether a verdict is confusing. It is whether any sensible reading of it survives.
The Judge Can Send the Jury Back
In Smith v. Smith, 245 Ga. 684 (1980), the first verdict was unclear about what happened to property if the wife died first. The trial court refused to accept it and sent the jurors back, and the Georgia Supreme Court held the court was “authorized to require the jury to return to their room, under proper instructions, and make their verdict certain.”
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!