On appeal from the judgment entered on a jury’s condemnation award of $400,000 to property owner Nora Ann Jordan, the Georgia Department of Transportation DOT argues that the trial court erred when it admitted evidence of value in light of a possible rezoning of Jordan’s property and when it charged the jury on the subject. We disagree and affirm. On appeal from a trial court’s entry of judgment on a jury’s verdict in a condemnation action, “this court is bound to construe the evidence with every inference and presumption being in favor of upholding the jury’s verdict.” Dept. of Trans. v. Petkas , 189 Ga. App. 633, 641 9 377 SE2d 166 1988. The Petkas court also noted, however, that this principle has no application in the consideration of enumerations wherein the trial court’s evidentiary rulings are asserted to be erroneous. Resolution of questions of fact by the jury does not insulate the trial court’s legal rulings on the admissibility of evidence from appellate scrutiny. If the jury was allowed to find facts based upon evidence which was erroneously admitted or in the absence of evidence which was erroneously excluded, the judgment entered on that verdict must be reversed. Id. at 641 9. But the rule that the erroneous admission of evidence mandates reversal is itself subject to reasonable limitation: we do not reverse unless the erroneously admitted evidence was material .
Minor errors in the admission or rejection of testimony do not warrant a reversal of the judgment sustaining the verdict of the jury. It is incumbent upon the reviewing court to determine if the mistake was of sufficient magnitude to require a new trial. Thus, a judgment entered upon a jury’s verdict will not be reversed simply because improper opinion testimony relating to minor details in a case is admitted in evidence. Dual S. Enterprises v. Webb , 138 Ga. App. 810, 812-813 3 227 SE2d 418 1976.