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McCormick v. Harris

The Court of Appeals had jurisdiction over a husband and wife's direct appeal of a $1,500 judgment for the wife because the jury awarded the husband zero damages on his loss of consortium claim.

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Katie Hazel McCormick sued Elbert Neal Harris for injuries she sustained in an automobile accident. McCormick’s husband, Dewey McCormick, sued for loss of consortium. The jury returned a verdict awarding $1,500 in damages to Mrs. McCormick and no damages to Mr. McCormick. The McCormicks appeal from the denial of their motion for a new trial, arguing that a new trial should have been granted because the small amount of damages awarded by the jury justifies the inference of gross mistake or undue bias. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

1. As a preliminary matter, we must address Harris’ challenge to our jurisdiction in this case. A notice of appeal was filed on behalf of both Mr. and Mrs. McCormick. Because the judgment for Mrs. McCormick was under $10,000, she normally would have been required to file an application in order to pursue this appeal, pursuant to OCGA § 5-6-35 a 6. However, because no application is required for the appeal of a “zero” award, the judgment with respect to Mr. McCormick is directly appealable. Smith v. Curtis, 226 Ga. App. 470 486 SE2d 699 1997. “As a consequence, the judgment entered in favor of Mrs. McCormick is also directly appealable.” Id. at 470, n. 1.

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