Opinion
19164.
SUBMITTED NOVEMBER 15, 1955.
DECIDED JANUARY 9, 1956.
Petition for injunction. Before Judge Shaw. Fulton Superior Court. September 20, 1955.
Phillips, Johnson Williams, for plaintiff in error.
Eugene Cook, Attorney-General, Hamilton B. Stephens, John L. York, Assistant Attorneys-General, contra.
1. Where a determination of the constitutionality of an act of the General Assembly is not essential to a decision in the cause, its alleged invalidity will not be reviewed by this court.
2. This case is controlled by the rulings of this court in Lively v. Grimstead, 210 Ga. 361 ( 80 S.E.2d 316). Section 2 of the Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act (Ga. L. 1951, pp. 565, 567; Code, Ann. Supp., § 92A-602), provides for a hearing before the director upon the request of any person aggrieved by any order or acts of the director under the provisions of the act, and for an appeal to the superior court. From the allegations of the petition it is nowhere made to appear that the petitioner has exhausted his statutory remedy, and his petition fails to state a cause of action for extraordinary equitable relief.
Judgment affirmed. All the Justices concur.
SUBMITTED NOVEMBER 15, 1955 — DECIDED JANUARY 9, 1956.
Eugene Spruill filed a petition for equitable relief against W. C. Dominy, as Director of Public Safety. His petition attacked the "Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility" Act approved February 21, 1951 (Ga. L. 1951, pp. 565-578; Code, Ann. Supp., Ch. 92A-6), as being unconstitutional and void for stated reasons. Attached to the petition are copies of two orders signed by a named person as Supervisor of the Bureau of Safety Responsibility, pertaining to the cancellation of the petitioner's licenses and registrations, for failure to comply with the terms of the Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act. The petition prayed that the defendant be temporarily and permanently enjoined from suspending his driver's license and registration certificate; that the orders referred to be declared void and of no force and effect; that the defendant be temporarily and permanently enjoined from countersigning and distributing checks in payment of the operation expenses of the Bureau of Safety Responsibility under the terms of the act, which are alleged to be void; and for other relief.
The defendant's general demurrers to the petition were sustained, and the exception is to that judgment.