Lunceford v. Peachtree Casualty Insurance

495 S.E.2d 88, 230 Ga. App. 4, 97 Fulton County D. Rep. 4486, 1997 Ga. App. LEXIS 1497
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedDecember 5, 1997
DocketA97A1533
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 495 S.E.2d 88 (Lunceford v. Peachtree Casualty Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lunceford v. Peachtree Casualty Insurance, 495 S.E.2d 88, 230 Ga. App. 4, 97 Fulton County D. Rep. 4486, 1997 Ga. App. LEXIS 1497 (Ga. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinions

Smith, Judge.

The issue in this appeal is whether an automobile insurance policy issued by Peachtree Casualty Insurance Company (Peachtree) covers punitive damages. We conclude that the broad language of the policy encompasses this type of coverage, and we therefore reverse the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to Peachtree.

Terry Lunceford was involved in an automobile collision with Susan Brown. He filed suit against her and alleged, among other things, that she was driving while under the influence of alcohol. He sought damages for personal injuries and punitive damages. Peach-tree, Brown’s insurer, then brought this declaratory judgment action against Brown and Lunceford, contending that its policy did not cover punitive damages. The trial court concluded that the policy did not provide coverage for such damages and granted summary judgment to Peachtree. This appeal by Lunceford ensued.1

1. The insurance policy provides the following with regard to cov[5]*5erage: “We will pay, on behalf of an insured person, damages for which any insured person is legally liable because of bodily injury and property damage arising out of an accident involving your insured car or a non-owned car.” We do not agree with Peachtree that this language plainly “does not provide coverage for punitive damages.” On the contrary, the language of the policy leads to the opposite conclusion. The coverage language is broad, encompassing “damages” without limitation. Although it contains an exclusion for bodily injury or property damage caused by intentional acts, the policy does not contain an exclusion for punitive damages. And the law is clear in this state that an insurer, “having affirmatively expressed coverage in broad promissory terms, has a duty to define any limitations or exclusions clearly and explicitly.” (Citations and punctuation omitted.) MAG Mut. Ins. Co. v. Gatewood, 186 Ga. App. 169, 173 (367 SE2d 63) (1988).

It is true, as argued by Peachtree, that the definitions section of the policy defines bodily injury, property damage, and accident without reference to punitive damages. And, as further argued by Peach-tree, the policy does not expressly recite that it will pay “all sums” that could be recovered against its insured. But the failure to use this language or to specifically reference punitive damages in the definitions section does not prevent coverage. Had Peachtree wished not to cover or to exclude punitive damages, it could have done so clearly and specifically. It did not, and consequently, it is bound by the broad language of the policy.

Peachtree cites two decisions in support of its argument that the policy language plainly excludes coverage for punitive damages. Both are inapposite. Both involve statutory construction of legislation rather than interpretation of an insurance contract. In O’Gilvie v. United States, 519 U. S._(117 SC 452, 136 LE2d 454) (1996) the United States Supreme Court interpreted 26 USC § 104 (a) (2) and examined the meaning of the language “damages received ... on account of personal injuries or sickness” in the context of whether punitive damages were excluded from gross income for tax purposes. Recognizing the ambiguity of the phrase, 136 LE2d at 460, the court applied rules concerning statutory interpretation and concluded that punitive damages were not included within the phrase at issue. In Roman v. Terrell, 195 Ga. App. 219 (393 SE2d 83) (1990), relied on by the trial court, we considered whether punitive damages were recoverable from an uninsured motorist carrier. We construed former OCGA § 33-7-11 (a) (1) as requiring a UM carrier “to compensate its insured for all sums the insured could recover from the tortfeasor because of bodily injury or property damage.” (Emphasis in original.) Roman, supra at 221 (2). Discussing the rationale behind awarding punitive damages, we did state that “[pjunitive damages are not [6]*6awarded ‘because of’ . . . bodily injury . . . but rather ‘because of’ some aspect of the tortfeasor’s conduct which caused the victim’s loss.” Id. After concluding that the emphasized language was not plain, we used the rules of statutory construction and held that awarding punitive damages against a UM carrier did pot serve as a deterrence against the wrongdoer. Id. at 222.

Relying on Roman and O’Gilvie, Peachtree argues that since punitive damages address the tortfeasor’s behavior rather than monetary compensation for bodily injury, the phrase “because of bodily injury or property damage” in the insurance policy cannot encompass punitive damages. But Peachtree’s reliance on Roman and O’Gilvie ignores important distinctions between them and this case.

Different Code sections apply with regard to contract construction and statutory interpretation. See OCGA § 13-2-2, which sets out general rules concerning contract construction. Rules of statutory interpretation, though similar in some respects, differ in focus. See OCGA § 1-3-1; City of Buchanan v. Pope, 222 Ga. App. 716, 717 (1) (476 SE2d 53) (1996). Notably, statutes are construed sometimes broadly, sometimes narrowly, depending on their legislative purpose. Compare Smith v. Doe, 189 Ga. App. 264, 265-266 (375 SE2d 477) (1988) (uninsured motorist legislation to be construed broadly to effectuate legislative purpose of indemnifying person legally entitled to recovery from uninsured motorist) with McFrugal Rental of Riverdale v. Garr, 262 Ga. 369 (418 SE2d 60) (1992) (narrow construction of statute allowing custodian of public records to charge fee, since statute is burden on right of access to public records). In construing ambiguous language in insurance contracts, however, those ambiguities must be construed against the drafter. OCGA § 13-2-2 (5); Tifton Machine Works v. Colony Ins. Co., 224 Ga. App. 19, 20 (1) (480 SE2d 37) (1996). Here, we must examine the phrase as it appears in an insurance contract. Our analysis therefore must be governed through application of the rules of contract construction rather than those of statutory interpretation.

Examining this insurance policy and applying the rules concerning contract construction, we reiterate that the insurance policy does not clearly exclude punitive damages, and its coverage broadly addresses “damages.” It is therefore reasonable to conclude on this ground that the policy provides coverage. But the argument can also be made that the language “because of bodily injury or property damages” is ambiguous. The phrase at issue here is comparable to that construed in Greenwood Cemetery v. Travelers Indem. Co., 238 Ga. 313 (232 SE2d 910) (1977). The Supreme Court construed the word “for” in the context of a policy endorsement reciting that payment would be made “for mental anguish because of any professional malpractice, error or mistake in any conduct by the insured.” (Punctua[7]*7tion and emphasis omitted.) Id. at 316. The court found the word “for” to have several meanings: “ ‘equivalent to’ ” or “ ‘to the amount, value or extent of,’ ” as argued by the insurer, and “ ‘by reason of’ or ‘because of, on account of,’ ” as argued by the insured. Id.

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Lunceford v. Peachtree Casualty Insurance
495 S.E.2d 88 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1997)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
495 S.E.2d 88, 230 Ga. App. 4, 97 Fulton County D. Rep. 4486, 1997 Ga. App. LEXIS 1497, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lunceford-v-peachtree-casualty-insurance-gactapp-1997.