ST. PAUL FIRE & MARINE INSURANCE COMPANY v. Gasaway

Court of Appeals of Georgia

ST. PAUL FIRE & MARINE INSURANCE COMPANY v. Gasaway

303 S.E.2d 75, 165 Ga. App. 861, 1983 Ga. App. LEXIS 2043

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia

DecidedMarch 11, 1983

Docket64777

StatusPublished

Cited by4 cases

This text of 303 S.E.2d 75 (ST. PAUL FIRE & MARINE INSURANCE COMPANY v. Gasaway) 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.

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ST. PAUL FIRE & MARINE INSURANCE COMPANY v. Gasaway, 303 S.E.2d 75, 165 Ga. App. 861, 1983 Ga. App. LEXIS 2043 (Ga. Ct. App. 1983).

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Opinion

*861 Banke, Judge.

This appeal is from an order granting summary judgment to an insured who sought expanded benefits under optional no-fault coverage provided by his automobile insurance carrier, St. Paul Fire and Marine. The trial court concluded that the insurer was liable for personal injury protection benefits up to a maximum of $50,000 even though the insured’s policy of insurance only provided such benefits in the minimum amount of $5,000. This conclusion was apparently based on Jones v. State Farm &c. Ins. Co., 156 Ga. App. 230 (274 SE2d 623) (1980), which has now been affirmed by the Supreme Court. See Flewellen v. Atlanta Cas. Co., 250 Ga. 709 (300 SE2d 673) (1983). However, we conclude that the trial court’s reliance upon Jones in this case was misplaced. The policy in question was originally applied for and issued in October 1974, prior to the effective date of former Code Ann. § 56-3404b. (Ga. L. 1974, pp. 113, 116). Thus, the insurer was not affected by the provisions of subsection (b) of the code section, bat by subsection (c), which merely required that the insured “be given an opportunity to accept or reject, in writing, the optional coverages . . .” From the record before us, it appears that such an opportunity was provided. It follows that summary judgment in favor of the insured was improperly granted.

Judgment reversed.

McMurray, P. J., and Birdsong, J., concur.

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*861 Banke, Judge.

This appeal is from an order granting summary judgment to an insured who sought expanded benefits under optional no-fault coverage provided by his automobile insurance carrier, St. Paul Fire and Marine. The trial court concluded that the insurer was liable for personal injury protection benefits up to a maximum of $50,000 even though the insured’s policy of insurance only provided such benefits in the minimum amount of $5,000. This conclusion was apparently based on Jones v. State Farm &c. Ins. Co., 156 Ga. App. 230 (274 SE2d 623) (1980), which has now been affirmed by the Supreme Court. See Flewellen v. Atlanta Cas. Co., 250 Ga. 709 (300 SE2d 673) (1983). However, we conclude that the trial court’s reliance upon Jones in this case was misplaced. The policy in question was originally applied for and issued in October 1974, prior to the effective date of former Code Ann. § 56-3404b. (Ga. L. 1974, pp. 113, 116). Thus, the insurer was not affected by the provisions of subsection (b) of the code section, bat by subsection (c), which merely required that the insured “be given an opportunity to accept or reject, in writing, the optional coverages . . .” From the record before us, it appears that such an opportunity was provided. It follows that summary judgment in favor of the insured was improperly granted.

Judgment reversed.

McMurray, P. J., and Birdsong, J., concur.

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303 S.E.2d 75, 165 Ga. App. 861, 1983 Ga. App. LEXIS 2043, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/st-paul-fire-marine-insurance-company-v-gasaway-gactapp-1983.

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