Standard Guaranty Insurance v. Davis

243 S.E.2d 531, 145 Ga. App. 147, 1978 Ga. App. LEXIS 1894
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedFebruary 8, 1978
Docket54923
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 243 S.E.2d 531 (Standard Guaranty Insurance v. Davis) 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
Standard Guaranty Insurance v. Davis, 243 S.E.2d 531, 145 Ga. App. 147, 1978 Ga. App. LEXIS 1894 (Ga. Ct. App. 1978).

Opinions

Birdsong, Judge.

This appeal arises out of the grant of summary judgment that has great similarity to a declaratory judgment. The facts giving rise to this case are relatively simple, but the legal principles evolving therefrom are novel and involve a matter of first impression concerning no-fault insurance. The facts show that one Vestal was the owner of a Porsche automobile. He delivered the car for repairs to a service station owned and operated by Greer. Following repairs, Davis, an employee of Greer, took the automobile out on the roadway to test drive the vehicle. While driving Vestal’s Porsche, Davis collided with a car operated by Loudermilk, who died as a result of the collision. Loudermilk’s survivors brought suit against the manufacturer of Porsche automobiles, the importer, the regional agent, and the local sales agency for that automobile, as well as Vestal as the car owner, Greer as the business owner of the service station, and Davis as the actual operator of the Porsche at the time of the accident.

The legal question presented involves the extent of insurance coverage, or, to paraphrase, whose insurance covers what. The pleadings indicate that Vestal, Greer, and Davis all are individually covered by insurance. Loudermilk’s coverage, if any, is not at issue. Rather, the issue in this appeal arises from a third-party action by Greer and Davis against Davis’ insurer, Standard Guaranty Insurance Co. Davis was insured in the minimum amount required by the Safety Responsibility Act (see Ga. L. 1977, pp. 1014, 1022; Code Ann. § 68C-307(a)). He also had additional coverages on comprehensive and collision, not here involved. After Davis was sued by Loudermilk as one of the parties defendant, Standard Guaranty Ins. Co. denied coverage or the responsibility of defending suit against Davis in view of certain exclusionary language in Davis’ insurance policy, and, as a result, Davis and Greer brought suit against Standard as third-party plaintiffs to enforce the insurance coverage provided by the policy.

The trial court granted summary judgment to Davis [148]*148and Greer and denied Standard’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, holding that the exclusionary language in Davis’ policy was in conflict with the Ga. Motor Vehicle Accident Reparations Act, Ga. L. 1974, p. 113 et seq., commonly referred to as "no-fault” insurance. Code Ann. § 56-340lb et seq. The court reasoned that inasmuch as the exclusionary language was in conflict with the requirements of no-fault insurance, that portion of the policy was void. The court concluded that Davis was covered to the extent of the policy limitations and, that Standard was required to extend excess coverage on behalf of Davis after the primary coverage of Vestal’s insurance was exhausted, assuming such to be the case. Held:

The Ga. Motor Vehicle Accident Reparations Act, Ga. L. 1974, pp. 113, 118; 1976, pp. 1078, 1079; 1976, p. 1513; 1976, p. 1523 (Code Ann. § 56-3405b (a) (1)) provides: "All policies of motor vehicle liability insurance issued in this State must be in accordance with the requirements of this Chapter, and no insurer shall issue a policy of motor vehicle liability insurance in this State that does not contain at least the minimum coverages required under this Chapter.” Code Ann. § 56-3403b (Ga. L. 1974, pp. 113, 116; 1975, pp. 1202, 1204) provides: "No owner of a motor vehicle required to be registered in this State, or any other person . . . shall operate or authorize any other person to operate such motor vehicle unless the owner has insurance on such vehicle providing the following minimum coverage: (a) motor vehicle liability insurance equivalent to that required as evidence of security for bodily injury and property damage liability under the motor vehicle safety responsibility laws of this State.” The remainder of Code Ann. § 56-3403b deals with compensation to insured injured persons, without regard to fault. The minimum coverages per accident for liability insurance are stated to be $10,000 per person, $20,000 for two or more persons, and $5,000 per accident for property damage. Code Ann. § 68C-307 (a), supra. On the other hand, no-fault coverage is stated to extend to a maximum of $5,000 per person per accident for personal injury only. It would appear therefore that every policy of motor vehicle insurance issued in this state after March 1, 1975, [149]*149is composed of two basic coverages. Liability coverage, as one category, connotes by its very terms, a broad duty or responsibility to a person other than the insured. No-fault insurance, as the second category, by definition is limited to personal injury protection, or "PIP.” "PIP” protection is circumscribed by Code Ann. § 56-3402b (b). Close examination of the basic requirements of no-fault coverage reflects that the insurance covers only the named insured and resident members of his family for personal injury. No-fault liability to persons outside the family unit is limited to personal injury to persons in the insured car or a pedestrian struck by the insured car in this state. Code Ann. § 56-3407b (Ga. L. 1974, pp. 113, 120).

There are two other persuasive indications that motor vehicle liability insurance policies issued in this state contain two separate, basic coverages, liability and no-fault. The Motor Vehicle Accident Reparations Act became effective January 1,1975, as to liability coverage only. Afterwards, on March 1, 1975, all liability policies were required to include an endorsement granting no-fault insurance coverage. In addition, pursuant to the authority of § 56-216(1) of the Georgia Code, the insurance commissioner of this state promulgated Ch. 120-2-28 in regulation of the Motor Vehicle Accident Reparations Act. At paragraph 120-2-28-.07(3) dealing with policy cancellation, it provides that ". . .no insurer shall cancel an insured’s motor vehicle liability insurance policy and basic no-fault coverage endorsement in this State for failure to pay additional premiums charged to the insured because of his failure to reject in writing the mandatory optional coverages. . .”

It is necessary to draw this distinction between liability coverage and no-fault coverage in order to deal with the contentions of the parties to this appeal. In essence, the appellees Davis and Greer, as well as the trial court have taken the position that this state requires no-fault coverage in a minimum amount and where an exclusionary clause in a policy of auto insurance issued in this state excludes coverage upon an auto driven in this state that is required to be covered by law, such exclusionary clause is void as being in conflict with the [150]*150statute. The argument posits that if insurance is required and there is no valid exclusion, a fortiori coverage is present. Standard apparently does not argue that an exclusion which denies recovery to an insured or one injured by the insured car as described by the law (i.e., a passenger or lawful driver in the car or a pedestrian struck by the insured car in this state) would violate the requirements of the no-fault law. It does argue that where the injury occurs to a person not resident in the insured’s household, not a pedestrian and not physically in the insured car, then the exclusion should be tested by the normal rules applicable to a liability insurance contract and should not be governed by the provisions of the no-fault statute. This latter argument has merit.

There are no decisions in this state definitively holding that no-fault coverage does or does not impinge upon the liability provisions of an automobile insurance policy. The Supreme Court of Colorado in Travelers Indemnity Co. v.

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Bluebook (online)
243 S.E.2d 531, 145 Ga. App. 147, 1978 Ga. App. LEXIS 1894, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/standard-guaranty-insurance-v-davis-gactapp-1978.