Georgia Insurance Defense Lawyer Blog

Posted by H. Lee Pruett

Applying well-established law and rules of evidence, the Georgia Court of Appeals recently affirmed summary judgment for a tenant and the landlord in a premises liability case in which the plaintiff was assaulted and robbed in a shopping center parking lot. In Drayton v. Kroger Co., Case No. A08A1935 (Ga. Ct. App., Mar. 2, 2009), the plaintiff bought groceries at the defendant Kroger in a shopping center in Fayetteville, Georgia, and was attacked by a person unconnected to either defendant as she was putting the groceries away in the trunk of her car. The trial court granted summary judgment to both defendants.

Continue reading " GEORGIA COURT OF APPEALS RULES PLAINTIFF'S EVIDENCE INSUFFICIENT TO PROVE EITHER TENANT GROCERY STORE OR LANDLORD IS LIABLE FOR CUSTOMER ASSAULT IN PARKING LOT " »

Posted by Susan J. Levy

Since 1992, the State of Georgia, including all State agencies like the State Department of Human Resources or Department of Transportation, is entitled to sovereign immunity except to the extent sovereign immunity has been waived by the provisions of the Georgia Tort Claims Act (“GTCA”). [See also A Practitioner’s View of the Georgia Tort Claims Act, Georgia State Bar Journal (1992)]

Continue reading " SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY IN GEORGIA: STRIKING A BALANCE " »

Posted by H. Lee Pruett

The Georgia Supreme Court ruled that a limited release for pursuit of uninsured motorist (“UM”) coverage is ambiguous when the plaintiffs -- husband and wife -- settle bodily injury claims and a loss of consortium claim for single person liability limits.

Continue reading " GEORGIA SUPREME COURT ISSUES RULING ON LIMITED RELEASE FOR PURSUIT OF UNINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE " »

Posted by Susan J. Levy

Last summer, in the case of Clarendon National Insurance Co. v. Johnson, 293 Ga. App. 103 (2008), cert denied 2008 Ga. LEXIS 1004, Plaintiff Johnson was seriously injured when he was struck by Robert “Wesley” Carnley who drove his tractor trailer across the center line into the opposite lane of travel with a load of carpet he had picked up in Calhoun, Georgia, on his way to California.

Continue reading " GEORGIA JUDGES LAMENT DECISION BUT UNANIMOUSLY HOLD TRANSPORTATION BROKER NOT VICARIOUSLY LIABLE FOR NEGLIGENCE OF MOTOR CARRIER AND TRUCK DRIVER " »

Posted by H. Lee Pruett

The Georgia Court of Appeals recently issued an important decision concerning automobile liability and uninsured motorist coverage. In Adams v. State Farm, Case. No. A08A2315 (Ga. Ct. App., Feb. 17 2009), the plaintiff was seriously injured in a car accident with the defendant who had $25,000 in liability coverage. Nationwide, the defendant’s insurer, paid a portion of the limits to Grady Hospital to satisfy a hospital lien. The balance was paid directly to the plaintiff in exchange for a limited release. The plaintiff then sought uninsured motorist ("UM") coverage from his insurer, State Farm, which provided $100,000 in uninsured motorist coverage. State Farm sought to apply the full amount of the underlying liability coverage as a setoff. The plaintiff argued that State Farm should not be allowed to set off the portion paid to the hospital because payment of the lien reduced the amount of “available” liability coverage.

Continue reading " GEORGIA COURT OF APPEALS RULES THAT VOLUNTARY PAYMENT OF A HOSPITAL LIEN NEITHER REDUCES AVAILABLE AMOUNT OF LIABILITY COVERAGE NOR INCREASES AMOUNT OF UNINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE " »