IN LAWSUIT ARISING OUT OF KARAOKE BAR INCIDENT, GEORGIA COURT OF APPEALS RULES INTENTIONAL ACT EXCLUSION INAPPLICABLE AND INSURANCE COMPANY MUST DEFEND ITS INSURED
Posted by H. Lee Pruett
A recent Georgia case attests to the importance of looking to the allegations of the plaintiff’s complaint in determining potential coverage and the insurance company’s duty to defend a lawsuit. In Nationwide Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Kim, Case No. A08A1063 (Ga. Ct. App., Nov. 14, 2008), Chong Yang sued Yong Kim for hitting Yang in the face with an ice cream scoop in a DeKalb County karaoke bar. Yang’s initial complaint alleged an intentional assault and battery. Yang later amended the complaint to delete all factual allegations in the initial complaint and to allege that Kim negligently threw the ice cream scoop in Yang’s direction. Yang sought compensatory and punitive damages. Nationwide Insurance Company insured Kim under a homeowner’s policy. Nationwide entered into a defense of Kim under a reservation of rights and filed a declaratory judgment action seeking a judgment of non-coverage based on the intentional act exclusion in the policy.
