Court Opinion

ID: 9595067
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 00:35:17.710103+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T10:34:21.305861
License: Public Domain

Blackburn, Judge,
dissenting.
The revised majority opinion holds that the trial court erred in failing to grant summary judgment to State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (“State Farm”) and then, remands the case to allow the trial court the opportunity to eliminate the basis for State Farm’s entitlement to summary judgment. This result is as flawed as the original result in that it makes the plaintiff’s right to pursue his *522statutorily mandated uninsured motorist claim discretionary with the trial court.
Where the uninsured motorist carrier has been personally served and the defendant-tortfeasor has been served by publication, the trial court has no authority to dismiss such defendant-tortfeasor solely on the basis that the uninsured motorist carrier has answered in its own name and it alone is the proper defendant, unless the plaintiff thereafter retains his right to prosecute his uninsured motorist claim pursuant to Wilkinson v. Vigilant Ins. Co., 236 Ga. 456 (224 SE2d 167) (1976). If this is not so, then should the trial court elect not to vacate its order dismissing the defendant-tortfeasor, it would have no choice under the majority opinion but to grant summary judgment to State Farm. The majority opinion does not allow plaintiff’s action to proceed as authorized by Wilkinson v. Vigilant Ins. Co., supra. If the trial court elects not to reinstate the dismissed defendant-tortfeasor, and State Farm refiles its motion for summary judgment, which the trial court would have no choice but to grant, plaintiff would then be entitled to a direct appeal based upon the improper dismissal of Vaccaro. by the trial court.
At that time, this court would be forced to address the same issue that can be resolved at this time, that is, was it error for the trial court to dismiss Vaccaro because it held State Farm was the proper defendant, in reliance upon Wilkinson v. Vigilant Ins. Co., supra? This issue is properly before this court, because such dismissal did not harm the plaintiff under the trial court’s ruling, but is made harmful by this court’s holding that the trial court’s reliance upon Wilkinson v. Vigilant Ins. Co. is misplaced. Where this court creates a harm to the plaintiff by the effect of its ruling (that the trial court’s reliance on plaintiff’s right to continue his uninsured motorist claim after dismissal of the defendant-tortfeasor, pursuant to Wilkinson v. Vigilant Ins. Co., supra, was misplaced), it is authorized to do complete justice as the case may require (the reinstatement of Vaccaro).
There would be no basis for the grant of State Farm’s motion for summary judgment, but for the grant by this court of its application for interlocutory appeal and subsequent ruling thereon. If this matter had not been interrupted at the interlocutory stage it would have proceeded to completion and all issues would have been directly appealable at that time. Where this court elects to so intercede, then complete justice must be done. “Piece-meal review is not favored by the courts.” Foley v. Shanahan, 133 Ga. App. 262 (211 SE2d 367) (1974).
The effect of allowing the trial court to dismiss a defendanttortfeasor under these circumstances, with the potential for a resulting summary judgment for the uninsured motorist carrier, is to emasculate the scheme of such coverage and to allow carriers to avoid that obligation for which they have been paid by the insured party.
*523Since Vaccaro is not personally liable for any judgment that might be rendered against him based upon a failure to obtain personal service, it would appear that the only defendant who benefits from this entire scenario is State Farm. There is an odious smell emanating from this case and one wonders for whose benefit the motion to dismiss Vaccaro was filed. Unfortunately, no proceeding to require proof of the attorney’s authority to represent Vaccaro pursuant to OCGA § 15-19-7, was pursued in this case and is not a part of the record.
In this case, although the identity of the uninsured motorist was known, his whereabouts was not. With regard to uninsured motorists, it is well settled that “whereabouts unknown” is equal to “identity unknown.” Wentworth v. Fireman’s Fund American Ins. Co., 147 Ga. App. 854 (250 SE2d 543) (1978); Norman v. Daniels, 142 Ga. App. 456 (236 SE2d 121) (1977). When an uninsured motorist’s whereabouts is unknown, service by publication may be authorized, and although “[s]uch service does not serve as the foundation for an in personam judgment against the tortfeasor, ... it does serve as a condition precedent for recovery against the uninsured motorist carrier.” Wentworth v. Fireman’s Fund American Ins. Co., supra at 855.
The plaintiff/appellee here unsuccessfully attempted personal service upon Vaccaro in Georgia, Florida, and Texas. Satisfied that the appellee had diligently attempted that personal service, the trial court entered an order allowing service by publication in accordance with OCGA § 33-7-11 (e). The efficacy of service by publication was demonstrated by the fact that, whereas extensive efforts to serve Vaccaro personally in three states had failed to uncover his whereabouts, this service by publication resulted in a special appearance by Vaccaro through counsel to contest personal jurisdiction in the action.
Service on Vaccaro by publication was proper, and the trial court correctly denied Vaccaro’s motion for judgment on the pleadings asserting lack of personal jurisdiction and insufficient service. Subsequently, however, the court dismissed Vaccaro as a party defendant, solely because State Farm answered in its own name and thus became a party in the action under OCGA § 33-7-11 (d). State Farm then moved for summary judgment on the grounds that Vaccaro’s dismissal precluded obtaining a judgment against him, and thus eliminated the condition precedent for State Farm’s liability as uninsured motorist carrier.
In accepting State Farm’s argument, the majority opinion errs in relying upon Boles v. Hamrick, 194 Ga. App. 595 (391 SE2d 418) (1990), and attempting to distinguish Wilkinson v. Vigilant Ins. Co., supra. In Boles, the uninsured motorist was dismissed from the action on the merits, which necessarily relieved the uninsured motorist carrier of any liability. Boles is readily distinguishable from the instant *524case, inasmuch as the trial court specifically emphasized that the dismissal of Vaccaro was not on the merits.
In Wilkinson, where liability could not attach to the uninsured motorist because of his discharge in bankruptcy unrelated to the merits of the claim, the Supreme Court held that “the action should have been allowed to proceed [against the uninsured motorist carrier] as though it were a John Doe action. . . .” (Emphasis supplied.) Id. at 457. Contrary to the majority opinion, Wilkinson does not require a “legal bar to liability” in order to proceed “as though it were a John Doe action.” Wilkinson states: “Thus, it is seen that the insurance company is the real party in interest and not the uninsured motorist. . . . Since no liability can attach to the known uninsured, the action should have been allowed to proceed as though it were a John Doe action and the insured can establish ‘all sums which he shall be legally entitled to recover as damages,’ caused by the uninsured motorist. The Court of Appeals erred in affirming the grant of summary judgment in favor of the insurance company.” (Emphasis supplied.) Id. at 457. In the subject action, no liability can attach to Vaccaro because he has not been personally served; in Wilkinson, no liability could attach to the defendant-tortfeasor because of his discharge in bankruptcy. Nothing in Wilkinson restricted its application to those instances in which some legal bar to liability existed. Also, in Wilkinson, the uninsured motorist’s avoidance of liability did not result from a determination on the merits in the claim. Cf. State Farm &c. Ins. Co. v. Harris, 207 Ga. App. 8 (427 SE2d 1) (1992). In the instant case, Vaccaro’s dismissal similarly was not on the merits, and the trial court properly followed Wilkinson in denying State Farm’s motion for summary judgment.
The majority opinion remands the matter so that the trial court can reconsider its dismissal of Vaccaro, if requested by the appellee. This fashioning a remedy, albeit more tolerable than granting summary judgment for State Farm, is unnecessary because Wilkinson v. Vigilant Ins. Co., supra, adequately cures the trial court’s erroneous dismissal of the uninsured motorist, if it be such. Also, the majority opinion’s remand with direction does nothing to resolve the issue created by this court’s holding.
In summary, the trial court’s dismissal of Vaccaro was expressly not on the merits, and resulted from its belief that State Farm’s inclusion as a named party defendant rendered Vaccaro’s continued presence in the action unnecessary. However, the appellee had done all that was possible to serve Vaccaro personally, and finally resorted to service by publication which was authorized by the trial court. Under those circumstances, the appellee should not lose the possibility of redress provided by the uninsured motorist law, merely because of the trial court’s erroneous dismissal of Vaccaro, if it be such.
*525Decided April 2, 1993 —
Reconsideration denied April 21, 1993.
Harper, Waldon & Craig, Russell D. Waldon, Christopher M. Farmer, for appellant.
F. Earl Wiggers, Jr., for appellee.
The majority opinion fashions a remedy which implicitly authorizes the dismissal of defendant-tortfeasors, similarly situated, which is contrary to the intent of the uninsured motorist laws of Georgia, and, for that reason, I must respectfully dissent.
I am authorized to state that Chief Judge Pope joins in this dissent.