Court Opinion

ID: 9847269
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 03:57:02.076172+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:17:05.388545
License: Public Domain

Hall, Presiding Judge,
dissenting. In my opinion, this court’s recent opinion in H. Y. Akers & Sons v. St. Louis Fire Ins. Co., 120 Ga. App. 800, 803 (172 SE2d 355) is controlling here: "The cooperation clause [in a liability insurance policy] is a material condition of a liability policy and a breach of it in any material respect relieves the insurer of liability. The voluntary and unexcused failure of an insured to attend a trial, after notice or request to do so, upon a claim covered by his policy of insurance is such a breach of the clause. It has been held that his failure to attend the trial, after notice or request to attend, and aid in the defense is, per se, prejudicial, and one who would seek to enforce the contract for his benefit must show that he has performed all conditions on his part required to be performed as a condition precedent to his right. . . The judgment creditor, who sues on a policy indemnifying the insured against claims for damages, stands in the shoes of the insured and is chargeable, like the insured, with any breach of conditions on which liability depended. . . The rights of a third party can rise no higher than and are dependent upon the rights of the insured. . . To show a prima facie breach the insurer is required to do no more than show that it exercised good faith and diligence in an effort to procure the attendance of the insured at the trial and that he did not attend. . . It is not required to anticipate and negate all of the ex*400cuses and reasons that might justify his nonattendance.” (Emphasis supplied). See also 8 Appleman, Insurance 148, § 4784: "Absence or nonavailability of the insured is prima facie a breach of the policy, and refusal to attend the trial has been held to constitute a breach of the co-operation clause. It has been stated also that the insurer is not required to request or consent to a continuance. The insured’s excuse for not appearing must be one which would receive favorable consideration on a motion for a new trial, and it must be made known to the insurer’s representatives before the opportunity to reopen the case has expired.” (Emphasis supplied).
The undisputed evidence in support of defendant’s motion for summary judgment shows that the insured removed herself from Glynn County, Ga. and resided in Oakland, Calif., at the time of the trial; that the insurer made several attempts to get the insured to attend the trial; that arrangements were made for her stay in Brunswick while she was engaged in the trial; that funds were sent by the insurer to the insured to cover the costs of round trip air fare from Oakland to Brunswick for the insured and her husband ($667 plus $20 as ground travel expenses); that these drafts were negotiated and presented for payment on a date subsequent to the trial; that she failed to appear for reasons unknown to the insurer; that the insurer proceeded to trial, but only after announcing in open court it was doing so without waiving any rights to deny coverage; and that the plaintiff had been informed on several previous occasions by the insurer that it intended to deny coverage on the ground that its insured had failed to co-operate with the insurer in getting her to appear at the trial.
In my opinion, the above testimony of the defendant clearly pierced the allegations of plaintiff’s petition and made out a prima facie defense under the Akers case, supra.1 The burden then rested upon the plaintiff to produce counterproof or suffer summary judg*401ment. Crutcher v. Crawford Land Co., 220 Ga. 298, 304 (138 SE2d 580); Scales v. Peevy, 103 Ga. App. 42 (118 SE2d 193); Studstill a, Aetna Cas. &c. Co., 101 Ga. App. 766, 768 (115 SE2d 374). Once the insurer proved failure of attendance on the part of the insured and good faith on its part to procure attendance, the plaintiff (whose rights are solely dependent upon the rights of the insured) must show a good reason why the insured did not attend. This he did not do. Furthermore, the defendant insured was under a duty to be at the trial aside from her co-operation agreement. As this court has said, a defendant is "charged with the legal duty of keeping advised as to the progress of the litigation, notwithstanding the fact that he was represented by counsel. Lovelace v. Lovelace, 179 Ga. 822 (177 SE 685); Beavers v. Cassells, 56 Ga. App. 146, 153 (192 SE 249) and cit.” Langran v. Hodges, 60 Ga. App. 567, 574 (4 SE2d 489).
The purpose of requiring notice of a reservation of rights is to allow the insured time to enlist the aid of independent counsel if she so desires. By her unexplained failure to appear, the insured is estopped to claim she was denied an opportunity to retain independent counsel. She demonstrated a total disinterest in the outcome of the case. One can hardly suppose that had the case been continued long enough for the insurer to send her a reservation of rights notice, she would have gone to the trouble and expense of hiring independent counsel when she wouldn’t even co-operate with that provided by her own insurer.
The plaintiff is therefore derivitively estopped to assert this claim. Further, by the insurer’s declaration in court, in addition to the previous correspondence on this point, the plaintiff was on notice that if he proceeded with the trial, the insurer would rely upon the defense of non-cooperation in any subsequent action plaintiff might bring against it. The doctrine of estoppel is applicable against the plaintiff not the insurer. See State Farm Mut. &c. Ins. Co. v. Anderson, 107 Ga. App. 348, 352 (130 SE2d 144).
We must not forget that the tort was committed by the insured, not the insurer, that the purpose of the liability insurance policy is for the benefit of the insured, not the plaintiff, and that the sine qua non for the insured’s protection under the policy was her obligation in the policy to co-operate with her insurer.
*402The "fault” system is the beat to which our automobile litigation is supposed to march. This case presents an interesting paradox. Since this suit is brought against the liability insurer, the relevance of liability insurance in automobile litigation is graphically illustrated. Liability insurance is determined under the terms of the contract between the insured and the insurer. The terms determine the cost of the insurance which has risen dramatically over the past several years. The general public, through insurance premiums, finances the results of automobile litigation and is greatly troubled over these increased costs. Those who view themselves as safe drivers and who fulfill their contractual obligations think that their rates should be lower than those who do not fit these categories. The insurers have attempted to meet this demand by adjusting their rates vis-a-vis these distinctions. The co-operation clause and its fulfillment has an obvious relationship to this rate structure. If the courts are unwilling to enforce the provision, it is axiomatic that no actuarial benefit can be given to those drivers willing to adhere to the terms of the contract. As a result, the alleged "wrongdoer” is not punished for his "fault” in any way at all. The judgment is paid by his insurer, who must set premiums to cover situations where there is no co-operation. The result is that the loss must be distributed over the entire community by increased premiums. Where everyone dances, the piper must be paid accordingly.
I am authorized to state that Judges Eberhardt, Deen and Whitman concur in this dissent.

. On the motion for summary judgment, only a portion of the insurance policy was placed in evidence. If the terms of the policy provide that the co-operation clause is a condition precedent to recovery under the policy, the burden of proving co-operation would rest upon the plaintiff. Wolverine Ins. Co. v. Sorrough, 122 Ga. App. 556 (177 SE2d 819).