Court Opinion

ID: 9602993
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 02:02:20.028813+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:02:07.712161
License: Public Domain

*677Deen, Presiding Judge,
dissenting.
1. The 5th division of the opinion holds, inter alia, that appellants cannot proceed because, as third parties not in privity to the contract, they have not shown, as a condition precedent, that they have complied with a policy provision that they have secured a judgment against the alleged insured tortfeasor Williams. This is a declaratory judgment action by the insurance company in which Jones and Peek are co-defendants. It so happens that the appellant Jones did file a tort action against Williams which is now pending, and the insurance company, when it filed this declaratory judgment action, obtained an injunction against the appellants’ proceeding with the tort suit. Under those circumstances I would not hold that the appellants have failed to comply with a policy provision which the insurer enjoined them from doing. The Peeks were defendants in the tort case prosecution of which was enjoined, and they are named defendants in the present declaratory judgment filed by the insurer, and they have a very real interest in the outcome of this case and Jones v. Southern Guaranty Ins. Co., 142 Ga. App. 678.
2. The 1st division of the opinion holds that the appellants cannot attack the default judgment against Williams because they are not parties to the record. Since they are co-defendants with Williams in this case I consider that they are parties to the record. I therefore disagree with Division 1.
3. Applying the law stated in Davis v. National Indem. Co., 135 Ga. App. 793 (219 SE2d 32), and treating the appellants as inchoate beneficiaries whose suits the plaintiff in declaratory judgment was enjoined from prosecuting (thereby estopping itself from urging lack of a judgment against any tortfeasor) and as co-defendants, also at the instance of the plaintiff, I would allow all defendants their day in court. The purpose of declaratory judgment is to make a declaration of rights where the ends of justice so require. The appellants are parties to this case and their rights are being adjudicated. They therefore have a right to open the insured tortfeasor’s default in order to present any evidence they may have to show that the policy is in effect, regardless of the insured’s election *678not to defend, since the insurer, by making all parties co-defendants and enjoining the pending proceedings, has itself initiated the adjudication.
4. As to alleged misrepresentations made by the applicant in the insurance application, the majority relies on the whole court case of Prudential Ins. Co. v. Perry, 121 Ga. App. 618 (174 SE2d 570), written by Judge Eberhardt. The Perry case, however, is only applicable wherein a limitation on the authority of the agent is specifically contained in the application, as in Perry. Cases wherein no limitation of authority is contained in the application is controlled by the whole court cases of Allstate Ins. Co. v. Anderson, 121 Ga. App. 582 (174 SE2d 591); Reserve Life Ins. Co. v. Meeks, 121 Ga. App. 592 (174 SE2d 585) and Chester v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 121 Ga. App. 599 (174 SE2d 582). Note the position of Judge Eberhardt as to the latter three whole court cases.
Appellants have the right to present evidence, if any exists, that the applicant may have given the agent, whose authority was not limited in the application, the correct information notwithstanding the representations contained in the application. Therefore, this knowledge of the agent was knowledge of the company, and oral representations of driver’s license being suspended and previous insurance canceled were waived by the agent and company.
I am authorized to state that Judge McMurray joins in this dissent.