Court Opinion

ID: 9854103
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 06:00:53.19451+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:22:55.764487
License: Public Domain

Stolz, Judge,
concurring specially.
I concur in Division 1 of the majority opinion and Division 2, except that part which states the necessity of overruling Hayes v. Layton, 125 Ga. App. 433 (188 SE2d 149). I disagree with Division 3 in the application of the rule stated in Hayes v. Layton (which I believe has been misinterpreted) and in the decision of the case on constitutional grounds (which I believe is unnecessary).
In Hayes v. Layton, supra, the award of the State Board of Workmen’s Compensation was made the judgment of the Superior.Court of Fulton County and the judgment of the Court of Appeals of Georgia. Certiorari was denied by the Supreme Court. In this case, there is only an unappealed from award of the State Board of Workmen’s Compensation. As pointed out in Division 2, this is not a judgment in the sense that allows the award to be used as' a basis for sustaining pleas of res judicata or estoppel by judgment. Thus, there is no occasion to apply the rule stated in Hayes v. Layton. Since the sole basis for the plaintiffs motion for summary judgment is the estoppel by judgment contention, and that contention lacks merit, it follows that the trial judge erred in granting partial summary judgment on the question of disability. Moreover, a physical condition which could *699constitute disability for workmen’s compensation purposes might not be sufficient to do so under the provisions of an insurance policy or a "family-care plan,” as is presented in this case. Thus, I reach the same result (reversal) as the majority, but by a different route and with fewer casualties (i.e., Hayes v. Layton).