Court Opinion

ID: 9565050
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 19:13:48.362989+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:19:21.554173
License: Public Domain

Deen, Judge,
dissenting.
A collision involving a J. B. Forrest & Sons, Inc. vehicle took place on February 23, 1973. On June 18, 1973, plaintiff Hazel Smith’s lawyer wrote the insured about the incident, inquiring for further information and whether they wished to settle, and stating in part: "If you have liability insurance, please turn this matter over to your insurance carrier so that I can deal directly with them and minimize further inconvenience to you.” Forrest immediately gave the letter to Groover, the local agent representing the insurer. That Groover is such agent is the subject of a stipulation in this case. (R., 45).
On August 21,1973, the insured was served with suit papers by Mrs. Smith’s lawyer. Its bankruptcy petition was filed the following day, the suit papers were turned over to the Trustee in Bankruptcy, and a stay order was entered up in the tort action. Nothing further happened until January 11,1974, when the insurer received a letter from the Trustee in Bankruptcy containing the suit papers and filed this declaratory judgment action.
The insurer’s agent Groover further testified (R-44) that he received the letter from Hazel Smith’s lawyer which was promptly forwarded by the insured, and that he advised the lawyer by letter "that I had been unsuccessful in reaching him by telephone and asked him to call me at his convenience.” Thus, Groover as agent of the insurer did receive written notice of the claim and did take action thereon on behalf of the insurer. If, as it now appears, he failed to put a claims adjuster on the trail, he cannot blame the insured for this. Notice was in fact promptly given to the company, and the fact is that *722the company simply took no further action in the matter. Proper notice was given. Public Nat. Ins. Co. v. Wheat, 100 Ga. App. 695 (2) (112 SE2d 194).
At the time the suit papers were served, the insured was in the process of filing a bankruptcy proceeding, and these papers and others were properly turned over to the trustee, whose job it was to take over the management of the bankrupt’s affairs. While it is true that the trustee did not notify the insurer for some time of the actual lawsuit, he did obtain a stay of proceedings, and the insurer’s position was no better and no worse in January, 1974, than it had been the previous August.
Now, the majority opinion in effect reflects that under these circumstances the denial of the insurer’s petition for declaratory judgment in its favor on the ground of lack of notice is authorized by the evidence, but still the majority reverses because the trial court in the declaratory judgment action made no express finding that the delay in notice of suit papers was excusable so far as the insured was concerned. The judgment itself is such a finding, because had the trial court not so concluded (and I personally do not see how he could have reached any other conclusion) he would necessarily have had to grant the declaratory judgment.
I respectfully dissent from the order of remand for further findings.
I am authorized to state that Judge Evans concurs in this dissent.