Court Opinion

ID: 9848270
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 04:15:38.396732+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:18:10.242587
License: Public Domain

Evans, Judge,
dissenting. The majority opinion exonerates State Farm from liability, although the record in this case clearly shows that State Farm had issued its liability insurance policy to Eugene Haley, covering the pick-up truck that was involved in the collision, as a result of which Mary Linden Magoon, age 18, was killed.
And although the record here clearly shows that Frank Haley, driver of the insured truck, was not engaged in the automobile business at the time of the homicide (being engaged in operating a service station, where automobiles were never repaired, but where oil was changed, gas tanks were filled, cars were lubricated and washed, flat tires were fixed, radiators were filled, etc., yet the majority opinion excuses State Farm from liability under an exclusionary clause, which asserted that liability coverage would not extend to an automobile: "(1). While maintained or used by any person while such person is employed or otherwise engaged in an automobile business of the insured or any other person or organization.” How can the majority assert that Frank Haley at time of the collision and homicide was engaged in an automobile business?
Frank Haley was not engaged in providing road service for stalled automobiles, and had never responded to a call for such until this particular day when a request was made that he help start a stalled truck some 5 or 6 miles away.
It is difficult to understand how the majority opinion can agree to grant summary judgment in favor of State Farm in view of the above; and especially in view of the law which requires all ambiguities, all doubts, and all inferences to be construed most favorably towards the party opposing the grant of summary judgment. Holland v. Sanfax Corp., 106 Ga. App. 1, 4 (126 SE2d 442); McCarty v. National Life &c. Ins. Co., 107 Ga. App. 178, 179 (129 SE2d 408). The two foregoing opinions were written by Judge Hall, who is also the author of the majority opinion in the present case.
*264Frank Haley testified by deposition, and his testimony must not only be construed in the light of Sanfax and McCarty, supra, but also in the light of Southern R. Co. v. Hobbs, 121 Ga. 428 (1) (49 SE 294), where it is held: "The testimony of a party who offers himself as a witness in his own behalf is to be construed most strongly against him when it is self-contradictory, vague, or equivocal. W. & A. R. Co. v. Evans, 96 Ga. 481; Freyermuth v. R. Co., 107 Ga. 32; Ray v. Green, 113 Ga. 920; Farmer v. Davenport, 118 Ga. 289. And he 'is not entitled to a finding in his favor if that version of his testimony the most unfavorable to him shows that the verdict should be against him.’ Southern Bank v. Goette, 108 Ga. 796.”
Let us then construe the testimony of the defendant, Frank Haley, as the law requires under the Sanfax case, the McCarty case, and the Hobbs case, supra, most strongly against the party testifying; and then ask ourselves as to whether there is any possible way that State Farm could have been entitled to summary judgment in this case; and if there is any possible way to construe his testimony so as to show that at the time of the homicide Frank Haley was employed or otherwise engaged in an automobile business.
Frank Haley testified, by depositions, as follows: That he was at that time engaged in the business of greasing cars, changing oil, washing cars, providing gasoline, fixing tires, stuff like that, just anything that is done at a service station (Tr. 199); that he did not use any automobile in his business there at the service station; he used no vehicle whatsoever as far as giving road service or any way to use for the station. As to whether he customarily gave road service, No, Sir (Tr. 201). This was the first time he had ever borrowed a truck on a service call; he had never before borrowed this truck for a service call; he was not in the business of making service calls on other vehicles out on the road. As to whether that was his customary business: "No, sir, I didn’t give road service.” (Tr. 205). He never made a charge for this particular road trip; as of this day (date of deposition) the service was done free; he never billed the telephone company for having done it (Tr. 206). He was not in the business of giving road service to vehicles; and turned a lot of people down that had called for road service; he told them he didn’t give it; that he didn’t have anything to make road service with; he had never given any road service on any other vehicle; this was the only time he had ever gone out to start a vehicle; his business was selling gas and oil and servicing vehicles there at the *265station. As to what he depended on to make a living, he did not depend on going out and servicing vehicles on the road (Tr. 209). He went out on the road to start their vehicle in this instance just as a favor to them, and to his knowledge there has never been a charge made for that call (Tr. 210). As to how far it was out there, he would say four or five miles (Tr. 211). He did not come back to the station the same way he went out there (Tr. 212). He just took a notion to go back the other way (Tr. 213). The collision occurred on his return trip (Tr. 217-218).
How can the above testimony, delivered by the party himself, be construed in that party’s motion for summary judgment, to mean that he was employed or otherwise engaged in an automobile business? The majority opinion states: "On these facts we think there is no question but that the collision occurred while the truck was being used by Frank Haley while engaged in his automobile business, and therefore, the exclusion clauses of all three policies apply.” (Emphasis supplied.)
How grossly incorrect is this conclusion! Frank Haley had no automobile business; he had a service station, no part of which was devoted to repairing cars, or even to going out on the road and starting cars when stalled. He testified unequivocally in this respect, but even if he had been equivocal in his testimony, the ambiguity would have to be construed against him.
The majority opinion finds no Georgia authority to support its position, so it roams far, far from home in this endeavor, citing Couch, Appleman, Blashfield, ALR, and cases from Texas, Illinois, New York, Missouri and Tennessee. But it cites only three Georgia authorities, and one Federal Court case from Georgia, not a one of which supports the position of the majority.
The first Georgia case cited is that of Northwestern Cas. Co. v. Safeco Ins. Co., 121 Ga. App. 209 (173 SE2d 407), where coverage was denied. But there the individual who caused the collision was an employee of an automobile garage, and in business of working on and repairing automobiles. The garage employee had carried the owner to his place of work and was returning the car to the garage so he could work on the car, when the collision occurred. There could be no question whatever but that the garage employee was then and there engaged in an automobile business.
The second Georgia case cited by the majority is Public Indem. Co. v. Yearwood, 50 Ga. App. 646 (179 SE 232). One statement therein completely demonstrates that this case does not support the majority’s position, which statement is: "From the agreed *266statement of facts it appears that the insured had hired Ingram to repair his automobile, giving to Ingram permission to keep the automobile overnight; that while Ingram was operating the automobile in connection with his repair work thereon, he ran upon and killed the plaintiffs son ...” (Emphasis supplied.) Thus, it will be seen that the parties agreed that the car was being operated in connection with the repair work thereon.
The third Georgia case cited by the majority is that of Allstate Ins. Co. v. McBride, 117 Ga. App. 592 (161 SE2d 415), and one sentence from the headnote is all that need be quoted to show it helps the position of the majority not one bit, to wit: "The automobile insured by Allstate in this case was being road tested by an independent contractor after the installation of a timing chain. ” (Emphasis supplied.)
One Federal Georgia case cited by the majority is that of Pirkle v. American Liberty Ins. Co., 247 FSupp. 1018 (N. D. Ga. 1965) holding that where an employee of the automobile shop drove the insured’s car off to be appraised, the exclusion clause could not be relied on and the insurance was effective. This case does not support the majority’s position. Some of the foreign authorities (none of which bind this court) cited by the majority opinion hold that the exclusionary clause is not applicable, and that insurance coverage is afforded, including the case of Queen Ins. Co. v. Creacy (Tex. Civ. App.), 456 S. W. 2d 538, 542, where a car in the hands of an automobile repair shop for repairs was not an active instrumentality of that business, and consequently was not being "used” in the automobile business.
But not a single foreign authority cited by the majority opinion is on all-fours with the facts in the case at bar, nor even close to being on all-fours with same.
And, while, we repeat, the majority has gone far from home for authority — and found absolutely no authority by the Georgia courts to support its position — let us ask which one of the foreign cases or text-writers supports its position. Not a one of them dealt with a case of a service station operator, who did not even maintain an automobile for making road calls, and who was not in the business of making road calls, but borrowed an insured car on this particular occasion as a favor to the owner of the stalled car, and fqr which no charge was made. None of these authorities supports their position when applied to the facts in the case at bar.
But, there is still another reason why the majority opinion is erroneous. This court has held that even where the facts in a case *267would ordinarily require application of an exclusionary clause, if the car’s use is an isolated instance, the coverage is effective and the exclusionary clause must be disregarded. No one can deny that the use of the car in the case sub judice was an "isolated instance. ” All of the testimony shows this was the first and the only time the operator of the service station had ever left his station to go out on the roadway and render service to a stranded motorist. What is the law in such cases?
In Buffington v. New Hampshire Fire Ins. Co., 104 Ga. App. 139 (121 SE2d 270), this court held: "the endorsement on an automobile liability insurance policy that 'It is understood and agreed that there are no male drivers under 25 years of age driving this car,’ issued in consideration of a substantial reduction in premium, does not relieve the insurance company of liability as to damages caused by one isolated operation of the automobile by a male under the age of 25years. ’’(Emphasis supplied.) Also see discussion at page 142 where it was said that even occasional driving by a male under 25 years would not exclude liability. This opinion was concurred in by Judges Felton, Bell and the author of the opinion in the case sub judice, to wit, Judge Hall.
This court has quite recently decided the case of U S. Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Boyette, 129 Ga. App. 843, against coverage by a vote of eight to one, with the writer being the lone dissenter. But that case is readily distinguishable from the case sub judice for the following reasons: In the Boyette case, the exclusion clause was much broader, in that it excluded from coverage any automobile while being used in "Sale, repairs, servicing, storing or parking automobiles,” while the exclusion clause in the present case simply excluded from coverage automobiles while "maintained or used by any person while such person is employed or otherwise engaged in an automobile business.” In the Boyette case the automobile was being returned to its owner by the operator of a service station, after completion of servicing, which was in his regular and customary line of work. But in the present case the operator of the service station had never before at any time gone out on the highway to start or service an automobile, and in fact, kept no truck or automobile for such purpose, which was what he did this time, travelling about four or five miles from his station in order to do so, and for which he charged nothing. Thus, the "isolated operation” principle came into play, as defined in the case of Buffington v. New Hampshire Fire Ins. Co., 104 Ga. App. 139, supra, which holds that the use of an automobile in an isolated *268operation will not prevent coverage under the exclusionary clause. These differences clearly make the Boyette case inapplicable to the case sub judice.
For all of the foregoing reasons, the exclusionary clause was not effective, coverage was afforded, and the majority opinion is in error.