Court Opinion

ID: 9851022
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 05:06:04.566181+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:20:47.102027
License: Public Domain

Debn, Judge, dissenting.
It is unfortunately possible that in a collision between two automobiles, where the parties between them hold seven standard automobile insurance policies, and where the liability of the tortfeasor has been legally adjudicated and is unquestioned, that there is still no insurance coverage applicable. That is the effect of the decision in this case, but under the circumstances set forth I question the conclusion reached.
I agree with the first three divisions of the majority opinion, the ultimate effect of which is a holding that the tortfeasor Daugherty, driving an automobile which was a temporary substitute automobile for the automobile insured by Scholz with Phoenix of Hartford Insurance Company, was in fact entitled to have the protection of that insurance. This court may properly adjudicate that Daugherty ■ ought to be protected by Phoenix, and that to the extent of coverage Phoenix ought to pay the judgments awarded plaintiffs against Daugherty, but what this court cannot do is to further adjudicate that there is a legal liability on Phoenix to pay. The reason for this is simply: Phoenix has already brought a declaratory judgment against the *338tortfeasor Daugherty’s estate and the judgment plaintiffs in the tort action in the Federal district court and has obtained a valid and subsisting judgment of that court that there is not liability coverage afforded by its policy as to these plaintiffs. As the trial court in the present case correctly stated in dismissing Phoenix as a party defendant in this action: “The motion of Phoenix to dismiss as to the plaintiffs is granted as this court finds that as to the plaintiffs the action of the U. S. District Court, Southern District of Georgia in rendering summary judgment on October 10, 1968, for Phoenix against plaintiffs in a declaratory judgment proceeding regarding coverage under the liability policy in question is res judicata.” Thus, both the State and the Federal court, while differing on the proper interpretation of the Phoenix policy, have held that there is no coverage by Phoenix on the judgments held by these plaintiffs against these defendants—the latter based on summary judgment and the former on res judicata.
At this point, in my opinion, the uninsured motorist insurance provided for several of the plaintiffs by their own policies of automobile insurance with State Farm, Georgia Farm Bureau and Home Insurance Companies, comes into play. For example, the plaintiff Wright, who holds an unsatisfied judgment in the sum of $67,249, is insured by Home Insurance Company, whose policy contains the provision: “The company will pay all sums which the insured . . . shall be legally entitled to recover as damages because of bodily injury sustained by the insured caused by accident and arising out of the ownership ... or use of such uninsured highway vehicle.” The term “uninsured highway vehicle” is defined, among other things, to mean one “with respect to which there is a bodily injury liability bond or insurance policy applicable at the time of the accident but the company writing the same denies coverage thereunder.”
This court holds that the Phoenix policy was applicable to the temporary substitute automobile driven by the tortfeasor Daugherty at the time of the accident. Phoenix wrote the same, and has very successfully denied coverage thereunder since it obtained a declaratory judgment of nonliability which created a res judicata situation and led to the dismissal of Phoenix *339as a party defendant in the present litigation. There is accordingly no coverage by Phoenix on Wright’s judgment and the judgment debtor is an “uninsured motorist” under Wright’s policy.
It should be observed that the remaining policies with uninsured motorist coverage contain identical language as to their insureds with the exception that the relevant definition of “uninsured automobile” is where “there is a bodily injury . . . liability insurance policy applicable at the time of the accident but the company writing the same has . . . legally denied coverage.” Whatever the meaning of the additional word “legally,” I agree with Judge Eberhardt that it should be interpreted as “legally sustainable,” which is of course what Phoenix has indubitably accomplished by its district court judgment of nonliability as to the plaintiffs. Therefore, in my opinion, the summary judgment in favor of State Farm, Georgia Farm Bureau and Home Insurance Companies should be reversed.
What the situation now is as between these insurance companies and Phoenix, the liability insurer, is not up for adjudication in this case. The uninsured motorist insurers brought a third-party complaint in this action against Phoenix which was dismissed by a judgment not excepted to here. That order correctly held that as between the various insurers the district court decision was not res judicata because the uninsured motorist insurers were not a party to that action. This means of course that neither res judicata nor stare decisis applies to them. It is true that if Phoenix afforded coverage this would protect the uninsured motorist insurers except for the excess coverage provisions in their policies. But “cover” and “protect” are synonymous insurance terms (see Black’s' Law Dictionary). The Phoenix policy, under the decisions of the district court and this court, does not protect Scholz or Daugherty against these plaintiffs and they cannot recover from it; therefore, they have coverage under their own insurance to the extent to which it is applicable.
' A similar situation following a somewhat different history is to be found in Motor Vehicle Acc. Indemnification Corp. v. National Grange Mut. Ins. Co., 19 N. Y. 2d 115 (224 NE2d 869). *340There after a collision between Murray and Bermudez, Bermudez obtained a judgment against Murray. Murray had an automobile liability insurance policy with National Grange. National Grange brought a declaratory judgment action against Murray and Bermudez and obtained a judgment that its disclaimer of liability was proper. Bermudez called on his insurer, MVAIC, to afford coverage under the uninsured motorist provision of his policy and this MVAIC did. After paying Bermudez’ claim to the extent of its uninsured motorist policy limits it filed suit against National Grange to recover the amount on the ground that National Grange did in fact afford coverage regardless of the judgment in the declaratory action. National Grange filed a plea of res judicata, and the 'court held that this plea was good as to the plaintiff and defendant in the tort action who were parties to the declaratory judgment but since the uninsured motorist insurer was not a party to the declaratory judgment action the judgment in that case was not res judicata as to it. We have of course reached the same conclusion in this case. As to the rights of the insurers among themselves that case further held: “If it [the uninsured motorist insurer] recovered judgment against Murray and that judgment was ‘unsatisfied’, MVAIC would be privileged to maintain an action directly against National for the amount of the judgment.” Regardless, however, of the rights and liabilities of the insurers among themselves, it seems to me uncontrovertible that Phoenix legally sustained its denial of coverage so far as the plaintiffs are concerned, and that the uninsured motorist insurers are therefore, under the unequivocal terms of their contracts with their insureds, bound to pay under this coverage. The motions for summary judgment by State Farm, Georgia Farm Bureau and Home Insurance should have been denied.
I am authorized to state that Judges Pannell and Evans agree with this dissent.