Court Opinion

ID: 9561783
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 18:16:14.814382+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:14:26.018531
License: Public Domain

On Motion for Rehearing.
OCGA § 33-7-11 (j), as amended in 1984, provides: “The question of bad faith, the amount of the penalty, if any, and the reasonable attorney fees, if any, shall be determined in a separate action filed by the insured against the insurer after a judgment has been rendered against the uninsured motorist in the original tort action.” (Emphasis supplied.) Although the holding in McCall v. Allstate Ins. Co., 251 Ga. 869 (310 SE2d 513) (1984), affirming on other grounds our opinion in Allstate Ins. Co. v. McCall, 166 Ga. App. 833 (305 SE2d 413) (1983), may be considered abrogated by the amended version of OCGA § 33-7-11 (j), Smith v. Phillips, 172 Ga. App. 459, 465 (2) (323 SE2d 669) (1984), the amended version of OCGA § 33-7-11 (j) does not adversely impact this court’s holding in Allstate, supra, but on the contrary endorses that opinion in that the amendment “reinforces the concepts that a judgment against a tortfeasor is a condition precedent to the entry of a judgment against the [uninsured motorist carrier].” Smith, supra. Thus, Allstate Ins. Co. v. McCall, supra, continues to control this appeal adversely to appellants.

Motion for rehearing denied.