Brayman v. Allstate Ins. Co., No. A93A2208
| Court | United States Court of Appeals (Georgia) |
| Writing for the Court | COOPER; BEASLEY, P.J., and SMITH |
| Citation | 441 S.E.2d 285,212 Ga.App. 96 |
| Parties | BRAYMAN et al. v. ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY. |
| Docket Number | No. A93A2208 |
| Decision Date | 15 February 1994 |
Page 285
v.
ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY.
[212 Ga.App. 97] Richard D. Phillips, Ludowici, for appellants.
Barrow, Sims, Morrow & Lee, R. Stephen Sims, Savannah, for appellee.
[212 Ga.App. 96] COOPER, Judge.
Allstate Insurance Company brought a declaratory judgment action against its insureds, Lawrence and Shirley Brayman, to determine its obligations to the Braymans with respect to a lawsuit brought against them for slander. 1 The trial court granted Allstate's motion for summary judgment and the Braymans appeal.
Allstate issued a homeowners insurance policy to the Braymans which provides in pertinent part as follows: "Allstate will pay damages which an insured person becomes legally obligated to pay because of bodily injury or property damage arising from an accident and covered by this part of the policy." The policy excludes from coverage any bodily injury or property damage resulting from "an act or omission intended or expected to cause bodily injury or property damage ... even if the bodily injury or property damage is of a different kind or degree, or is sustained by a different person or property, than that intended or expected." "Bodily injury" is defined as "physical harm to the body, including sickness or disease, and resulting death." In July 1990, plaintiff Little brought suit against the Braymans alleging they had made numerous false and malicious statements to others that she was a homosexual and that such statements were deliberately calculated to injure her, constituted slander per se, and had caused her great mental pain and anguish.
1. The Braymans' sole enumeration of error is that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to Allstate because the claim for slander is covered under that portion of the policy providing coverage for bodily injury. "An insurer's duty to defend is determined by the insurance contract; and since the contract obligates the insurer to
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defend claims asserting liability under the policy, even if groundless, the allegations of the complaint are looked to to determine whether a liability covered by the policy is asserted." (Citations and punctuation omitted.) Cantrell v. Allstate Ins. Co., 202 Ga.App. 859, 860, 415 S.E.2d 711 (1992). "Used in an insurance policy, the term 'bodily injury' [212 Ga.App. 97] means just that--'bodily injury.' It pertains to physical injury to the...To continue reading
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