International Indem. Co. v. Collins, 45254
| Decision Date | 27 April 1988 |
| Docket Number | No. 45254,45254 |
| Citation | 258 Ga. 236,367 S.E.2d 786 |
| Parties | INTERNATIONAL INDEMNITY CO. v. COLLINS. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Michael L. Wetzel, Atlanta, for Inter. Indem. Co.
Clarence L. Martin, Savannah, for Alvin Collins, et al.
James E. Butler, Jr., Thomas W. Bennett, James D. Hudson, amici curiae.
This court detailed the facts of this case in Collins v. International Indemnity Company, 256 Ga. 493, 349 S.E.2d 697 (1986). On May 2, 1981 deceased and his companion were thrown from a motorcycle onto the roadway. A passerby blocked a lane of traffic with his car to protect the bodies. His car was hit by another car causing it to move; the bodies changed positions, and decedent was pronounced dead at the scene. Decedent's minor daughter, Shamone Collins, made a claim for survivor's benefits pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 33-34-4(b) and O.C.G.A. § 33-34-5(a)(2) under the passerby's automobile insurance policy issued by International Indemnity. When International Indemnity denied the claim, Collins brought suit.
The trial court granted the insurer's motion for summary judgment. After the Court of Appeals affirmed the summary judgment, we granted Collins' petition for certiorari. In Collins v. International Indemnity Company, 256 Ga. 493, 349 S.E.2d 697 (1986) we reversed and remanded the case for trial. At trial the jury rendered a verdict for Collins which was affirmed by the Court of Appeals. The issues now on appeal are (1) whether Shamone Collins is a "dependent child" qualifying for survivor's benefits under the no-fault insurance statute, and (2) whether the insurer's refusal to pay the claim authorizes bad faith penalties, attorneys fees and punitive damages under O.C.G.A. § 33-34-6(b) and (c). We agree with the Court of Appeals that dependency of a minor child is assumed under the no-fault insurance statute, but we do not believe that the insurer's refusal to pay the claim was in bad faith.
1. The purpose of no-fault survivor's benefits is to provide financial protection for those most likely to suffer at the death of the insured. Cannon v. Georgia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company, 240 Ga. 479, 241 S.E.2d 238 (1983). To this end, the no-fault statute gives survivor's benefits to the spouse and dependent children of the deceased. O.C.G.A. § 33-34-4(b) and O.C.G.A. § 33-34-5(a)(2). We hold the word "dependent" in this statute indicates the age and status of the child and distinguishes this child from one who is capable of being financially and otherwise independent of an adult.
Undisputed evidence produced at trial showed that Collins was the daughter of the decedent. The evidence also showed that her mother and father were divorced and that she lived with her mother in Georgia, while her father lived in Florida and did not contribute financially to her support.
The duty of parents to support their children is joint and several and does not terminate until the child reaches the age of majority, except to the extent that the duty of one parent is further defined by court order. O.C.G.A. § 19-7-2. A divorce decree cannot waive a minor child's right to support. Collins v. Collins, 172 Ga.App. 748, 324 S.E.2d 475 (1984). A child who is unable to support himself is dependent on his parent as a matter of law, regardless of that parent's marital status. Therefore, a minor child is a dependent child for whom survivor's benefits exist under the no-fault statute.
2. When this case was first addressed, the trial court and the Court of Appeals relied on Partridge v. Southeastern Fidelity Insurance Company, 172 Ga.App. 466, 323 S.E.2d 676 (1984) in holding as a matter of law that after the decedent was ejected from his motorcycle, he remained an occupant of the motorcycle, because he had not been removed to a neutral zone. Occupants of motorcycles cannot recover under the no-fault statute, so summary judgment was granted to the insurer. Had the decedent been removed to a neutral zone, his spouse and...
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