James T. Curry v. Allstate Property & Casualty Insurance Company ( 2022 )

THIRD DIVISION
DOYLE, P. J.,
REESE and GOBEIL, JJ.
NOTICE: Motions for reconsideration must be
physically received in our clerk’s office within ten
days of the date of decision to be deemed timely filed.
https://www.gaappeals.us/rules
March 11, 2022
In the Court of Appeals of Georgia
A21A1446. CURRY v. ALLSTATE PROPERTY & CASUALTY
INSURANCE CO.
GOBEIL, Judge.
James T. Curry filed the instant action against Allstate Property & Casualty
Insurance Company (“Allstate”) pursuant to OCGA § 33-7-11 (j), a statute which
penalizes an insurer for bad faith refusal to pay a demand for uninsured or
underinsured motorist (“UM”) insurance. The trial court granted partial summary
judgment to Allstate on the issue of damages permitted under the statute. Curry
appeals, challenging the court’s rulings pertaining to the extent of damages and
attorney fees he may seek. For the reasons stated below, we affirm in part the trial
court’s order, reverse in part, and remand the case for additional proceedings
consistent with this opinion.
The facts relevant to the issues on appeal are not in dispute. On January 12,
2015, Curry was injured in a car accident that was caused by the negligence of a
third-party driver. The other driver was insured for $25,000, which Curry received
from the other driver’s insurance company under a limited release allowing Curry the
right to pursue UM benefits.
At the time of the accident, Curry was insured with Allstate under an
automobile policy that provided $30,000 worth of UM coverage. On May 17, 2016,
Curry made a demand for the policy limits of his UM coverage. Allstate did not
tender this money to Curry within 60 days of his demand. Curry then sued the at-fault
driver and was awarded a judgment of $85,579.02 plus costs (the “underlying tort
action”).
In October 2020, Curry filed the instant suit against Allstate pursuant to OCGA
§ 33-7-11 (j),1 claiming that Allstate rejected his demand in bad faith.2 Curry sought:
1
OCGA § 33-7-11 (j) provides that if an insurer fails to pay a demand within
60 days, and such failure is found to be in bad faith, “the insurer shall be liable to the
insured in addition to any recovery under this Code section for not more than 25
percent of the recovery or $25,000.00, whichever is greater, and all reasonable
attorney’s fees for the prosecution of the case under this Code section.”
2
We note that the question of Allstate’s bad faith remains before the trial court
and is not at issue in this appeal.
2
(1) 25 percent of the entire verdict of $85,579.02 from the underlying tort action, and
(2) attorney fees for expenses associated with both the instant suit and the underlying
tort action. Allstate answered the complaint, denying the claim of bad faith. Allstate
also filed a motion for partial summary judgment, arguing that the 25 percent figure
listed in OCGA § 33-7-11 (j) limited Curry to recovering 25 percent of his UM policy
limit of $30,000, rather than 25 percent of the verdict in the underlying tort action.
Allstate also contested Curry’s request for attorney fees, arguing that he was limited
to recovering attorney fees incurred in the instant action, rather than those associated
with the underlying tort action.
The trial court issued an order granting Allstate’s motion for partial summary
judgment. Specifically, the court found that Curry “may seek to recover not more than
twenty-five percent (25%) of the $30,000.00 UM coverage already paid by [Allstate]
in the original tort action, plus reasonable attorney’s fees for the prosecution of the
instant action.” The instant appeal followed.3
It is well established that on appeal of a grant of summary
judgment, the appellate court must determine whether the trial court
3
Curry filed an application for interlocutory appeal, which we granted, as the
grant of partial summary judgment is reviewable by direct appeal. Case No.
A21I0170 (April 15, 2021).
3
erred in concluding that no genuine issue of material fact remains and
that the party was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. This requires
a de novo review of the evidence.
Rubin v. Cello Corp., 235 Ga. App. 250, 250-251 (510 SE2d 541) (1998) (citation
and punctuation omitted). “When a question of law is at issue, as here, we owe no
deference to the trial court’s ruling and apply the ‘plain legal error’ standard of
review.” Suarez v. Halbert, 246 Ga. App. 822, 824 (1) (543 SE2d 733) (2000)
(citation omitted).
1. On appeal, Curry first contests the trial court’s finding that he may seek
damages of only 25 percent of the limits of his UM coverage. Instead, he argues he
is entitled to seek 25 percent of the verdict in his underlying tort action.4 We disagree.
4
Curry actually argues on appeal that “the recovery” should be defined as “the
combined amounts of liability and [UM] motorist benefits the plaintiff received[.]”
However, that is not what Curry sought in his lawsuit against Allstate. He did not
seek 25 percent of the combined amounts of liability insurance from the at-fault
driver ($25,000) plus the amount of UM benefits from Allstate ($30,000). He sought
25 percent of the amount awarded to him in the underlying tort action ($85,579.02).
Further, he did not raise this argument (or attempt to distinguish Jones) to the trial
court. Thus, to the extent Curry is raising this argument for the first time on appeal,
we are not required to consider it. Yakob v. Kidist Mariam Ethiopian Orthodox
Tewahedo Church, Inc., 359 Ga. App. 13, 25 (4) n. 7 (856 SE2d 722) (2021).
Nonetheless, for the reasons set forth in the opinion, it is a distinction without a
difference.
4
The statute at issue is the Georgia Uninsured Motorist Act, OCGA § 33-7-11.
To provide context for Curry’s arguments, we first consider the structure of the
statute as a whole. We have explained that the
purpose of uninsured motorist or UM coverage is to place the injured
insured in the same position as if the offending uninsured motorist were
covered with liability insurance. The Georgia uninsured motorist statute
is designed to protect the insured as to his actual loss, within the limits
of the policy or policies of which he is a beneficiary.
Donovan v. State Farm Mut. Automobile Ins. Co., 329 Ga. App. 609, 611 (765 SE2d
755) (2014) (citation and punctuation omitted). To that end, the statute sets minimum
requirements for UM endorsements in auto insurance policies. OCGA § 33-7-11 (a).
The statute then defines several terms, including “[u]ninsured motor vehicle[,]” which
is defined to include, as relevant here, a motor vehicle for which the liability
insurance covering the vehicle does not cover the UM claimant’s full damages.
OCGA § 33-7-11 (b) (1) (D) (ii) (I). See Donovan, 329 Ga. App. at 611 (explaining
that one type of UM coverage is an “excess policy which provides for UM insurance
in excess of any available liability insurance”).
The statute goes on to explain that a UM claimant may file an action against
the at-fault driver, and, if there is a belief that the UM claimant will be filing a claim
5
against his UM insurer, the UM claimant must also name the insurer as a defendant.
OCGA § 33-7-11 (d). See Ward v. Allstate Ins. Co., 265 Ga. App. 603, 603-604 (595
SE2d 97) (2004) (“Generally, the insured’s right to recover under an uninsured
motorist policy is established by obtaining a judgment against the uninsured motorist,
thus showing that the insured is legally entitled to recover those damages.”) (citation
and punctuation omitted). The insurer is entitled to certain protections in the
underlying tort lawsuit and in the calculation of how much the insurer may owe the
UM claimant. OCGA § 33-7-11 (d), (f), (h), (i).
Finally, as stated above, subsection (j) provides that if an insurer fails to pay
a UM coverage demand within 60 days, and such failure is found to be in bad faith,
“the insurer shall be liable to the insured in addition to any recovery under this Code
section for not more than 25 percent of the recovery or $25,000.00, whichever is
greater, and all reasonable attorney’s fees for the prosecution of the case under this
Code section.” (Emphasis supplied.)
We had the opportunity to consider the meaning of the term “the recovery” in
Jones v. Cotton States Mut. Ins. Co., 185 Ga. App. 66, 69-70 (2) (363 SE2d 303)
(1987). There, we considered the same argument put forth by Curry (that the statute
intended to refer to a claimant’s recovery in the underlying tort action), and rejected
6
such argument. Id. at 69 (2). Instead, we found that “the statute [provides] for a
penalty of 25 percent of the recovery of the total UM coverage for which [the UM
insurer] is liable.” Id. We explained that, with this statute, the legislature “provide[d]
a specific procedure and a limited penalty for noncompliance with OCGA § 33-7-
11[,]” and “the ‘recovery’ allowed under OCGA § 33-7-11 (j) was intended to be
limited to ‘recovery under this Code section,’ i.e., recovery of the sums for which the
UM carrier is liable.” Id. at 69-70 (2).
We agree with Allstate that Jones applies to the instant appeal. OCGA § 33-7-
11 covers UM endorsements in our state, and provides the requirements of coverage
and the process by which a UM claimant shall recover funds from their insurer. The
statute contemplates the UM claimant filing an underlying tort suit against the driver
of the “uninsured motor vehicle” along with the UM insurer. However, the underlying
tort suit is merely the avenue by which the UM claimant recovers under the UM
endorsement in his auto policy. Nothing in the statute would allow a UM claimant to
recover more than the limits of his UM endorsement. Thus, we agree that “the
7
recovery” under OCGA § 33-7-11 (j) refers to “sums for which the UM carrier is
liable.” Jones, 185 Ga. App. at 69-70 (2).5
Curry attempts to distinguish his case from Jones because in Jones there was
no liability insurance in the underlying tort case. We, however, fail to see how this
changes the application of the Jones holding to this instant appeal. In Jones, the
claimant had not yet received a verdict in the underlying tort case, so the amount of
the verdict was hypothetical when our Court rendered its holding. Jones, 185 Ga.
App. at 69 (2). Thus, the specifics of how much liability insurance may be available
to the claimant or may offset the verdict was irrelevant to our holding in Jones and
does not prevent its application to this appeal.
In conclusion, we follow the precedent set in Jones, and hold that Curry may
recover, pursuant to OCGA § 33-7-11 (j), “not more than 25 percent” of the limits of
his UM coverage with Allstate or “$25,000, whichever is greater.” OCGA § 33-7-11
(j). We affirm the order of the trial court to this extent.
5
In adopting this reasoning, we keep in mind that OCGA § 33-7-11 (j)
provides for a penalty, which must be construed strictly in favor of the penalized
party. TEC Am., Inc. v. DeKalb County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 170 Ga. App. 533, 536
(1) (317 SE2d 637) (1984) (“forfeitures and penalties are not favored and statutes
relating to them must be strictly construed, and in a manner as favorable to the person
against whom the forfeiture or penalty would be exacted as is consistent with fair
principles of interpretation”) (citation and punctuation omitted).
8
2. Curry also contests the trial court’s finding that the attorney fees he may
recover in the instant action are limited to expenses associated with the instant action,
as opposed to the expenses associated with the underlying tort action. On this issue,
we agree, at least in part, with Curry’s arguments.6
As to attorney fees, OCGA § 33-7-11 (j) states that, if bad faith is found on the
part of the insurance company in refusing to pay a demand within 60 days, the insured
shall be entitled to
all reasonable attorney’s fees for the prosecution of the case under this
Code section. The question of bad faith, the amount of the penalty, if
any, and the reasonable attorney’s fees, if any, shall be determined in a
separate action[7] filed by the insured against the insurer after a judgment
6
Unlike the first issue discussed above, research reveals that we have not
squarely addressed this issue.
7
Under a prior version of the statute, a UM claimant was required to raise the
issues of the UM insurer’s bad faith and attorney fees in the tort action against the
uninsured motorist. See McCall v. Allstate Ins. Co., 251 Ga. 869, 871 (2) (310 SE2d
513) (1984). However, the statute was changed to include this as a separate action.
As the Supreme Court explained in Lewis v. Cherokee Ins. Co., 258 Ga. 839, 841 n.
2 (375 SE2d 850) (1989) (“Lewis I”):
Following our opinion in McCall, the Legislature amended OCGA § 33-
7-11 (j) to address the problem pointed out by Justice Gregory in his
dissent. Under the amended statute, the trial of the issue of the insurer’s
good or bad faith in denying the insured’s demand is determined in a
9
has been rendered against the uninsured motorist in the original tort
action.
(Emphasis supplied.)
The parties’ contentions pivot on the meaning of the aforementioned reference
to “this Code section.” Curry argues that “this Code section” refers to the entire Code
section, OCGA § 33-7-11, while Allstate argues that “this Code section” refers only
to subsection (j) and hence cannot extend to expenses in prosecuting the underlying
tort action. We necessarily begin our analysis by looking at the statute itself.
The text at issue (OCGA § 33-7-11 (j)) sets forth that, after a finding of bad
faith on the part of the UM insurer, a UM claimant may recover attorney fees “for the
prosecution of the case under this Code section.” OCGA § 33-7-11 (j). Yet, earlier
in the same sentence, subsection (j) uses the phrase “this Code section” clearly
referring to OCGA § 33-7-11 as a whole: “If the insurer shall refuse to pay any
insured any loss covered by this Code section within 60 days after a demand has been
made by the insured . . .” OCGA § 33-7-11 (j). If “this Code section” were to be
separate suit so that, for the insurer’s protection, the prejudicial issue of
insurance coverage is not injected into the trial of the case against the
uninsured motorist.
10
interpreted as Allstate suggests, the foregoing phrase would be nonsensical:8 the UM
claimant does not make a demand for a loss under subsection (j); the UM claimant
makes a demand based on a loss sustained from an uninsured motor vehicle. See
Lewis I, 258 Ga. at 840 (explaining when demand may be made to insurance company
after a loss covered under the UM statute had been sustained).
Further, it is illogical to apply one definition to a term in one part of a sentence,
and another to the same term in another part of that sentence, lending additional
support to interpreting “this Code section” as more broadly referencing OCGA § 33-
7-11. See Zaldivar v. Prickett, 297 Ga. 589, 592 (1) (774 SE2d 688) (2015) (“there
is a natural presumption that identical words used in different parts of the same act
are intended to have the same meaning”) (citation and punctuation omitted). Thus,
applying these statutory tools, “the case under this Code section” for which a UM
claimant may be entitled to attorney fees could refer to either the underlying tort
action outlined in subsection (d), or the separate bad faith action outlined in the next
sentence of subsection (j).
8
See West v. City of Albany, 300 Ga. 743, 745 (797 SE2d 809) (2017) (“courts
should construe a statute to give sensible and intelligent effect to all of its provisions
and should refrain, whenever possible, from construing the statute in a way that
renders any part of it meaningless”) (citation and punctuation omitted).
11
Significantly, this broader definition also finds support in OCGA § 33-7-11
(j)’s use of two distinct terms, “subsection” and “Code section” to refer to seemingly
different parts of the Code.9 Specifically, the statute explicitly refers to “this
subsection” in explaining that limitations contained “in this subsection” may not
apply to a fee agreement between the claimant and his or her attorney for the services
of the attorney “in the action against the insurer.” OCGA § 33-7-11 (j). This use of
“subsection” suggests that the General Assembly chose the word intentionally to refer
to a smaller section of the statute than “Code section.” The General Assembly could
have, in defining the limits of the attorney fee penalty, used the term “this subsection”
if it intended to refer to only subsection (j). And, it could have used the phrase “the
action against the insurer” if it intended to refer only to the separate action. Therefore,
the failure to use these more specific phrases in OCGA § 33-7-11 (j)’s first sentence
(stating that a UM claimant may be entitled to “all reasonable attorney’s fees for the
prosecution of the case under this Code section[,]”) while using them elsewhere
within OCGA § 33-7-11 (j) supports the finding that the General Assembly did not
9
We also note that the General Assembly defined the “[a]rrangement and
numbering system” of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated to include and start
with “title,” then in descending order later followed by “Code section,” then
immediately followed by “subsection” as distinct labels of statutory hierarchy. See
OCGA § 1-1-1 (b) (2).
12
foreclose the possibility of recovering attorney fees incurred in the underlying tort
action. See Chandler v. Opensided MRI of Atlanta, LLC, 299 Ga. App. 145, 148 (2)
n. 6 (682 SE2d 165) (2009) (where “the legislature uses certain language in one part
of the statute and different language in another, the court assumes different meanings
were intended”) (citation and punctuation omitted).
In support of the trial court’s ruling that Curry may only recover attorney fees
associated with the separate bad faith action, Allstate relies on Cherokee Ins. Co. v.
Lewis, 204 Ga. App. 152, 154 (2) (418 SE2d 616) (1992) (“Lewis II”). In Lewis II, we
found that a UM insurance claimant was entitled to recover attorney fees pursuant to
OCGA § 33-7-11 (j) based on the bad faith actions of his insurance company. Id. We,
however, struck the attorney fee award because there had been no evidence presented
in the action from which the court could determine what portion of the incurred
attorney fees were attributable to the bad faith claim. See id. at 154-155 (2). In so
holding, we stated that Lewis was “entitled to recover attorney fees only for that
portion of the fees which are allocable to the attorney’s efforts to prosecute the cause
of action, against appellant, on which the prayer for attorney fees is based.” Id. at 154
(2) (citation and punctuation omitted).
13
Allstate argues that this holding from Lewis II means that a UM claimant may
seek attorney fees for only the expenses related to the separate OCGA § 33-7-11 (j)
action for bad faith. However, we read Lewis II to mean that a UM claimant must
prove that the claimed attorney fees are associated with the insurance company’s bad
faith actions. We do not believe that Lewis II foreclosed the possibility that a UM
claimant may be entitled to attorney fees and expenses associated with the underlying
tort action if he or she can present sufficient evidence of expenses he or she incurred
and sufficient evidence that such expenses were attributable to the insurer’s bad faith.
Therefore, based on the statutory language as described above, Curry must be
given the opportunity to prove Allstate’s alleged bad faith and how it resulted in his
attorney fees. The fees would include, obviously, applicable expenses incurred in the
prosecution of the OCGA § 33-7-11 (j) separate action, but they also could potentially
include such expenses incurred in the underlying tort action, depending on what
evidence is presented and what the factfinder decides. Without a finding of bad faith
in this case, it is impossible to determine whether and to what extent Curry is entitled
to attorney fees.
We hold only that OCGA § 33-7-11 (j) does not necessarily limit a UM
claimant to attorney fees incurred in the prosecution of the separate action against the
14
UM insurer. Whether a UM claimant will be able, in reality, to prove that attorney
fees incurred in the underlying tort action are recoverable is unclear, given the
requirement that a UM claimant first obtain an underlying tort judgment before
pursuing the bad faith claim. See Lewis I, 258 Ga. at 840. And importantly, any such
attorney fees determination is not unlimited and must bear in mind the purpose of
uninsured motorist coverage: “to place the injured insured in the same position as if
the offending uninsured motorist were covered with liability insurance . . . [and] to
protect the insured as to his action loss, within the limits of the policy or policies of
which he is a beneficiary.” Donovan v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 329 Ga. App.
609, 611 (765 SE2d 755) (2014) (citation and punctuation omitted). Ultimately, bad
faith is a fact question for the trial court or a jury to decide in the first instance. See
Amica Mut. Ins. Co. v. Sanders, 335 Ga. App. 245, 250 (779 SE2d 459) (2015)
(“Ordinarily, the question of good or bad faith is for the jury[.]”) (citation and
punctuation omitted). Accordingly, we affirm in part and reverse in part the trial
court’s order in this case, and remand for additional proceedings consistent with this
opinion.
Judgment affirmed in part and reversed in part, and case remanded with
direction. Doyle, P. J., and Reese, J., concur.
15