Ford Motor Co. v. Conley

MELTON, Justice,

concurring.

Although I agree with the outcome of the majority opinion, I write separately to emphasize that the presumption of harm raised by the failure to qualify a jury with regard to insurance coverage is a rebuttable one. Atlanta Coach Co. v. Cobb, 178 Ga. 544 (174 SE 131) (1934). For example, under circumstances in which a trial is conducted from start to finish with no mention of any insurance carrier, harm would appear to be highly unlikely, given the fact that the jurors could not be adversely affected by information never disclosed to them. Under such circumstances, the presumptive harm associated with the lack of qualification might properly be rebutted. To accomplish this rebuttal, however, a party must raise a timely and proper argument. Because the evidence is not dispositive that any such rebuttal was both timely and properly made, I agree with the majority’s conclusion that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by granting an extraordinary new trial in this case.