Georgia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance v. Fireman's Fund Insurance
Georgia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance v. Fireman's Fund Insurance
Opinion of the Court
On October 10, 1978 Carter, an employee of E. T. Barwick Industries, Inc., was injured on the job while operating a motor vehicle owned by his employer. Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company,
Georgia Farm Bureau contends the trial court erred by granting summary judgment to Fireman’s Fund and by denying its motion for summary judgment.
This case is controlled by our Supreme Court’s decision in Freeman v. Ryder Truck Lines, 244 Ga. 80, 83 (2) (259 SE2d 36) (1979) wherein the Court interpreted Code Ann. § 114-103 (Ga. L. 1974, pp. 1143,1144) and Code Ann. § 56-3409b (a) (Ga. L. 1974, pp. 113,120) and held: “... we find that Code Ann. § 56-3409b (a) can be construed so as to give effect to legislative intent without repealing any part of Code Ann. § 114-103. As heretofore noted, the plaintiff in this case has no-fault insurance on his personal vehicle. That insurance is applicable here. Code Ann. § 56-3407b (a). We find that Code Ann. § 56-3409b (a) protects plaintiffs rights under his own no-fault policy notwithstanding his receipt of workers’ compensation benefits but that, having received compensation benefits, Code Ann. § 114-103 precludes his recovery of no-fault benefits from his employer. As was stated by the Supreme Court of Utah in IML Freight, Inc. v. Ottosen, 538 P2d 296, 297 (Utah 1975): ‘We believe that the No-Fault Act... has no application to employers who already are obligated under Workmen’s Compensation, to their employees, and that No-Fault has neither changed that statutory obligation nor increased an employer’s burden to pay compensation for a favored class of employees.’ ”
The instant case arose prior to the effective date of the 1979 amendment to Code Ann. § 56-3409b (a) and is, therefore, not affected by the changes made in the statute by amendment. Robinson v. Fireman’s Fund, 158 Ga. App. 22 (279 SE2d 291) (1981).
Georgia Farm Bureau Cites footnote 2 on page 81 of Freeman, which states: “Ryder urges that it is a self-insurer and thus exempt from the [Motor Vehicle Accident Reparations] Act. If it were a self-insurer as defined in the Act, it could not deny owing benefits
Summary judgment in favor of Fireman’s Fund was correctly granted, and Georgia Farm Bureau’s motion for summary judgment was correctly denied.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.