Summary
explaining that under the sovereign immunity provision in Article I of the 1983 version of the Georgia Constitution, which waived immunity based on a county's purchase of insurance, "where the plain terms of the policy provide that there is no coverage for the particular claim, the policy does not create a waiver of sovereign immunity as to that claim.... Where there is no insurance coverage, there is no waiver of sovereign immunity."
Summary of this case from Atl. Specialty Ins. Co. v. City of Coll. ParkOpinion
45134.
DECIDED FEBRUARY 4, 1988.
Interlocutory appeal. Murray Superior Court. Before Judge Temples.
William W. Keith III, for appellant.
Kinney, Kemp, Pickel, Sponcler Joiner, F. Gregory Melton, C. Bradford Marsh, Palmer H. Ansley, for appellees.
Appellee Anthony Plavich is an employee of the Murray County school system. A suit was filed by a student, appellant Darin Dugger, for injuries he received when he was thrown from the back of a pickup truck while delivering wrestling mats from one county school to another. The appellee's motion for summary judgment, based upon the defense of sovereign immunity, was granted. We affirm.
If insurance coverage is obtained by a government entity, then the government entity (the county in this case) waives its sovereign immunity to the extent of such insurance coverage. Martin v. Ga. Dept. of Public Safety, 257 Ga. 300 ( 357 S.E.2d 569) (1987). However, where the plain terms of the policy provide that there is no coverage for the particular claim, the policy does not create a waiver of sovereign immunity as to that claim. Here the trial court found that the policy did not provide coverage for the appellant's claim. Where there is no insurance coverage, there is no waiver of sovereign immunity.
Judgment affirmed. All the Justices concur.