Opinion
48504, 48505.
ARGUED SEPTEMBER 11, 1973.
DECIDED NOVEMBER 29, 1973. REHEARING DENIED DECEMBER 13, 1973.
Action for damages. Oglethorpe Superior Court. Before Judge Williford.
Greer, Sartain Carey, Joe B. Sartain, Jr., Robinson, Buice, Harben Strickland, C. Frank Strickland, Jr., for appellants.
Erwin, Epting, Gibson Chilivis, Gary B. Blasingame, for appellees.
The plaintiff sued the City of Winterville, Cromer, its employee and Mitchell. The action arose out of a vehicular collision involving cars operated respectively by the plaintiff's minor son and the defendants Mitchell and Cromer. Cromer was operating a police car owned by the city. The trial resulted in a verdict and judgment for the plaintiff against Mitchell but in favor of the city and its employee. Mitchell was an uninsured motorist. Prior to the trial the court qualified and purged the jury as to the Georgia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company which was the plaintiff's uninsured motorist carrier. The court refused to conduct a voir dire of the jury as to the Travelers Insurance Company which was the insurer of the municipality. The failure to qualify as to Travelers and the qualification of the jury as to Georgia Farm Bureau are separately enumerated as error. Neither has merit. The failure to qualify as to Travelers is in accord with the statutory authorization (Code Ann. § 56-2437) and with the holding in Mitchell v. City of Newnan, 125 Ga. App. 761 ( 188 S.E.2d 917). The statute expressly forbids any attempt to suggest the existence of insurance. Code Ann. § 56-2437 (Ga. L. 1960, pp. 289, 673). The qualification of Georgia Farm Bureau was authorized by Weatherbee v. Hutcheson, 114 Ga. App. 761 ( 152 S.E.2d 715).
Judgments affirmed. Deen and Quillian, JJ., concur.