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Georgia Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. v. Smith

The Court of Appeals erred in holding, as a matter of first impression, that personal injury claims arising from lead poisoning due to lead-based paint ingestion were not excluded from coverage pursuant to an absolute pollution exclusion in a commercial general liability insurance policy covering residential rental property.

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We granted a petition for certiorari to the Court of Appeals in Smith v. Georgia Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co., 331 Ga. App. 780 771 SE2d 452 2015, to determine whether the Court of Appeals erred in holding, as a matter of first impression, that personal injury claims arising from lead poisoning due to lead-based paint ingestion were not excluded from coverage pursuant to an absolute pollution exclusion in a commercial general liability CGL insurance policy covering residential rental property. Because we disagree with the Court of Appeals’ conclusion that lead-based paint was not clearly a pollutant as defined by the policy, we reverse the Court of Appeals decision in this case.

Amy Smith Smith, individually and as next friend of her daughter Tyasia Brown Brown sued her landlord, Bobby Chupp Chupp for injuries Brown allegedly sustained as the result of ingesting lead from deteriorating lead-based paint at the house Smith rented from Chupp. The house was insured by Chupp under a CGL policy issued by Georgia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company GFB. After Chupp tendered Smith’s claims to GFB under the provisions of the policy, GFB filed a declaratory judgment action against Smith and Chupp seeking a determination that Brown’s injuries were not covered under the policy and that it had no duty to defend Chupp against Smith’s claims.

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