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Leslie v. Doe

The trial court erred in finding that the plaintiff failed to present evidence corroborating his claim that the "phantom driver" defendant's actions forced him from the road and caused the accident.

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The State Court of Fulton County granted summary judgment in favor of John Doe, the “phantom driver” defendant, in this personal injury suit arising from a one-car accident. The court found that Tyrone Leslie, the plaintiff driver, had failed to present evidence corroborating his claim that Doe’s actions forced him from the roadway, causing the accident. Absent such corroboration, a prerequisite for Leslie to recover against his uninsured motorist carrier,1 the court entered judgment in Doe’s favor. Leslie contends that the court erred because the affidavit and deposition testimony of an eyewitness provided the requisite corroboration. Because the court erred in disregarding the eyewitness’s affidavit under the circumstances of this case, and because the eyewitness’s affidavit and deposition testimony provide sufficient corroboration, we reverse the grant of summary judgment.

Absent some evidence of physical contact between the insured’s vehicle and the unknown vehicle, an eyewitness must corroborate the insured’s description of how the accident occurred. OCGA § 33-7-11 b 2.2 See Yates v. Doe, 190 Ga. App. 367 378 SE2d 739 1989 Without evidence of contact between the vehicles or eyewitness testimony corroborating the appellant’s claim of how the phantom driver caused the accident, as required by OCGA § 33-7-11 b 2, the trial court properly granted summary judgment to the uninsured motorist carrier. By requiring a corroborating eyewitness to the actual involvement of a John Doe driver and his phantom automobile under such circumstances,

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