Harrison v. CGU Ins. Co.

The filing of a notice of appeal and payment of costs divested the trial court of the power to enforce its order requiring disbursement of certain funds from escrow.

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Douglas and Amy Harrison appeal the trial court’s order denying their motion to cite CGU Insurance Company for contempt and denying their motion for the award of attorneys fees and expenses of litigation under OCGA § 9-15-14. This is the second appearance of this case before us. In the first appeal, CGU Insurance Company v. Sabel Industries , 255 Ga. App. 236 564 SE2d 836 2002, we determined that CGU had no right to a workers compensation lien against the proceeds of the tort settlement that the Harrisons reached with a tortfeasor. The Harrisons contend the trial court erred by holding that CGU was not obligated to obey a disbursement order, erred by holding that the trial court lost jurisdiction to enforce the disbursement order once CGU’s notice of appeal was filed, and erred by finding that CGU was entitled to disregard the trial court’s order to pay the funds from escrow “instanter” because it had filed a notice of appeal. We disagree and affirm.

As stated in the earlier appeal, in February 2000, in the course of his employment, Douglas Harrison was catastrophically injured while driving his vehicle. Subsequently, CGU paid workers’ compensation benefits on behalf of Harrison’s employer. In October 2000, Harrison and his wife filed a negligence action against the tortfeasor and his employer. After mediation in April 2001, the Harrisons settled their claims for $4,500,000, with $4,000,000 allocated as a lump-sum payment and $500,000 paid out through an annuity. Before the settlement, CGU gave notice to the parties of its claimed subrogation rights. Later, the Harrisons filed a motion to confirm the settlement, to add CGU as a party defendant, and to dissolve the workers’ compensation lien, and CGU filed a motion to intervene, which was subsequently granted. As of June 2001, CGU had paid $ 212,333.92 in medical expenses, temporary total disability benefits, and permanent partial disability benefits. Id. at 237.

Harrison v. CGU Ins. Co.

The filing of a notice of appeal and payment of costs divested the trial court of the power to enforce its order requiring disbursement of certain funds from escrow.

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