Roger and Judith Tripp appeal from an order of the Paulding County Superior Court granting summary judgment to Allstate Insurance Company in this declaratory judgment action. The superior court found that an Allstate homeowners policy issued to Steve and Margaret Jones specifically excluded coverage for bodily injury to Jonathan Tripp, who was shot and killed by Josh Tomlinson, the Jones’ son, during an aggravated assault at a pizza restaurant. Finding no error, we affirm. In four related enumerations of error, the Tripps contend the trial court erred in granting summary judgment because material issues of fact remain as to whether the homeowner’s policy covers their son’s death. Summary judgment is appropriate under OCGA § 9-11-56 “when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Citation and punctuation omitted. Sorema North American Reinsurance Co. v. Johnson , 258 Ga. App. 304 574 SE2d 377 2002. We apply a de novo standard of appellate review and “view the evidence, and all reasonable conclusions and inferences drawn from it, in the light most favorable to the nonmovant.” Citation and punctuation omitted. Id. See Lau’s Corp. v. Haskins , 261 Ga. 491 405 SE2d 474 1991. Viewed in this light, the record reveals the following facts.
On June 12, 1996, Tomlinson and his friends Jeremy Prater, Erik Thomas and Josh Gann discussed robbing a Little Caesar’s Pizza restaurant. According to Tomlinson, however, they went to the restaurant because Josh Gann wanted to buy some marijuana from the restaurant manager. According to Tomlinson, his friends were “ripped” on drugs; Gann alone had ingested 20 hits of LSD. Tomlinson drove the group to the restaurant in his mother’s car. When they arrived, Tomlinson and Prater got out of the car and walked to the back of the restaurant. Gann and Thomas stayed in the car. Tomlinson admitted he intended to buy marijuana and that he was holding a pistol-grip 12-gauge shotgun in his hand when he walked to the restaurant’s back door. Tomlinson knocked on the door, Jonathan Tripp opened it, and the shotgun discharged, killing Tripp. Tomlinson does not deny holding the weapon; however, he claims he did not know the gun was loaded, that it discharged accidentally, and that he lacked the subjective intent to harm anyone. Yet Tomlinson admitted taking the gun away from his intoxicated friends because he was very worried they might accidently shoot him or each other. Further, he admitted that when the shotgun discharged, it recoiled and struck his face, giving rise to a strong inference that he was aiming it. After the shooting, Tomlinson fled to Florida.
