Atlanta Cas. Ins. Co. v. Gardenhire

The jury's determination in the underlying injury suit that the insured was driving her car at the time of the accident precluded the readjudication of that issue in the plaintiff's direct action against the insurer.

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Wanda Gardenhire was injured on October 28, 1997 when a 1993 Dodge Spirit ran into the rear of her vehicle. After the collision, the Dodge left the scene. Two eyewitnesses told police that a man was driving the car at the time of the collision, and one of the witnesses identified Michael D. McKinney as the driver. Further investigation revealed that the Dodge was owned by McKinney’s roommate, Bridgett Westbrook, and insured by Atlanta Casualty Insurance Company. McKinney was an excluded driver under the policy pursuant to a “Named Driver Exclusion Agreement” Westbrook signed in connection with her insurance application. Despite the eyewitness testimony, Bridgett Westbrook came forward to identify herself as the driver and subsequently entered a plea of nolo contendre to charges of driving too closely and leaving the scene of the accident. Atlanta Casualty asserts that Westbrook’s plea was an attempt to “take the fall” for McKinney and notes that at one point a warrant for obstruction of law enforcement was taken out against her.

After receiving notice of the collision, Atlanta Casualty undertook its own investigation pursuant to the policy’s reservation of rights provision. The insurance company denied coverage, stating that its investigation revealed that McKinney was the driver and he was specifically excluded from coverage. It also denied coverage to Westbrook on the ground that she had made fraudulent statements and engaged in fraudulent conduct when she said she was driving the car at the time of the collision. And when Gardenhire subsequently sued Westbrook and McKinney for her injuries, Atlanta Casualty notified McKinney that it would not provide her with a defense to the lawsuit.

Atlanta Cas. Ins. Co. v. Gardenhire

The jury's determination in the underlying injury suit that the insured was driving her car at the time of the accident precluded the readjudication of that issue in the plaintiff's direct action against the insurer.

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