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Georgia Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. v. John Deere Ins. Co.

Insurance company was not entitled to summary judgment on issue of coverage because jury question remained as to whether company's insured reasonably believed he was entitled to drive the car he wrecked.

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Georgia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company brought a declaratory judgment action seeking a determination that it was not required to provide coverage or a defense to its named insured, Larry Spence, after he was sued for damages in connection with an automobile accident which occurred while he was driving a car owned by his employer, Five Star Dodge, Inc. Georgia Farm also sought a determination that appellee John Deere Insurance Company, who had issued a commercial liability insurance policy to Five Star, should provide coverage. The trial court granted John Deere’s motion for summary judgment and denied Georgia Farm’s motion for summary judgment and Georgia Farm filed the present appeal to this court.

The following undisputed facts are relevant to the resolution of the issues presented by this appeal: On September 21, 1996, Spence, Dennis Henry and Robbie Allen drove from Macon to Atlanta, Georgia to attend an Atlanta Braves baseball game. Spence and Henry were both employees of Five Star and Allen was a mutual friend. Henry, who at that time was Five Star’s general manager and Spence’s supervisor, removed a car from Five Star’s new car inventory to drive to the game. Spence testified that he was not with Henry when Henry obtained the vehicle and he was unaware of the circumstances surrounding Henry’s use of the vehicle.

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