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Abigail Marilyn Ayers et al.v.Association County Commissioners of Georgia–Interlocal Risk Management Agency

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Docket No.A14A1520
DecidedApril 14, 2015
Reporter332 Ga. App. 230; 771 S.E.2d 743
JudgesCourt of Appeals of Georgia, Third Division; Presiding Judge Barnes and Judges Boggs and Branch; Presiding Judge Barnes authored the opinion
Tags
CivilInsurance LawCivil RightsSection 1983Qualified ImmunityMunicipal LiabilitySummary Judgment
Case Summary

Abigail Ayers, surviving spouse and administrator of the estate of Jonathan Ayers, pursued civil-rights and state-law claims after a deputy assigned to a three-county narcotics task force shot and killed Ayers during an undercover investigation. The county risk pool known as IRMA sought a declaration that the deputy’s coverage was limited to the one-million-dollar Stephens County policy and that the Habersham and Rabun County policies could not be stacked. The trial court granted summary judgment to IRMA. The Court of Appeals of Georgia reversed. Each policy covered an official, officer, employee, or authorized volunteer acting for the named county, and the policies did not define “officer.” Construing the ambiguity against the insurer, the court held that the deputy was an officer of Habersham and Rabun Counties as well as Stephens County. The intergovernmental agreement had authorized the task force to investigate drug and violent crime throughout the three-county region, placed assigned deputies under the task-force commander, and authorized the deputies to act for the participating counties. The court also held that the policies’ per-occurrence limits did not clearly bar stacking across separate contracts. Georgia law generally permits stacking unless a statute, public policy, or valid policy term prohibits it, and an insurer must state exclusions clearly. The court therefore reversed the coverage judgment and the denial of Ayers’s competing motion for summary judgment. Judges Boggs and Branch concurred.

Opinion

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