Georgia: Support of the defendant/appellant, Cypress Insurance Company

SUMMARY OF AMICUS BRIEF FILED 4/16/2021

In April 2021, TIDA filed an amicus brief (attached) with the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in the case entitled Holland v. Cypress Insurance Company, in support of the defendant/appellant Cypress Insurance Company.  The issue is the Georgia Direct Action Statute, which allows a plaintiff to join the liability insurer as a defendant in the same action against the tortfeasor/insured before obtaining a judgment against the insured.  The original intent of the statute (to assure the motoring public that it is protected in cases involving Commercial Motor Vehicles) appears to have expanded into the insurer being on verdict forms, being treated as other than a nominal defendant, and leading to damages being multiplied.  In the Holland case in federal district court in Gainesville, Georgia, with the insurer on the verdict form, the plaintiff obtained a jury verdict of $13.0 million for wrongful death, $2.0 million for pain and suffering, and $6.0 million for bad faith attorneys’ fees.  In the amicus brief, TIDA states the issues as follows:  (1) whether a direct action may be brought against an insurer pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 40-2-140(d)(2) when there is no allegation that a motor carrier failed to register, failed to pay necessary fees, or failed to maintain the proper insurance, and (2) whether the trial court erred in requiring the insurer appear as a named defendant at trial when all issues relating to the existence or applicability of the insurance policy were stipulated to.  TIDA members Michael D. Hostetter and Patrick N. Arndt of Nall & Miller LLP in Atlanta, Georgia filed the amicus brief on behalf of TIDA.

download the amicus brief