Southern American Insurance v. Gabbert-Jones, Inc.

Rees, J.:

This is a declaratory judgment action that raises the question whether under a certain excess liability insurance policy there is an enforceable obligation of the insurer to pay punitive damages awarded against the insured. Otherwise put, the question is whether the subject policy provides coverage to the insured for punitive damages awarded in a bodily injury negligence action.

It seems that on May 8,1984, James Codner was in the employ of defendant Gabbert-Jones, Inc., (Gabbert) a corporate entity. He was a swamper, that is, a truck driver’s assistant or an assistant truck driver,…