An injured woman settled for $400,000.00 after she was hit by a golf cart driven by an intoxicted driver. The plaintiff in this case was walking after leaving an outdoor concert in Peachtree City. She was then struck by a golf cart driven by a man who was later arrested for DUI. The Defendant in the case was leaving the outdoor concert and had parked his golf cart near the golf cart path. As the defendant pulled onto the path, he struck the plaintiff and kept going until a passersby stopped him and removed the key from the golf cart. It was reported that the Defendant was not aware that he had hit the injured lady. The Plaintiff’s injuries included two broken bones in her leg, and her medical bills totaled $75,000.00.
The Defendant’s insurance company fought to exclude liability coverage under the Defendant’s homeowner’s insurance policy. The company argued that the golf cart was excluded from the Defendant’s liability coverage. The insurance company then filed a complaint for declaratory judgment arguing “policy exclusion”.
The court; however, held that the wording in the insurance policy was “unclear”. The policy attempted to include an exclusion for golf carts based on the number of people the cart was designed to carry. Further the court held that the language in the insurance policy was ambiguous and coverage exclusions must be clearly defined.