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2018 Georgia Code 36-85-20 | Car Wreck Lawyer

Link to State of Georgia Official Statute 2018 Georgia Code Annotated (sourced from legal.resource.org)
O.C.G.A. 36-85-20 Case Law from Google Scholar Amendments to OCGA 36-85-20

TITLE 36 LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Chapter 85 information not found

ARTICLE 11 INTEREST RATE MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS

36-85-20. Exercise of authority not provision of liability insurance; sovereign immunity.

The exercise by a municipality or county of the authority provided in this chapter shall not constitute the provision of liability insurance protection under Article I, Section II, Paragraph IX of the Constitution of the State of Georgia. The participation by a municipality or county as a member of an agency authorized by this chapter shall not constitute the obtaining of liability insurance and no sovereign immunity shall be waived on account of such participation.

(Code 1981, §36-85-20, enacted by Ga. L. 1986, p. 1496, § 1; Ga. L. 1987, p. 1454, § 5.)

Law reviews.

- For article, "Local Government Tort Liability: the Summer of '92," see 9 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 405 (1993).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Constitutionality.

- O.C.G.A. § 36-85-20 conflicts with Ga. Const., 1983, Art. I, Sec. II, Para. IX, as the statute read prior to the 1990 amendment, and was therefore void. Hiers v. City of Barwick, 262 Ga. 129, 414 S.E.2d 647 (1992).

County's participation in an interlocal risk management plan did not constitute liability insurance for the purpose of waiving the county's sovereign immunity to the extent of the plan's coverage. Gilbert v. Richardson, 264 Ga. 744, 452 S.E.2d 476 (1994).

Even though the 1991 amendment of Ga. Const. 1983, Art. I, Sec. II, Para. IX, eliminated the language under which O.C.G.A. § 36-85-20 was found unconstitutionally void, the revision did not resurrect the statute and, accordingly, the statute did not provide a basis for finding a county's participation in an interlocal risk management plan constituted a waiver of sovereign immunity. The county's purchase of such insurance agreement constituted the purchase of insurance under O.C.G.A. § 33-24-51(b) and the county waived the county's sovereign immunity to the extent of such coverage; reversing in part, Gilbert v. Richardson, 211 Ga. App. 795, 440 S.E.2d 684 (1994). Gilbert v. Richardson, 264 Ga. 744, 452 S.E.2d 476 (1994).

GIRMA allows waiver of sovereign immunity to extent of coverage.

- Trial court erred in granting summary judgment to city and the officer involved in a car accident, based on the doctrine of sovereign immunity, since it has been held that the constitutional provision providing waiver of immunity to the extent of insurance applies to municipalities, that the nonwaiver of immunity provision of O.C.G.A. § 36-85-20 is unconstitutional, and that municipal coverage under a Georgia Interlocal Risk Management Agency (GIRMA) policy results in waiver of immunity to the extent of that coverage. Harden v. Burdette, 204 Ga. App. 733, 420 S.E.2d 626 (1992).

Cited in Sinkfield v. Pike, 201 Ga. App. 652, 411 S.E.2d 889 (1991).

Cases Citing O.C.G.A. § 36-85-20

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Gilbert v. Richardson, 264 Ga. 744 (Ga. 1994).

Cited 428 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Nov 21, 1994 | 452 S.E.2d 476, 94 Fulton County D. Rep. 3818

...waiving sovereign immunity as contemplated by the 1991 amendment. See Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. I, Sec. II, Par. IX (e). 5. The question then becomes whether Walker County's purchase of a GIRMA coverage agreement as authorized by OCGA §§ 36-85-1 to 36-85-20 constitutes the purchase of liability insurance....
...City of Barwick , this court held that a municipality's purchase of a GIRMA liability policy constituted the purchase of liability insurance and waived sovereign immunity to the extent of available coverage. We reached this conclusion after declaring § 36-85-20 unconstitutionally void because it conflicted with the 1983 Constitution's waiver of sovereign immunity to the extent of available liability insurance. [9] 262 Ga. at 132. The conflicting language of the 1983 Constitution now having been eliminated, Millard contends that this court is constrained by § 36-85-20 to hold that the purchase of a GIRMA coverage agreement does not waive sovereign immunity. Although the 1991 amendment eliminated the constitutional language with which § 36-85-20 was deemed inconsistent, this revision did not resurrect the void statute....
...A statute declared unconstitutional is deemed void from its inception and is not revived merely because the constitutional infirmity is subsequently eliminated. Norton v. Shelby County, 118 U. S. 425 (6 SC 1121, 30 LE 178) (1886); James v. City of Blakely, 143 Ga. 117 (84 SE 431) (1915). Accordingly, § 36-85-20 provides no basis for a finding that Walker County's participation in GIRMA is not a waiver of sovereign immunity and our decision in Hiers controls....
...[9] Through its participation in GIRMA, Walker County is authorized to pool its resources and liabilities with other member counties and jointly purchase general liability, motor vehicle liability, or property damage insurance. OCGA § 36-85-2 (a). [10] Section 36-85-20 provided that participation in the plan by a county "shall not constitute the obtaining of liability insurance and no sovereign immunity shall be waived on account of such participation." [] Other cases involving the doctrine of respondeat superior have not dealt with the official immunity of employees....
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Hiers v. City of Barwick, 414 S.E.2d 647 (Ga. 1992).

Cited 37 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Mar 19, 1992 | 262 Ga. 129

...The next question before the court is whether the City's participation in GIRMA, created by OCGA § 36-85-1 et seq., constitutes a waiver of sovereign immunity. Appellees first assert that Art. I, Sec. II, Par. IX of the Georgia Constitution of 1983 does not apply to municipalities. Next, they point out that OCGA § 36-85-20 states that participation in GIRMA does not constitute a waiver of immunity and does not constitute the provision of liability insurance protection under the Constitution....
...action. The exercise of authority provided in this article shall not constitute the provision of liability insurance protection under Article I, Section II, Paragraph IX of the Constitution. OCGA § 45-9-5. This language is almost identical to OCGA § 36-85-20, the statute at *132 issue here....
...Because we have determined that sovereign immunity is waived in this case to the extent of available insurance, we need not address the issue of whether the actions of the Chief of Police were discretionary or ministerial. In sum, we hold that OCGA § 36-85-20 conflicts with the Constitution of Georgia and is therefore void....
...The City contends, however, that the act creating the GIRMA specifically provides "[t]he participation by a municipality ... shall not constitute the obtaining of liability insurance and no sovereign immunity shall be waived on account of such participation." OCGA § *134 36-85-20....
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CSX Transp., Inc. v. City of Garden City, 588 S.E.2d 688 (Ga. 2003).

Cited 33 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Oct 20, 2003 | 277 Ga. 248, 2003 Fulton County D. Rep. 3112

...Under the plain terms of OCGA § 36-33-1, if a municipality purchases liability insurance sovereign immunity is waived only as to those occurrences for which sovereign immunity would apply. We have held that the purchase of a GIRMA coverage agreement as authorized by OCGA § § 36-85-1 to 36-85-20 constitutes the purchase of liability insurance....