The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia recently sided with Penn-America Insurance Co. in a declaration that it does not owe a duty to defend or indemnify an Atlanta apartment management company in an underlying wrongful-death case brought on behalf of a man who was fatally shot.
District Judge Marc T. Treadwell wrote the July 11 opinion, finding that Penn-America could not abide by Georgia’s apportionment statute and assign the same lawyer to defend two parties, VE Shadowood and Gateway Management Co., which were in conflict about who is responsible for damages in the underlying litigation. Gateway was the on-site apartment manager, while VE Shadowood operates the luxury apartments called The Heights at Shadowood in Macon, Georgia, and is insured by Penn.
