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WATSON v. ZURICH-AM. INS. CO.3/14/1996
Donald Watson sued Zurich-American Insurance Company ("Zurich") for breach of contract and fraud arising out of an agreement settling his workers' compensation claim. Watson also sought to have the matter remanded to the State Board of Workers' Compensation to set aside the settlement agreement or to have the trial court set aside the agreement and remand to the board for further proceedings. The trial court dismissed the claim for breach of contract, and no appeal was taken from that decision. Zurich then moved for summary judgment on the remaining counts. The trial court granted the motion, and this appeal followed. Because Watson failed to show reasonable reliance, an essential element of his fraud claim, we affirm.
Watson, a former truck driver, was injured in 1991 when four to five hundred pounds of cargo fell from the back of his trailer and onto his head and right shoulder. He was diagnosed with cervical/lumbosacral strain and suffered black-out spells, sleep disorders, and other symptoms which prevented him from driving. Thereafter, Zurich started paying workers' compensation medical and income benefits to Watson. The payments ceased on May 18, 1992, when Watson signed a stipulation and agreement settling his workers' compensation claim for $35,000 and the payment of medical expenses for 12 months. In
his deposition, Watson testified that Zurich's claims adjuster proposed the idea of settlement and stated: "Give me $35,000 and year option on your medical and if you had anymore (sic) problems afterward we would come back and adjust for you." However, the actual written agreement provided as follows: "It is understood and mutually intended by and between the parties hereto, that the foregoing settlement shall be forever binding and not subject to modification or change in any manner so as to increase or decrease the rights and liabilities of the parties herein." The State Board of Workers' Compensation approved the settlement agreement in June 1992, and neither party appealed the order approving the settlement.
In August 1993, Watson filed this action in the Superior Court of Fulton County. In the breach of contract claim, which the trial court dismissed, Watson alleged that Zurich failed to pay for medical expenses. In his fraud claim, Watson alleged that Zurich's claims adjuster fraudulently induced him to settle his workers' compensation claim without knowledge of his legal rights or advice of counsel.
In granting Zurich's motion for summary judgment, the trial court held that Watson did not reasonably rely on Zurich's alleged misrepresentation because there was no evidence that Zurich's agents prevented Watson from knowing the terms of the settlement agreement. The court also found that Watson failed to state his fraud claim with particularity as required by OCGA § 9-11-9 and failed to restore the $35,000 to Zurich after he discovered the alleged fraud as is required by OCGA § 13-4-60.
1. In his sole enumeration of error, Watson contends the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to Zurich. Watson argues that issues of fact remain to be tried as to whether Zurich fraudulently induced him to settle his claim while he was suffering from the effects of his injury. Watson also contends that, prior to signing the agreement, the adjuster and Zurich's unidentified agent told him that he did not need an attorney because they would "take care of it for ."
To prevail on his fraud claim, Watson must prove the following: (1) Zurich's agent made a false representation; (2) at the time, the agent knew it was false; (3) the representation was made to induce Watson to act or refrain from acting; (4) Watson justifiably relied on the represe
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