Lord v. Lowe
318 Ga. App. 222
Ga. Ct. App.2012Background
- Royce Lord committed suicide while imprisoned in the Madison County jail.
- The administrator of Lord’s estate filed a bond action against Sheriff Clayton Lowe and Hartford Fire Insurance Company seeking full bond recovery for alleged failure to prevent the suicide.
- The Sheriff and Hartford moved to dismiss, and the trial court granted dismissal; the appeal followed.
- The bond was a $25,000 sheriff’s bond obtained from Hartford, purportedly conditioned to faithfully perform the duties of the office and to account for funds and property.
- OCGA § 15-16-5 governs sheriff bonds; the statute requires faithful accounting and the bond amount, with the additional duty to faithfully perform the office being beyond the statute’s scope and thus subject to read in/read out treatment.
- The court held the bond was a statutory bond under OCGA § 15-16-5 and that the extra unstatutory condition must be read out, so no liability could be imposed on the Sheriff or Hartford based on that condition.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the extra condition to faithfully perform duties is enforceable | Estate argues the bond covers duties and thus breach entitles recovery | Sheriff/Hartford contend the extra condition is not authorized by statute | Unenforceable; read out of the bond |
| Whether the bond can be construed as a statutory sheriff's bond under OCGA § 15-16-5 | Bond may be read in to meet statutory requirements | Instrument is not a statutory bond unless expressly referencing the statute | Bond is a statutory bond under OCGA § 15-16-5 |
| Whether the administrator can recover under the bond for the suicide | Bond breached by failure to prevent suicide | Statutory bond limited to accounting and statutory duties; no coverage for suicide prevention | No recovery; dismissal proper |
Key Cases Cited
- Mayor &c. of Brunswick v. Harvey, 114 Ga. 733 (1902) (statutory bond construction and read in/read out)
- Collins v. United States Fidelity &c. Co., 72 Ga. App. 875 (1945) (insurance-like instrument not a statutory bond)
- Cantrell v. Thurman, 231 Ga. App. 510 (1998) (cantrell addresses sheriffs bonds and sovereign immunity; limits applicability of read in/read out to sheriffs bonds)
- Martin v. Hartford Accident &c. Co., 88 Ga. App. 236 (1953) (distinguishes common-law vs statutory obligations and invalidates unstatutory additions)
- St. Paul-Mercury Indemn. Co. v. Koppers Co., 95 Ga. App. 687 (1957) (read in/read out principle applied to statutory bonds)