The appellee was the insurer of Barrow Chevrolet, Inc., which, among other vehicles, owned a 1969 Chevelle which it lent to one William Crutchfield for a trial run on October 8, 1976. The following morning, according to the affidavit of William Barrow, designating himself as the owner of the corporation, Crutchfield returned, paid cash for the vehicle, was given a bill of sale, a copy of which is attached as an exhibit, and the transaction was entered in the sales ledger of the company. The evening of the same day Crutchfield had a collision with Mrs. Currington while driving this vehicle. Federated Mutual, which had insured the vehicle for Barrow Chevrolet, Inc., filed a declaratory judgment suit alleging that it had been called upon to defend Crutchfield and that it did not acknowledge coverage due to a policy provision excluding any vehicle "possession of which has been transferred to another by the named insured pursuant to an agreement of sale.” Summary judgment was granted the insurer, and Mrs. Currington, plaintiff in the damage suit, appeals.
We affirm. The appellant, while tacitly admitting that the insurance policy issued by the appellee to Barrow Chevrolet, Inc. would not cover a purchaser of the vehicle, raises various technical objections to this particular action, which we deal with briefly. Declaratory judgment is a proper method of settling the question of coverage pending a damage suit.
St. Paul Fire &c. Ins. Co. v. Johnson,
The affidavit of William Barrow was properly admitted at the summary judgment hearing. Code § 81A-156 (a). Where nothing is offered to refute the plaintiff’s proof, the grant of a summary judgment is demanded.
General Am. Ins. Co. v. Boyens,
Judgment affirmed.
