Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Avant

390 S.W.2d 533
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 21, 1965
DocketNo. 14376
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 390 S.W.2d 533 (Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Avant) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Avant, 390 S.W.2d 533 (Tex. Ct. App. 1965).

Opinion

MURRAY, Chief Justice.

This is a suit by Claudine Avant, individually and as next friend of Dwight W. Avant and A. Queentena Avant, her two minor children, against The Aetna Casualty and Surety Company, seeking to recover death benefits under the Texas Workmen’s Compensation Law, Art. 8306 et seq., Vernon’s Ann.Civ.Stats., for the death of her husband, James W. Avant, a resident of the State of Arkansas, who was accidentally killed in the State of Missouri in a collision between the truck he was driving and a St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad Company freight train. Avant was killed on December 6, 1960. The trial was to a jury and, based upon its findings, judgment was rendered for Claudine Avant against the defendant, Aetna Casualty & Surety Company, in the total sum of $6,300.00, and that the minor plaintiffs take nothing. The Aetna Casualty & Surety Company and the minor plaintiffs have prosecuted this appeal.

By its first two points appellant, Aetna Casualty & Surety Company, raises the contention that there is no evidence to show that Avant was an employee of Querner Truck Lines, and in any event there was no evidence to show that Avant was a Texas employee within the meaning of Sec. 19, Art. 8306, which reads as follows:

“Sec. 19. If an employee, who has been hired in this State, sustain injury in the course of his employment he shall be entitled to compensation according to the Law of this State even though such injury was received outside of the State, and that such employee, though injured out of the State of Texas, shall be entitled to the same rights and remedies as if injured within the State of Texas, except that in such cases of injury outside of Texas, the suit of either the injured employee or his beneficiaries, or of the Association, to set aside an award of the Industrial Accident Board of Texas, or to enforce it, as mentioned in Article 8307, Sections 5-5a, shall be brought either
“a. In the county of Texas where the contract of hiring was made; or
“b. In the county of Texas where such employee or his beneficiaries or any of them reside when the suit is brought, or
“c. In the county where the employee or the employer resided when the contract of hiring was made, as the one filing such suit may elect.
[535]*535“Providing that such injury shall have occurred within one year from the date such injured employee leaves this State; and provided, further, that no recovery can he had by the injured employee- hereunder in the event he has elected to pursue his remedy and recovers in the state where such injury occurred. Acts 1917, p. 269; Acts 1927, 40th Leg. p. 383, ch. 259; Acts 1931, 42nd Leg. p. 133, ch. 90, § 1.”

Avant, prior to his death, was a resident and citizen of the State of Arkansas where he and his wife resided. Avant’s wife, Claudine Avant, testified that during a great part of the year 1960 her husband worked at a pulp mill belonging to a man named Whise-mont, doing local hauling within the State of Arkansas. In October, 1960, he began working for Stroud & Dyer, driving a truck tractor owned by Stroud & Dyer and a trailer belonging to himself. This vehicle remained in his personal possession. Mrs. Avant did not know the details of the arrangements between her husband and Stroud & Dyer, but she did know that his pay consisted of a percentage of the hauling charges of each trip. He received no money from Querner Truck Lines. Appellee called as witnesses J. L. and Harold Querner, operators of the Querner Truck Lines, who testified that they never paid Avant anything, and he was never on their pay roll. The Querners were not called as adverse witnesses and appellee by calling them vouched for their testimony. Mrs. Avant further testified that on Sunday December 4, 1960, Mr. Stroud called their home and told Avant to go to Pittsburg, Texas, and pick up some yams (sweet potatoes), and to be in Pittsburg on Monday December 5, at 8 a. m. Her husband took the truck and left. The next night he called from Malvin, Arkansas, and the following day he was instantly killed in a collision between his truck and a railroad train at Hayti in the State of Missouri.

The tractor was under a lease contract between Stroud & Dyer as lessors and Querner Truck Lines as lessee, which enabled it to be operated under Querner’s state and interstate permits. The contract for hauling these potatoes was evidently obtained by Stroud & Dyer. There is no pleading, evidence, or finding by the jury that Avant was a Texas employee of Quer-ner Truck Lines within the meaning of Sec. 19 of Art. 8306, supra. Southern Underwriters v. Gallagher, 135 Tex. 41, 136 S.W.2d 590.

The lease agreement between Querner Truck Lines and Stroud & Dyer is in evidence and contains the following provisions:

“It is further understood and agreed that while the foregoing equipment is under the direction and control of Querner Truck Lines, Inc., it shall be operated only by the Lessor or his representatives and Lessor will haul no freight not authorized under the certificates and permits * *

Such agreement further provides:

“The Lessor specifically understands and admits that he or his agent is acting as a Lessor to Querner Truck Lines, Inc. and not as an employee of Querner Truck Lines, Inc., and further that he is not covered as an employee of Quer-ner Truck Lines, Inc. by Workmen’s Compensation.”

It also states:

“In the event Lessor hires a driver during the term of this lease, Lessor agrees
“(A) To furnish at his expense Workmen’s Compensation Insurance to cover said driver; (B) to pay all Social Security, Old Age Benefits and Unemployment Compensation taxes and assessments ; (C) to pay all costs and expenses of operations, maintenance, and upkeep of said equipment, and that Lessee shall not be liable for any of such items; * *

The undisputed evidence shows that Stroud & Dyer and Avant had possession of this truck and they were using and controlling it, carrying loads under contract, and Stroud & Dyer negotiated with the [536]*536shippers without knowledge of Querner Truck Lines. The only thing that in any way connects the matter with Querner Truck Lines is that they were using Quer-ner’s Interstate Commerce Commission and State permits. It is not necessary for us to here determine whether this constituted a violation of the law or rules of I.C.C. The jury found that Stroud & Dyer were independent contractors with relation to Querner Truck Lines so far as the truck tractor involved was concerned, and appellee has not attacked this finding. An independent contractor and his employees are not protected by the workmen’s compensation insurance of the main contractor. 45 Tex.Jur. p. 416, § 40. There can be no question as to appellee’s being bound by the testimony of J. L. and Harold Querner, to the effect that Avant was not an employee of Querner Truck Lines. The Quer-ners were not parties to this suit, nor were they called as adverse witnesses. Parker v. Traders & General Ins. Co., Tex.Civ.App., 366 S.W.2d 107.

There is no evidence that Avant was a Texas employee of Querner Truck Lines, employed in Texas within the meaning of Sec. 19 of Art.

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390 S.W.2d 533, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aetna-casualty-surety-co-v-avant-texapp-1965.