Arnwine v. Trebel

195 S.W.3d 467, 2006 Mo. App. LEXIS 1011, 2006 WL 1792654
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 30, 2006
DocketWD 65506
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 195 S.W.3d 467 (Arnwine v. Trebel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Arnwine v. Trebel, 195 S.W.3d 467, 2006 Mo. App. LEXIS 1011, 2006 WL 1792654 (Mo. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

JOSEPH M. ELLIS, Judge.

On the morning of October 28, 1999, Appellant Jennifer Banks Arnwine (“Arn-wine”), an employee of Waterloo Industries, Inc., sustained severe hand injuries resulting from an accident which occurred when a secondary press machine she was operating at Waterloo’s manufacturing plant in Sedalia, Missouri, malfunctioned. At the time of the accident, John M. Tre-bel, Gerald T. Heinlen, Grant Jones, Kelly Guess, and Steven Hockett (collectively referred to as “Respondents”) also worked for Waterloo Industries. Shortly after the accident, Arnwine filed what later turned out to be a successful claim for workers’ compensation benefits with the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission of Missouri (“Commission”), which administers *470 Chapter 287, The Workers’ Compensation Law (“WCL”). 1

On October 22, 2004, Arnwine filed a personal injury action in the Circuit Court of Pettis County seeking an award of compensatory and punitive damages against Respondents for their roles in the events of October 28, 1999. On November 29, 2004, Respondents moved for dismissal of all claims against them for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, asserting that, since those claims arose out of Arnwine’s on-the-job injuries, Respondents were not subject to civil liability to Arnwine for those injuries under section 287.120, the exclusive jurisdiction provision of the WCL. After briefing and oral argument on the issue of its subject matter jurisdiction over Arn-wine’s claims against Respondents, the circuit court ultimately entered an “Amended Ruling on Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss and Judgment Dismissing Plaintiffs Petition” on May 4, 2005, leading to this appeal, in which Arnwine challenges the circuit court’s determination that her claims were barred under section 287.120.

Section 287.120 governs the determination of when an injury falls under the WCL. In pertinent part, it states:

1. Every employer subject to the provisions of this chapter shall be liable, irrespective of negligence, to furnish compensation under the provisions of this chapter for personal injury or death of the employee by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment, and shall be released from all other liability therefore whatsoever, whether to the employee or any other person....
2. The rights and remedies herein granted to an employee shall exclude all other rights and remedies of the employee, his wife, her husband, parents, personal representatives, dependents, heirs or next kin, at common law or otherwise, on account of such accidental injury or death, except such rights and remedies as are not provided for by this chapter.

The Missouri Supreme Court has held that the WCL was not supplemental or declaratory of any existing rule, right or remedy, but created an entirely new right or remedy which “is wholly substitutional in character and supplants all other rights and remedies, at common law or otherwise.” Marie v. Standard Steel Works, 319 S.W.2d 871, 875 (Mo. banc 1959). It provides the exclusive remedy for employees against their employers for injuries covered by its provisions, and subject matter jurisdiction over such matters properly lies only in the Commission. State ex rel. Taylor v. Wallace, 73 S.W.3d 620, 621 (Mo. banc 2002). “This immunity from suit [also] extends to employees of the exempt employer, albeit in a more limited fashion.” Id. “A motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction is the proper method to raise as a defense to a tort action the exclusive jurisdiction of the Workers’ Compensation Law, as provided in Chapter 287.” Sexton v. Jenkins & Assocs., Inc., 41 S.W.3d 1, 3 (Mo.App. W.D.2000).

“In determining the question of its subject matter jurisdiction, the circuit court is not only the arbiter of the law, but the facts necessary to decide the question.” Kesterson v. Wallut, 116 S.W.3d 590, 594 (Mo.App. W.D.2003). Thus, whether the subject matter of an action falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission is a question of fact, resolution of which is left to the sound discretion of the trial court. *471 Burns v. Employer Health Servs., Inc., 976 S.W.2d 639, 641 (Mo.App. W.D.1998). Its decision on this question may be “based not only on facts appearing of record, but facts adduced by affidavits of the parties, oral testimony, and depositions.” Kesterson, 116 S.W.3d at 595.

“Dismissal for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction is proper whenever it appears, by suggestion of the parties or otherwise, that the court is without jurisdiction.” Miss ouri Soybean Ass’n v. Mo. Clean Water Com’n, 102 S.W.3d 10, 22 (Mo. banc 2003); Rule 55.27(g)(3). “As the term ‘appears’ [in Rule 55.27(g)(3) ] suggests, the quantum of proof is not high; it must appear by the preponderance of the evidence that the court is without jurisdiction.” James v. Poppa, 85 S.W.3d 8, 9 (Mo. banc 2002). Where, as here, the facts bearing on the issue are contested, we review the trial court’s decision on a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction for abuse of discretion, Mo. Soybean Ass’n, 102 S.W.3d at 22; Sexton, 41 S.W.3d at 4. “The trial court abuses its discretion when its ruling is clearly against the logic of the circumstances and is so arbitrary and unreasonable that it shocks the sense of justice and indicates a lack of careful consideration.” Sexton, 41 S.W.3d at 4 (internal quotation marks omitted).

Arnwine brings three points on appeal. In her first point, she argues that the trial court erred and abused its discretion in concluding that Respondents had met their burden to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over Arnwine’s personal injury claims against Respondents. In Point II, Arnwine asserts that the trial court erred in granting Respondents’ motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the court overlooked and/or completely failed to address her claim that one or more of the Respondents had violated section 292.040 and were, therefore, guilty of negligence per se. And in her third and final point, Arnwine claims the trial court erred in dismissing her petition as to Respondents Trebel, Hein-len, Jones, and Guess on the grounds they had neither actual supervisory control over her nor knowledge of the circumstances attending her injury and were not present when it occurred.

As noted, our review is for abuse of discretion.

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195 S.W.3d 467, 2006 Mo. App. LEXIS 1011, 2006 WL 1792654, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/arnwine-v-trebel-moctapp-2006.