BF DRILLING v. State

942 P.2d 392
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 17, 1997
Docket96-134
StatusPublished

This text of 942 P.2d 392 (BF DRILLING v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
BF DRILLING v. State, 942 P.2d 392 (Wyo. 1997).

Opinion

942 P.2d 392 (1997)

B-F DRILLING, INC., Appellant (Petitioner),
v.
STATE of Wyoming, ex rel., WYOMING WORKERS' SAFETY AND COMPENSATION DIVISION, Appellee (Respondent).

No. 96-134.

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

July 17, 1997.

*394 Stephenson D. Emery of Williams, Porter, Day & Neville, P.C., Casper, for Appellant.

William U. Hill, Attorney General; John W. Renneisen, Deputy Attorney General; Gerald W. Laska, Senior Assistant Attorney General; and Jennifer A. Evans, Assistant Attorney General, Cheyenne, for Appellee.

Before TAYLOR, C.J., and THOMAS, MACY, and LEHMAN, JJ., and PRICE, District Judge.

TAYLOR, Chief Justice.

B-F Drilling, Inc. appeals the denial of worker's compensation benefits for its employee, Scott House, who was injured while working in Louisiana ten days after his hire. After a contested case hearing, the hearing examiner issued an order denying benefits, finding that the employee was permanently assigned outside of Wyoming. The hearing examiner also found that the Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division was not estopped by acceptance of premium payments for the employee after it denied coverage.

We affirm.

I. ISSUES

We decline to reiterate the issues as presented by B-F Drilling due to their unnecessary length and argumentative nature. The Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division (Division) presents the same issues in a more succinct version:

A. Whether the hearing examiner's determination that Claimant was permanently assigned outside the state of Wyoming when injured is supported by substantial evidence.
B. Whether the hearing examiner erred in not assigning to the Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division the burden of proving Claimant is not entitled to benefits in the state where he was injured.
C. Whether the hearing examiner erred in concluding that the Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division is not estopped from denying extraterritorial coverage in this case.
D. Whether Wyo. Stat. § 27-14-204(b) provides an alternate basis for awarding Claimant workers' compensation benefits.

II. FACTS

B-F Drilling is a seismograph exploration company which performs most of its work at drilling sites, with its base of operations in the Bergeron family home in Casper, Wyoming. Scott House (House)[1] was severely injured on October 23, 1994 while working for B-F Drilling on a job located in Minden, Louisiana. Only ten days earlier, Charlene Bergeron (Bergeron), the corporate secretary, had hired House via a telephone call with House at his home in Dewey, Oklahoma. He was immediately assigned to work in Minden, Louisiana. Bergeron and House testified that at the time he was hired, they agreed he would move to Wyoming after he completed the job in Louisiana. After his injury, however, House returned to Oklahoma where he remained.

House filled out a Report of Occupational Injury or Disease on October 27, 1994. The report of injury designated House as an Oklahoma resident and indicated the injury occurred in Minden, Louisiana. On November 7, 1994, the Division issued a final determination denying House's claim for benefits, *395 stating "[t]he employee is not a Wyoming resident and is not permanently assigned to Wyoming pursuant to Wyoming Statute XX-XX-XXX(a)." Four days later, on November 11, 1994, B-F Drilling submitted its monthly premium payment to the Division with a payroll report listing House as one of its covered employees for the month of October 1994. The Division accepted the payment. B-F Drilling then objected to the final determination on November 16, 1994.

A contested case hearing was held on September 19, 1995. The Division presented no witnesses at the hearing, but cross-examined House and Bergeron. Cross-examination of Bergeron revealed that B-F Drilling had not had a job in Wyoming since 1991. The last contract received by B-F Drilling was the job in Minden, Louisiana which was completed in March 1995. Since that time, B-F Drilling's only permanent employees were Don and Doug Bergeron.

During House's cross-examination, he testified that his permanent address prior to his injury was in Dewey, Oklahoma, and that it had been his home for his entire life. House stated his children lived in Dewey, and his cars have always been registered in Oklahoma. At the time he was hired, House knew B-F Drilling had no work in Wyoming, and he anticipated he would be working in the southern part of the United States. At no time did he investigate housing in Wyoming or take any other steps to prepare for relocation.

The hearing examiner issued an Order Denying Benefits on October 20, 1995, concluding that the Division had shown by a preponderance of the evidence that House was permanently assigned outside Wyoming. B-F Drilling filed a petition for review with the district court, and the district court affirmed the hearing examiner's Order Denying Benefits. B-F Drilling then filed its notice of appeal to this court.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

When reviewing an agency action, we accord no special deference to the district court's decision, instead reviewing the action as if it proceeded directly to us from the agency. Wyoming Steel & Fab, Inc. v. Robles, 882 P.2d 873, 875 (Wyo.1994). Our review of the factual determinations of an agency is conducted under the substantial evidence standard. Id. at 876. Substantial evidence is relevant evidence which a reasonable mind might accept in support of an agency's conclusion so long as it is more than a mere scintilla of evidence. Cronk v. City of Cody, 897 P.2d 476, 478 (Wyo.1995). If evidence in the record provides a rational basis for the findings of fact made by the agency, we will affirm those findings. Aanenson v. State ex rel. Wyoming Workers' Compensation Div., 842 P.2d 1077, 1079 (Wyo.1992) (quoting State ex rel. Wyoming Workers' Compensation Div. v. White, 837 P.2d 1095, 1098 (Wyo.1992)). Our standard of review differs, however, when reviewing a conclusion of law. We do not defer to the agency's decision, but correct the agency's conclusion if it is not in accordance with the law. Aanenson, 842 P.2d at 1079 (quoting Employment Sec. Com'n of Wyoming v. Western Gas Processors, Ltd., 786 P.2d 866, 871 (Wyo. 1990)).

IV. DISCUSSION

To dispose of all claims in this appeal, only two issues must be addressed: (1) whether the hearing examiner erred in concluding that the Division demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence that House "was permanently assigned outside of Wyoming," thus precluding entitlement to Wyoming worker's compensation benefits pursuant to Wyo. Stat. § 27-14-204(a) (Cum.Supp.1995); and (2) whether the Division was estopped from denying benefits by accepting B-F Drilling's premiums in November 1994 and January 1995 which included House as an employee.[2]

A.

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942 P.2d 392, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bf-drilling-v-state-wyo-1997.