Blackwell v. Panhandle Helicopter, Inc.

94 F. Supp. 3d 1205, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25883, 2015 WL 926582
CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedMarch 4, 2015
DocketNo. 3:14-cv-00387-HZ
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 94 F. Supp. 3d 1205 (Blackwell v. Panhandle Helicopter, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Blackwell v. Panhandle Helicopter, Inc., 94 F. Supp. 3d 1205, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25883, 2015 WL 926582 (D. Or. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION & ORDER

HERNÁNDEZ, District Judge:

Defendant Panhandle Helicopter, Inc. brings this motion to dismiss Plaintiff John Blackwell’s negligence claims for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). For the reasons that follow, Defendant’s motion to dismiss is granted.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff was a ground worker directly employed by Helmig Tree Farms (“Hel-mig”) in Oregon. Pl.’s First Am. Compl. (“Compl.”) ¶ 1. His job duties included hooking bundles of Christmas trees to Defendant’s helicopter. Id. ¶ 3. Defendant is an Idaho corporation that does business in Oregon. Id. ¶ 2. Defendant owned and operated a helicopter to lift, transport, and deliver Christmas trees for Helmig. Id. ¶ 19.

The Christmas tree harvesting process consisted of multiple steps. First, Defendant’s helicopter would fly toward a bundle of cut Christmas trees until it was directly, or almost directly, over the bundle. Id. ¶ 6. Plaintiff would stand by the bundle, about 100 feet below the helicopter. Id. Then, Defendant would dangle a cable and bell-shaped hooking mechanism for Plaintiff to hook the bundle to the helicopter. Id. ¶ 5-6. Defendant would then instruct Plaintiff to get clear and give a signal that Plaintiff was clear. Id. ¶ 5. After this signal, Defendant would lift the bundle. Id. Finally, Defendant would fly the bundle several hundred yards and drop it at a landing site before repeating the process. Id. ¶ 6.

Plaintiff alleges that the Christmas tree harvesting process did not always go as planned. According to Plaintiff, on multiple occasions, ground workers got caught in the ropes or rigging while trying to hook bundles of trees to Defendant’s helicopter. Id. In early November 2013, Defendant lifted a person, flew him to the landing site as he dangled with a bundle of trees, and dropped him. Id. ¶ 7. Additionally, Defendant experienced repeated incidents where bundles of trees would “explode” and release as Defendant tried to lift them. Id. ¶ 6.

On three occasions, Plaintiff was injured while attempting to hook a bundle of trees to Defendant’s helicopter. Id. ¶ 6. On the first occasion, on or about October 29, 2013, Plaintiff fractured his left thumb. Id. On the second occasion, on or about [1208]*1208November 9, 2013, Plaintiff fractured his left ring finger. Id.

The third occasion forms the basis for Plaintiffs Complaint. On or about November 15, 2013, Plaintiff was at work wearing a cast on his left arm due to his previous injuries. Id. ¶ 8. On or about that day, he hooked a bundle of trees to Defendant’s helicopter and, as Plaintiff tried to leave the area, Defendant lifted the bundle and the rope, caught Plaintiff, and “flipped” him. Id. Plaintiff landed on his back on a stump and fractured his spine at multiple levels. Id.

The Court refers to any additional relevant facts in the discussion section below.

STANDARDS

A motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) tests the sufficiency of the claims. Navarro v. Block, 250 F.3d 729, 732 (9th Cir.2001). “All allegations of material fact are taken as true and construed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.” Am. Family Ass’n, Inc. v. City & Cnty. of S.F., 277 F.3d 1114, 1120 (9th Cir.2002). However, the court need not accept eonclusory allegations as truthful. See Warren v. Fox Family Worldwide, Inc., 328 F.3d 1136, 1139 (9th Cir.2003) (“[W]e are not required to accept as true eonclusory allegations which are contradicted by documents referred to in the complaint, and we do not necessarily assume the truth of legal conclusions merely because they are cast in the form of factual allegations.”) (internal quotation marks, citation, and alterations omitted).

A motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) will be granted if a plaintiff alleges the “grounds” of his “entitlement to relief’ with nothing “more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action[.]” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). “Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact)[.]” Id. (citations and footnote omitted).

To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint “must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face[,]” meaning “when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (internal quotation marks omitted). Additionally, “only a complaint that states a plausible claim for relief survives a motion to dismiss.” Id. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937. A complaint must contain “well-pleaded facts” which “permit the court to infer more than the mere possibility of misconduct[.]” Id.

DISCUSSION

Plaintiff brings three negligence claims against Defendant. The first claim is a common law negligence claim. The second claim is a statutory negligence claim under OAR 437-004-1750, the Oregon OSHA “Helicopters” rule. The third claim is a statutory negligence claim under Oregon’s Employer Liability Law, ORS 654.305 et seq. Defendant moves to dismiss Plaintiffs claims, arguing that Defendant cannot be liable under the Oregon OSHA “Helicopters” rule because Defendant was not Plaintiffs employer, and arguing that the remainder of Plaintiffs claims are preempted by federal law.

A. Claim 2 — Oregon OSHA “Helicopters” rule

Plaintiff brings his second claim under OAR 437-004-1750, the Oregon OSHA [1209]*1209“Helicopters” rule. Defendant argues that Plaintiff’s claim must be dismissed because Plaintiff was not a direct employee of Defendant. Defendant is correct.

The Oregon OSHA “Helicopters” rule only applies to direct employees. The rule is included in the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Code (OOSHC), which was adopted pursuant to the Oregon Safe Employment Act (OSEA). ORS 654.025(2); see also, German v. Murphy, 146 Or.App. 349, 357, 932 P.2d 580 (1997). The OSEA does not extend its coverage to indirect employees. Id. See also, Flores v. Metro Machinery Rigging, Inc., 99 Or. App.

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94 F. Supp. 3d 1205, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25883, 2015 WL 926582, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/blackwell-v-panhandle-helicopter-inc-ord-2015.