Bruno v. Destiny Transp., Inc.

921 So. 2d 836, 2006 WL 508120
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedMarch 3, 2006
Docket2D04-5300
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 921 So. 2d 836 (Bruno v. Destiny Transp., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bruno v. Destiny Transp., Inc., 921 So. 2d 836, 2006 WL 508120 (Fla. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

921 So.2d 836 (2006)

John BRUNO, Appellant,
v.
DESTINY TRANSPORTATION, INC., a Florida corporation, JDH Concrete Plumbing, Inc., a Florida corporation, Dustin Gamboa, and Louis Garcia, Appellees.

No. 2D04-5300.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.

March 3, 2006.

*838 M. Katherine Ramers of M. Katherine Ramers, P.A., Dunedin, for Appellant.

Shelley H. Leinicke of Wicker, Smith, O'Hara, McCoy, Graham & Ford, P.A., Ft. Lauderdale, for Appellees Destiny Transportation, Inc., Dustin Gamboa, and Louis Garcia.

No appearance for Appellee JDH Concrete Plumbing, Inc.

ARTIGLIERE, RALPH, Associate Judge.

Appellant, John Bruno, appeals a final summary judgment entered in favor of appellees, Destiny Transportation, Inc. (Destiny), Dustin Gamboa, and Louis Garcia. For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we reverse.

I. Factual History

Bruno, an employee of LCC Suncoast, Inc. (LCC), brought a personal injury negligence action as a result of injuries sustained while working on a construction site. Lykes Fertilizer contracted with LCC, a general construction contractor, to reconstruct concrete walls on Lykes' property. LCC contracted with JDH Concrete Plumbing, Inc. (JDH),[1] to provide a concrete pump and pump operators to propel concrete into wooden wall forms on the job site. JDH, in turn, leased Gamboa and Garcia from Destiny, an affiliate of JDH, to operate the pump equipment.

On the day in question, Bruno was guiding the flow of concrete into wall forms by using a hose attached to the concrete pump. Gamboa and Garcia operated the pump equipment and followed hand signals by other LCC employees to determine when to turn the pump on and when to shut it off. Bruno was injured when the *839 hose clogged, pressure built up, and the hose disengaged, hitting him in the face.

Bruno received workers' compensation benefits from LCC and then filed a personal injury suit against Destiny, Gamboa, and Garcia. Destiny, Gamboa, and Garcia filed a motion for summary judgment contending, in part, that the suit was barred because the workers' compensation statutes extended immunity to Destiny, Gamboa, and Garcia or, alternatively, because Gamboa and Garcia were borrowed servants of LCC.

The record contains several depositions including those of Garcia, Gamboa, LCC's president, LCC's construction manager, LCC's foreman, JDH's president, and Destiny's owner and president. For purposes of this appeal, the pertinent testimony indicated: (1) LCC and JDH did not have an express written contract and typically used a renewed rate sheet; (2) Destiny employed Gamboa and Garcia and was responsible for paying them; (3) LCC's foreman could tell hired pump operators where to set up, but the operators would typically just arrive and begin setting up on their own; (4) LCC had no direct authority over the details of the work of the pump operators; and (5) if LCC became dissatisfied with the operators' work, it could tell JDH not to send those operators again, but it could not directly fire the operators.

In his deposition, Garcia testified that he was employed by JDH but that he was unaware of ever having worked for LCC and that no one at the construction site supervised his activities.

Gamboa testified that he worked for JDH and not for LCC. However, Gamboa also asserted that on the day of the incident, LCC was his boss because that was the company he was pumping concrete for and he did whatever LCC told him to do.

Although both Gamboa and Garcia testified JDH was their employer, other testimony indicated that JDH and Destiny were essentially one and the same entity. At the hearing, the appellees' attorney told the trial court that JDH and Destiny were "kind of one group, and they all run out of the same corporate office." And in his deposition, Gamboa testified that JDH and Destiny were "the same thing."

The trial court ultimately granted the motion for summary judgment, concluding, in part, that "[t]he immunity from suit provided by Florida Worker's [sic] Compensation Statutes extends to Destiny Transportation, Inc., Dustin Gamboa and Louis Garcia." The trial court did not specifically address the issue of whether Gamboa and Garcia were borrowed servants of LCC.

On appeal, Bruno contends there are disputed material facts regarding the application of workers' compensation immunity to Destiny, Gamboa, and Garcia and regarding the borrowed servant status of Gamboa and Garcia. Thus, Bruno argues that summary judgment was inappropriate.

II. Analysis

"The law is well settled in Florida that a party moving for summary judgment must show conclusively the absence of any genuine issue of material fact and the court must draw every possible inference in favor of the party against whom a summary judgment is sought." Moore v. Morris, 475 So.2d 666, 668 (Fla.1985). "[N]either the trial court nor the appellate court is justified in weighing facts and meting out justice according to the conclusion reached." Yost v. Miami Transit Co., 66 So.2d 214, 216 (Fla.1953). "If the evidence raises any issue of material fact, if it is conflicting, if it will permit different reasonable inferences, or if it tends to *840 prove the issues, it should be submitted to the jury as a question of fact to be determined by it." Moore, 475 So.2d at 668 (citations omitted). Trial courts must be especially cautious in granting summary judgment in negligence cases, and "summary judgment should not be granted unless the facts are so crystallized that nothing remains but questions of law." Id.

A. Statutory immunity does not extend to Destiny, Gamboa, and Garcia under the facts of this case

We first turn to the issue of statutory immunity from liability afforded to certain employers for on-the-job accidents. Appellees contend that under sections 440.10 and 440.11, Florida Statutes (2000), they are statutorily immune from tort liability and Bruno is limited to recovering workers' compensation benefits from LCC. Bruno contends that an exception to statutory immunity applies under the facts of this case. We agree with Bruno.

Section 440.10(1)(a) addresses contractors' liability for providing workers' compensation benefits by providing:

Every employer coming within the provisions of this chapter, including any brought within the chapter by waiver of exclusion or of exemption, shall be liable for, and shall secure, the payment to his or her employees, or any physician, surgeon, or pharmacist providing services under the provisions of s. 440.13, of the compensation payable under ss. 440.13, 440.15, and 440.16. Any contractor or subcontractor who engages in any public or private construction in the state shall secure and maintain compensation of his or her employees under this chapter as provided in s. 440.38.

Section 440.10(1)(b) further expands contractors' liability by providing:

In case a contractor sublets any part or parts of his or her contract work to a subcontractor or subcontractors, all of the employees of such contractor and subcontractor or subcontractors engaged on such contract work shall be deemed to be employed in one and the same business or establishment; and the contractor shall be liable for, and shall secure, the payment of compensation to all such employees, except to employees of a subcontractor who has secured such payment.

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Bluebook (online)
921 So. 2d 836, 2006 WL 508120, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bruno-v-destiny-transp-inc-fladistctapp-2006.