Chagolla v. O.T. Dunlap Construction

838 S.W.2d 943, 1992 Tex. App. LEXIS 2623, 1992 WL 258784
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 8, 1992
DocketNo. 01-91-01464-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 838 S.W.2d 943 (Chagolla v. O.T. Dunlap Construction) 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
Chagolla v. O.T. Dunlap Construction, 838 S.W.2d 943, 1992 Tex. App. LEXIS 2623, 1992 WL 258784 (Tex. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

OPINION

MIRABAL, Justice.

This is an appeal from a summary judgment granted in favor of the defendants in a workers’ compensation lawsuit. We affirm.

McCarthy Construction Company (McCarthy) was employed by the state of Texas to work on a road construction project. McCarthy subcontracted a portion of the job to J.F. Barton Contracting Company (Barton), who in turn subcontracted work to O.T. Dunlap Construction (Dunlap). Francisco Chagolla was an employee [945]*945of Dunlap and worked on the project. Barton had a policy of workers’ compensation insurance.

Mr. Chagolla was killed in a construction accident, and a workers’ compensation claim was filed and honored under Barton’s workers’ compensation insurance. Mr. Chagolla’s parents (the Chagollas) then brought a wrongful death suit against Dunlap, suing in both their individual capacities and as representatives of Francisco Chagolla’s estate. It was their position that Dunlap was not a subscriber to the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act (the Act), and could therefore be liable for damages under Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 8306, § 4.1 Dunlap eventually moved for summary judgment, arguing that the Chagollas had no right of action against it for Francisco Chagolla’s death. The trial court granted Dunlap’s motion for summary judgment.

The section of the Act entitled “Exclusiveness of remedy” states in pertinent part'as follows:

[T]he representatives and beneficiaries of deceased employees shall have no right of action against [a] subscribing employer ... for damages for injuries resulting in death, but such ... representatives and beneficiaries shall look for compensation solely to the association.

Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 8306, § 3(a).2

In their first two points of error, the Chagollas contend that the trial court erred in granting Dunlap’s motion for summary judgment because, first, the summary judgment evidence established that Dunlap was not a subscriber to the Act, and, alternatively, because there were genuine issues of material fact regarding Dunlap’s subscriber status. In their third and fourth points of error, they argue that Tex. Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 8307, § 6(a),3 which provides that a prime contractor and a subcontractor may contract for the prime contractor to provide workers’ compensation benefits to the subcontractor’s employees, does not apply to this case, and, alternatively, that there are genuine issues of material fact regarding the application of that article. Because these four points of error are related, we will consider them together.

The standard for appellate review of a summary judgment for a defendant is whether the summary judgment proof establishes, as a matter of law, that there is no genuine issue of fact as to one or more of the essential elements of the plaintiff’s cause of action. Gibbs v. General Motors Corp., 450 S.W.2d 827, 828 (Tex.1970). The movant has the burden to show that there is no genuine issue of material fact, and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Nixon v. Mr. Property Management Co., 690 S.W.2d 546, 548-49 (Tex.1985). Evidence favorable to the non-mov-ant will be taken as true in deciding whether there is a disputed material fact issue that precludes summary judgment. Id. Every reasonable inference must be indulged in favor of the non-movant and any doubts resolved in its favor. Montgomery v. Kennedy, 669 S.W.2d 309, 310-11 (Tex.1984). A summary judgment for the defendant, disposing of the entire case, is proper only if, as a matter of law, the plaintiff could not succeed upon any theories pleaded. Havens v. Tomball Community Hosp., 793 S.W.2d 690, 691 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1990, writ denied); Dodson v. Kung, 717 S.W.2d 385, 390 (Tex. App. — Houston [14th Dist.] 1986, no writ). Once the defendant produces sufficient evidence to establish the right to a summary judgment, the plaintiff must set forth suffi[946]*946cient evidence to give rise to a fact issue to avoid a summary judgment. “Moore” Burger, Inc. v. Phillips Petroleum Co., 492 S.W.2d 934, 936-37 (Tex.1972).

A summary judgment cannot be affirmed on any ground not presented in the motion for summary judgment. Hall v. Harris County Water Control & Improvement Dist. No. 50, 683 S.W.2d 863, 867 (Tex. App. — Houston [14th Dist.] 1984, no writ.). When a trial court’s order does not specify the grounds relied on for its ruling, the summary judgment will be affirmed if any of the theories advanced are meritorious. Insurance Co. of North America v. Security Ins. Co., 790 S.W.2d 407, 410 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1990, no writ). In the present case, the trial court did not specify the grounds relied on for its ruling.

In moving for summary judgment, Dunlap relied in part on article 8307 § 6(a), which states in relevant part as follows:

A subcontractor and prime contractor may make a written contract whereby the prime contractor will provide workers’ compensation benefits to ... employees of the sub-contractor. [T]he contract may provide that the actual premiums (based on payroll) paid or incurred by the prime contractor for workers’ compensation insurance coverage for ... employees of the sub-contractor may be deducted from the contract price or any other monies owed to the sub-contractor by the prime contractor. In any such contract, the sub-contractor and his employees shall be considered employees of the prime contractor only for purposes of the workers’ compensation laws of this state ... and for no other purpose.

Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 8307, § 6(a). The summary judgment evidence demonstrates that, in accordance with the statute, Barton and Dunlap contracted that Barton would provide workers’ compensation benefits to Dunlap's employees and deduct the premiums it paid for the workers’ compensation insurance from the money it was to pay Dunlap for Dunlap’s work. The Cha-gollas have never disputed this; rather, they contend that Barton was a subcontractor, not a prime contractor, and therefore article 8307, § 6(a) does not apply.

We disagree with the Chagollas. Article 8307, § 6(c) states that the “term ‘prime contractor’ includes ‘principal contractor,’ ‘original contractor,’ or ‘general contractor’ as those terms are commonly used and means the person who has undertaken to procure the performance of work or services.” Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 8307, § 6(c) (emphasis added).4 Clearly, Barton “undertook] to procure the performance of work or services” in this case, because it hired Dunlap to perform duties on the project. This made Barton a “prime contractor” under the statute.

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Bluebook (online)
838 S.W.2d 943, 1992 Tex. App. LEXIS 2623, 1992 WL 258784, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chagolla-v-ot-dunlap-construction-texapp-1992.