Chandler v. Miller

4 Mass. L. Rptr. 531
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedDecember 5, 1995
DocketNo. 936906
StatusPublished

This text of 4 Mass. L. Rptr. 531 (Chandler v. Miller) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chandler v. Miller, 4 Mass. L. Rptr. 531 (Mass. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

Houston, J.

Plaintiffs, Shawn and Laura Chandler (Chandler), brought this action against defendant, Richard Miller (Miller), in connection with a motor vehicle accident. Miller moves for summary judgment based on the general proposition that he is immune from suit as a fellow servant of a common employer. In response, Chandler filed a timely opposition and requested that summary judgment be entered dismissing Miller’s affirmative defense which asserts such immunity. For the following reasons, Miller’s motion is DENIED. Furthermore, Chandler’s motion is DENIED in part and ALLOWED in part.

BACKGROUND

Both Chandler and Miller were residents of Connecticut at the time of the accident which is the basis of this action. Chandler and Miller were employed by Ford, Bacon and Davis Sealants Company (FBD), which provides sealants for natural gas mains. Ford is located in Windsor, Connecticut. The paychecks and work assignments for Chandler and Miller were also issued from FBD’s Connecticut headquarters.

At the time of the accident, Chandler and Miller were working on a job site in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Chandler, Miller and another employee travelled to Massachusetts at the beginning of each work week and stayed overnight in hotels during the week.

The accident occurred on December 5, 1991, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Chandler alleges that Miller negligently struck him while backing up a “keyhole” truck. The keyhole truck is owned by FBD. The keyhole truck was a flatbed truck, 1981 Chevrolet C-70 Series, licensed to travel on public ways. The keyhole truck was equipped with brakes, horn, lights, directionals, brake lights, mirrors, emergency brakes, fenders, suspension, and exhaust system. Furthermore, the keyhole truck was outfitted with a vacuum pump, air compressor and excavation equipment.

After the accident, Chandler received worker’s compensation payments from Aetna casualty and Surety Company, the worker’s compensation carrier for FBD. The claim was made in accordance to Connecticut worker’s compensation law, with a hearing before the Connecticut Worker’s Compensation Commission. All compensation payments were made from a Connecticut claims office and were administered under the laws of the state of Connecticut.

DISCUSSION

This court grants summary judgment where there are no genuine issues of material facts and where the summary judgement record entitles the moving party to judgment as a matter of law. Cassesso v. Comm’r of Correction, 390 Mass. 419, 422 (1983); Community Nat’l Bank v. Dawes, 369 Mass. 550, 553 (1976); Mass.R.Civ.R 56(c). The moving party bears the burden of affirmatively demonstrating the absence of a triable issue, and that the summary judgment record entitles the moving party to judgment as a matter of law. Pederson v. Time, Inc., 404 Mass. 14, 16-17 (1989). A party moving for summary judgment who does not bear the burden of proof at trial demonstrates the absence of a triable issue either by submitting affirmative evidence negating an essential element of the nonmoving party’s case or by showing the nonmov-ing party is unlikely to submit proof of that element at trial. Flesner v. Technical Communications Corp., 410 Mass. 805, 809 (1991); Kourouvacilis v. General Motors Corp., 410 Mass. 706, 716 (1991).

[532]*532The nonmoving party cannot defeat the motion for summary judgment by resting on its pleadings and mere assertions of disputed facts. LaLonde v. Eissner, 405 Mass. 207, 209 (1989). A court will grant summary judgment to the party entitled to judgment as a matter of law if all parties have moved for summary judgment and “there is no real dispute [concerning] salient facts” or if a case only involves a question of law. Cassesso v. Comm’r of Correction, supra.

Massachusetts has abandoned the traditional lex loci approach in favor of a more functional choice-of-law approach that responds to the interest ofthe parties, the states involved, and the interstate system as a whole. Pevoski v. Pevoski, 371 Mass. 358, 359-60 (1976). In so doing, Massachusetts has “adopted the general principles advanced in the Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws (1971).” Travenol Laboratories Inc. v. Zotal, Ltd., 394 Mass. 95, 99 (1985). This approach is commonly known as the “most significant relationship” analysis.

The analysis requires more than merely adding up tire various contacts; it necessitates careful balancing of the competing interests, which unavoidably results in some vagueness. Bushkin Associates, Inc. v. Raytheon Co., 393 Mass. 622, 631 (1985). While the method is more discretionary and therefore less predictable, its rejection of artificial conditions avoids the awkward and arbitrary results of the traditional approach. Id. at 541.

Ordinarily, the substantive law governing an action of tort for physical injury is that of the place where the injury occurred. Cosme v. Whitin Machine Works, Inc., 417 Mass. 643, 645 (1993); Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws §145 (1971). However, “another jurisdiction may sometimes be more concerned and more involved with certain issues” under the facts of a particular case. Cohen v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 389 Mass. 327, 333 (1983), quoting Pevoski v. Pevoski, 371 Mass. at 360.

When there is a question as to whether another state has a more significant relationship to a particular tort claim, the appropriate law is determined by weighing the principles stated in §6 of the Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws, as well as those included in §145 ofthe Restatement. See Saharceski v. Marcure, 373 Mass. 304, 309 (1977). The relevant factors under §6 include: “(a) the needs of the interstate and international systems, (b) the relevant policies of the forum, (c) the relevant policies of the other interested states and the relative interests of those states in the determination of the particular issue, (d) the protection of justified expectations, (e) the basic policies underlying the particular field of law, (f) certainty, predictability and uniformity of result, and (g) ease in determination and application of the law to be applied.” Subsection (2) of §145 ofthe Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws further delineates considerations used in determining the applicable law including the place where Ihe injury occurred, the place where the injury-causing conduct occurred, the domicil of the parties and the place where the relationship, if any, between the parties is centered.

The facts of this case clearly mitigate in favor of applying Connecticut law, at least with respect to Miller’s claims of immunity. First, Connecticut is the domicile of both Chandler and Miller. Second, the vehicle involved in the accident is owned and operated out of Connecticut. Third, Chandler filed his worker’s compensation claim in Connecticut and that state’s law governed the award of worker’s compensation benefits. Bushkin Associates, Inc. v. Raytheon Co., 393 Mass. at 633 n.6 (recognizing that “postransaction events properly may be considered”). Fourth, Connecticut has a general interest in governing the relationships between in-state employees who are only temporarily working out of state. Fifth, Connecticut has a legitimate interest in protecting its worker’s compensation scheme from unnecessary intrusions by other state’s laws.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Dias v. Adams
456 A.2d 309 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1983)
Travenol Laboratories, Inc. v. Zotal, Ltd.
474 N.E.2d 1070 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1985)
Pederson v. Time, Inc.
532 N.E.2d 1211 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1989)
Bushkin Associates, Inc. v. Raytheon Co.
473 N.E.2d 662 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1985)
LaLonde v. Eissner
539 N.E.2d 538 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1989)
Pevoski v. Pevoski
358 N.E.2d 416 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1976)
Cosme v. Whitin MacHine Works, Inc.
632 N.E.2d 832 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1994)
Community National Bank v. Dawes
340 N.E.2d 877 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1976)
Kourouvacilis v. General Motors Corp.
575 N.E.2d 734 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1991)
Flesner v. Technical Communications Corp.
575 N.E.2d 1107 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1991)
Cassesso v. Commissioner of Correction
456 N.E.2d 1123 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1983)
Saharceski v. Marcure
366 N.E.2d 1245 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1977)
Cohen v. McDonnell Douglas Corp.
450 N.E.2d 581 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1983)
Pinheiro v. Board of Education
620 A.2d 159 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 1993)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
4 Mass. L. Rptr. 531, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chandler-v-miller-masssuperct-1995.