City of Austin v. Clendennen

323 S.W.2d 158, 1959 Tex. App. LEXIS 2326
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 18, 1959
Docket10643
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 323 S.W.2d 158 (City of Austin v. Clendennen) 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
City of Austin v. Clendennen, 323 S.W.2d 158, 1959 Tex. App. LEXIS 2326 (Tex. Ct. App. 1959).

Opinion

GRAY, Justice.

This is a workmen’s compensation case. Appellant, City of Austin, became a self-insurer under Art. 8309e, Vernon’s Ann. Civ.St. Appellee was an employee of the city and on July 30, 1955, sustained accidental injuries in the course of his employment.

In his suit appellee alleged that he suffered permanent total disability and, in the alternative, that he suffered permanent partial disability.

Upon a jury’s verdict the trial court rendered judgment awarding appellee a recovery for temporary total disability for 49 weeks at $25 per week, and for partial disability for 300 weeks at $17.10 per week.

Appellant here presents four points. These are to the effect that the trial court erred: in holding that the charter provision of the city (Art. XII, Sec. 7) providing that the city shall not be liable for damages for the death of, or for personal injuries to, any person unless the. city council or the city manager shall be given notice in writing, duly verified, within 45 days’ after the date such death .or 'personal' injuries occurred, was not applicable to claims for workmen’s compensation; in submitting special issues 3 and 8 to the jury, and in denying a setoff for advances of “compensation” paid to ap-pellee.

In City of Austin v. Powell, 321 S.W.2d 924, we held that Art. XII, Sec. 7 of the Austin city charter was not applicable to a claim for workmen’s compensation for the reason that the claim was not against the city in its capacity as an employer but in its, capacity as an insurer. We adhere to our holding but we will here further discuss the merits of the question.

It is to be noticed that the city does not say that it did not become a self-insurer under the Workmen’s Compensation Act and does not say that the suit is not against it in that capacity. Neither does it say that the provisions of that Act have not been complied with by it or by appellee.

Section 3 of Art. 8309e of the Workmen’s Compensation Act authorizes cities to extend workmen’s compensation benefits to employees by becoming self-insurers or by providing insurance under workmen’s compensation insurance contracts or policies. It provides that the provisions of the Act are permissive and not mandatory; that the city may by ordinance or by resolution adopt the provisions of the Act; that notice *160 sha!! be given to the Industrial Accident Board of such action and further that:

“Notice shall also be given to the employees of the city, town or village of the provision so made for such work- ■ men’s compensation benefits and the effective date thereof; and employees of . the city, town or village shall be conclusively deemed to have accepted such , compensation provisions in lieu of common law or statutory liability or cause of action, if any, for injuries received in the course of employment or death resulting from injuries so received.”

Thus an exclusive remedy for injuries sustained is .provided for employees of cities adopting the provisions of the Act and other remedies for such injuries is denied them.

The city had the option to adopt the provisions of the Act or to remain free from its operation. However the city having elected to accept its provisions then the language of the court in Oilmen’s Reciprocal Ass’n v. Franklin, 116 Tex. 59, 286 S.W. 195, 196, is applicable:

“The legislation in question marks off and occupies a field of special regulation. The Legislature purposed a very material change of rights and remedies available to employers and employees of the classes dealt with. Substantially, with the consent of those to be affected, pre-existent bases of rights were destroyed, and old remedies were made unavailable. In their stead, new conditions were prescribed under which rights would accrue, and hitherto unheard of remedies for the enforcement of those rights were named, as generally explained in Middleton v. Texas Power & Light Co., 108 Tex. 96, 185 S.W. 556. In becoming a ‘subscriber’ under the law, the employer claims its benefits, and thereby voluntarily yields rights which he might otherwise have in substitution for those there prescribed, and by entering or remaining in the service of an employer who has thus become a ‘subscriber’ the employee voluntarily effects a comparable change of position. As to a person, etc., who may become an ‘insurer,’ the statute itself, of course, is the source of all rights claimable, and the subjection of those rights to the remedies prescribed •, rests entirely in volition. As between the three persons affected in any case, new rights, new duties, and appropriate new remedies come into existence by operation of the law.”

In support of its contention that the 45 days notice provided by Art. XII, Sec. 7, supra, is applicable here the city says in its brief:

“Section 12 of Article 8309e authorizes a city to ‘promulgate and publish such rules and regulations * * * as may be necessary to the effective administration of this law.’ The general Workmen’s Compensation law has no such provision.”

and further says:

“That the City Council was mindful of the limitation upon its power to ignore the Notice of Claims provision, and of its power to enact rules and regulations in connection with the Workmen’s Compensation, is shown by the ‘Personnel Policies’, adopted pursuant to a Charter provision, of which Personnel Policies Paragraph 6.8d reads as follows:
“ ‘6.8d. The provisions of the Charter of the City of Austin requiring the giving of notice of claim to the City shall be complied with before the City shall be liable on any claim for damages, and neither the filing of any accident report, the payment of any Workmen’s Compensation benefit, the continued employment of an employee, nor the granting of any injury leave shall constitute a waiver of such notice of claim requirement, nor estop the City from requiring strict compliance with such provision.’ ”

In reply -to the first quotation supra the rules and regulations therein mentioned *161 clearly refer to the administration of the Workmen’s Compensation Law. Moreover the Workmen’s Compensation Law, Art. 8307, Sec. 4a, in part provides:

“Unless the Association or subscriber have notice of the injury, no proceeding for compensation for injury under this law shall be maintained unless a notice of the injury shall have been given to the Association or subscriber within thirty (30) days after the happening of an injury * * * ”

Paragraph 6.8d, supra, can only apply to the liability of the city as such and not to liability under the compensation laws.

To give effect to appellant city’s contention would be to permit the city to enact rules and regulations contrary to the Constitution and to the general law. This it cannot do even though it is a home-rule city. Art. 11, Sec. 5, Texas Constitution, Vernon’s Ann.St. Art. 1165, Vernon’s Ann.Civ. St.; City of Beaumont v. Gulf States Utilities Co., Tex.Civ.App., 163 S.W.2d 426, Er. ref., w. m.

Appellant’s point one is overruled.

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Bluebook (online)
323 S.W.2d 158, 1959 Tex. App. LEXIS 2326, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-austin-v-clendennen-texapp-1959.