Counts v. East Perry Lumber Co.

462 S.W.2d 141, 1970 Mo. App. LEXIS 504
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 24, 1970
DocketNo. 33554
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 462 S.W.2d 141 (Counts v. East Perry Lumber Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Counts v. East Perry Lumber Co., 462 S.W.2d 141, 1970 Mo. App. LEXIS 504 (Mo. Ct. App. 1970).

Opinion

LYON ANDERSON, Special Commissioner.

This is a proceeding under the Missouri Workmen’s Compensation Law. Section 287.010, RSMo 1959, V.A.M.S., et seq. The claim was filed by Carter Counts against East Perry Lumber Company and its insurance carrier, Hartford Accident & Indemnity Company. The claim alleged that claimant employee was injured May 26, 1966; and that the accident occurred while claimant was on the company’s premises unloading logs, which was part of his employer’s business, when a log fell on him.

The answer of East Perry Lumber Company and its insurance carrier consisted of a specific denial that claimant was at the time of the accident in the employ of East Perry Lumber Company, and a general denial of all other allegations contained in the claim for compensation. The Referee before whom the case was tried found that Carter Counts was not, on May 26, 1966, an employee of East Perry Lumber Company within the meaning of the Missouri Workmen’s Compensation Law, and denied compensation. On application, there was a review by the full Commission resulting in an affirmance of the Referee’s finding and order. The Commission’s finding was affirmed by the Circuit Court. From the judgment of the Circuit Court claimant appeals.

The sole question on this appeal is whether or not on the whole record the finding of the Commission is supported by competent and substantial evidence, and not contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence. Claimant contends the evidence shows he was a statutory employee of East Perry Lumber Company as such relationship is defined by § 287.-040(1), RSMo 1959, V.A.M.S. East Perry and its insurer contend that under the evidence adduced the Commission reasonably could have found claimant was not a statutory employee, but that the relationship between the parties was that of vendor and vendee.

In determining the issue before us we must review the evidence in a light most favorable to the finding and award of the Commission, and consider all favorable inferences which the Commission had a right to draw from the evidence before it. Thacker v. Massman Const. Co., Mo., 247 S.W.2d 623. Of course, in the discharge [143]*143of our duty as a reviewing court we give due regard to findings, involving credibility, made by those before the witnesses gave oral testimony. We may not substitute our judgment for that of the Commission, but are authorized only to decide whether such tribunal could have reasonably made its finding and reached its decision upon a consideration of all the evidence before it, and to set aside its decision clearly contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence. Wood v. Wagner Elec. Corp., 355 Mo. 670, 197 S.W.2d 647.

Carter Counts was injured on May 26, 1966, while on the premises of East Perry Lumber Company. He came to the Lumber Company with a truckload of logs which he had cut from timber owned by a farmer named Mattingley. There were ten oak logs on the truck. The logs were from 16 to 24 inches in diameter, and 10 to 16 feet in length. Each log weighed about 1200 lbs. The truck was a ’58 GMC. It had a flat bed 7½ feet wide and 14 feet long. There were no stakes on it, and no mechanism for unloading heavy logs such as were on claimant’s truck at the time. The logs were always removed from the truck by an employee of East Perry using a fork lift for that purpose after Counts had removed the chains which held the logs on the truck. The truck and the chains belonged to claimant. Just prior to the accident claimant had removed the chains, and was walking toward the truck to remove a piece of the chain that was hanging from the truck. While doing this the top log fell from the truck and injured his right foot and ankle.

Claimant lived at Perryville. He owned a saw mill located at Brewer, Missouri, where he cut lumber and manufactured railroad ties. He would bring the large logs to East Perry and take the smaller ones to his own mill. He had been in the logging business for twenty years. At the time of the trial claimant was in partnership with Robert Boland. The partners had one employee, Kenny McClure, a school boy. Kenny had no regular job but did help with the loading.

In addition to the truck, claimant owned a “cat” (tractor) with a heavy winch. The. equipment was used to drag heavy logs and load them on the trucks. He also owned saws. Claimant’s method of doing business was to buy standing timber from farmers and after cutting the trees haul the logs made therefrom either to his sawmill or to East Perry. East Perry was in no way involved in the purchase of the timber. Claimant paid the farmer for the timber he bought. When the logs were brought to East Perry claimant paid the farmer a certain percentage of the money paid him by said company.

On cross-examination claimant testified that while it had been quite a while prior to his injury that he had taken logs to the mill, he could have if he had so desired. He stated he was not put on any schedule by East Perry, but if he did not want to cut logs on a certain day he did not do so. He also stated that he could have sold the logs to any other mill in the area if the logs met the required specifications of the other mill. During the four or five months he cut timber on the Mattingley farm he hauled one to four truck loads of logs each day to East Perry. East Perry did not withhold any amount for income taxes from the amount paid claimant for the logs he sold to the company. He made out his income tax returns at the end of each year showing he was self-employed.

Arthur Lueders, Secretary and Treasurer of East Perry Lumber Company, testified that claimant had never been on the payroll of the company as an employee. He further testified that East Perry had no supervisory control over Mr. Counts while cutting timber.

East Perry Lumber Company is a corporation. It is engaged in the lumber business at Frohna, Missouri. There it manufactures lumber from logs that are brought to its premises. The logs are run through the sawmill and cut into various sizes of [144]*144lumber which is then stacked, dried in the kilns, and sold to industrial plants, furniture factories, flooring concerns and hox manufacturers. Wood chips are made out of the waste, and along with sawdust are sold in bulk. The company does not have a retail yard.

Some of the logs that are processed into lumber at the Frohna plant are from timber purchased by the company. The trees thus purchased are cut by employees of East Perry and the logs are brought to the sawmill in company trucks operated by its employees. The company has about six million board feet of growing timber under contract with various owners of land in the area. Another source of supply is timber grown on three thousand acres of land owned by the company. None of this timber was cut during the two years prior to the hearing but has been kept in reserve. The company did at times hire persons who were not regular employees to cut trees and process lumber on lands of others where it had purchased standing timber. The persons hired owned their own buzz saws, trucks, and other similar equipment used by the regular employee who did such work. They were carried on the company payroll. The last one so employed was in 1960. Claimant was never hired to do that type of work. The company had about fifty regular employees.

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Bluebook (online)
462 S.W.2d 141, 1970 Mo. App. LEXIS 504, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/counts-v-east-perry-lumber-co-moctapp-1970.