Employers Mutual Liability Insurance v. Maryland Casualty Co.

206 F. Supp. 589, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3048
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Mississippi
DecidedMay 26, 1961
DocketCiv. A. No. 1386
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 206 F. Supp. 589 (Employers Mutual Liability Insurance v. Maryland Casualty Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Employers Mutual Liability Insurance v. Maryland Casualty Co., 206 F. Supp. 589, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3048 (S.D. Miss. 1961).

Opinion

MIZE, Chief Judge.

Employers Mutual Liability Insurance Company, the plaintiff, has filed its suit against Luther McGill, Inc., hereinafter referred to as McGill, and Maryland Casualty Company, its insurer; Joe Harrison, hereinafter referred to as Harrison, and Zurich Insurance Company, his insurer; Crow Drilling Company, insured by plaintiff; and Leo Boland, Crow’s tool pusher, who was acting in the scope of his employment for Crow at the time of the occurrence giving rise to this lawsuit.

The plaintiff issued its general comprehensive liability policy to Crow and in so far as it pertains to this particular occurrence, Crow was the only insured covered by the policy. Maryland and Zurich had issued automobile liability policies to their respective insureds. The plaintiff herein alleges and asserts that Maryland’s policy in favor of McGill and Zurich’s policy in favor of Harrison defined the insured to include any person while using the automobile and any person legally responsible for the use thereof, provided the actual use of the automobile is with the permission of the named insured.

The question grows out of an accident that occurred on or about the 12th of January, 1956 in which a person by the name of Joe E. Byrd was severely injured while working for and on behalf of D & H Trucking Company of Laurel, Mississippi.

On the 11th day of September, 1956 Byrd filed suit in the State Court of Forrest County, Mississippi against Crow Drilling and Producing Company and Leo Boland, its tool pusher. The contents of that declaration are material and all the material parts are as follows:

That on or about the 12th day of January, 1956, the plaintiff, Joe E. Byrd, was employed by the D & H Trucking Company of Laurel, Mississippi. [591]*591That on this date, a driver for the D & H Trucking Company and the plaintiff were about their business working on and around the site in the Pistol Ridge Field in Forrest County, Mississippi, where Crow Drilling and Producing Company, through its agents and employees, one of them being the defendant, Leo Boland, whose duties were of a supervisory nature, were causing a drilling rig to be erected. That all work on and around the Crow Drilling and Producing Company’s site was under the overall supervision of its agent, employee, tool-pusher and foreman, Leo Boland. That the derrick, a portion of the drilling rig, was caused to be suspended by a single cable and gin-pole above the ground and horizontal to the ground with the tremendous, heavy steel crown attached to it, and caused to remain in said position without the use of any safety bracket to prevent falling, said method of construction being grossly negligent, dangerous and careless, and said method of construction being performed at the direction and under the overall supervision of the agents and employees of Crow Drilling and Producing Company, who were then and there about their master’s business, and acting within the scope of their employment. That the agents and employees of Crow Drilling and Producing Company negligently refused to use such safety measures then available, such as detaching the tremendous, heavy steel crown from the derrick, or using a safety bracket to support the tremendous steel derrick, and prevent the said derrick from falling as it hung suspended by a single cable and gin-pole in the above described position. That the plaintiff, Joe E. Byrd, by the nature of his work for the D & H Trucking Company, was forced to place himself under the negligently and carelessly suspended derrick as above described. That the plaintiff did carefully, cautiously and prudently attend to the details of his said work. That at this time, and on this occasion, and as the said derrick was negligently, carelessly and dangerously suspended as above described, all structural equipment then and there belonging to and being under the supervision of the Crow Drilling and Producing Company, by and through its agents and employees, and at the time the said plaintiff was carefully, cautiously and prudently about his tasks, and through no fault of his, the gin-pole supporting the cable, which in turn supported the derrick, in its dangerous position, broke and gave away, allowing the tremendous, heavy steel derrick, approximately 100' in length, to fall and crash down upon the plaintiff, with tremendous force and violence. That the plaintiff was seriously, painfully and permanently injured as the result of the gross and wanton negligence of Crow Drilling and Producing Company, and Leo Boland, its agent, employee and foreman.

Zurich was the insurance carrier of D & H Trucking Company under the Workmen’s Compensation Law of Mississippi and on September 25, 1956 filed its intervention in the Byrd suit, demanding judgment against Crow Drilling Company and Leo Boland for the amounts paid out by Zurich as the Workmen’s Compensation creditor of D & H Trucking Company to Joe E. Byrd, and the intervenor demanded against those defendants the sum of $1,355.42 and any additional sums that might be paid under its policy. On October 11, 1956 by the consent of the parties a final judgment was entered into and agreed to by Joe E. Byrd and his attorneys, Young & Daniels as attorneys for Crow Drilling and Producing Company, M. M. Roberts as attorney for Zurich, and Bruce Aultman as attorney for Leo Boland. Under the terms of this agreement it was agreed and approved by the court that the sum of $10,677.70 was in excess of what Joe E. Byrd would receive under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, that the insurer, Zurich, was willing to accept $1,000.00 in settlement of what it had paid out, and that the remainder should be paid to Joe E. Byrd and all claims against all third parties were settled. It was further adjudicated by the court, by consent of the parties, that the Zurich General Accident & Liability Insurance [592]*592Company, Ltd. and the D & H Trucking Company be and were finally and forever discharged from any further liability because of the matters set forth in that suit and that the cause be dismissed with prejudice. On October 11, 1956 Joe E. Byrd executed a release to the Zurich Insurance Company and D & H Trucking Company and in the release it was recited that Joe E. Byrd had a claim against Crow Drilling and Producing Company and Leo Boland on the theory that they were negligent in doing the work around the drilling rig which resulted in a cable in use breaking, allowing a heavy part of the derrick to fall on, him. On September 25, 1956 Young & Daniels wrote the Maryland Casualty Company advising it that Joe E. Byrd had filed a suit against Crow Drilling and Producing Company and Leo Boland in the Circuit Court of Forrest County, and stated in the letter that Luther McGill was using one of its trucks in the erection of the derrick for Crow Drilling and Producing Company and the truck was holding the drilling rig in suspension above the ground level when suddenly the set-up gave way and Joe Byrd was injured; and advised Maryland that Employees Mutual had issued a policy to Crow Drilling Company, a comprehensive general liability policy, which covered the insured alone, and called upon Maryland under its omnibus clause of the policy to assume defense of the lawsuit, enclosing to Maryland a copy of the declaration that had been filed. On October 2, 1956 Maryland Casualty Company acknowledged receipt of the letter and copy of the declaration and declined to assume responsibility for the defense or payment of judgment.

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Bluebook (online)
206 F. Supp. 589, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3048, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/employers-mutual-liability-insurance-v-maryland-casualty-co-mssd-1961.