Esquivel v. Mapelli Meat Packing Co.

932 S.W.2d 612, 1996 WL 269203
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 17, 1996
Docket04-95-00150-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 932 S.W.2d 612 (Esquivel v. Mapelli Meat Packing Co.) 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
Esquivel v. Mapelli Meat Packing Co., 932 S.W.2d 612, 1996 WL 269203 (Tex. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinions

OPINION

GREEN, Justice.

Esquivel appeals the grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant, Montfort, Inc. d/b/a/ Mapelli Food Distribution Co. and Mapelli Food Distributing Co. d/b/a Mapelli Food Distribution Co., incorrectly identified in plaintiffs original petition as Mapelli Meat Packing Co. (“Mapelli”). Esquivel complains the trial court erred in granting summary judgment because (1) material fact issues remain as to the “right of control” of Esquiv-el’s work and (2) Mapelli’s summary judgment proof failed to establish that Mapelli was a workers’ compensation subscriber and that Esquivel had notice of that coverage. Further, Esquivel contends the trial court [614]*614erred by denying his motion for continuance to gather additional evidence prior to ruling on the motion for summary judgment. We affirm.

Austin Temporary Services, Inc. (“ATS”) hired Esquivel as a temporary worker and placed him at Mapelli’s. Esquivel sued Ma-pelli for injuries allegedly sustained while he was working on Mapelli’s premises. Esquiv-el asserted that he was injured when a Ma-pelli employee operating a forklift dropped boxes of cheese on him. Mapelli generally denied the allegations, later amending its answer to claim that Esquivel was its “borrowed servant” and that the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act exclusivity provision barred Esquivel’s suit.

Esquivel’s first point of error complains the trial court erred in granting Mapelli’s summary judgment motion because fact issues remain about which employer, ATS or Mapelli, had the right of control over Esquiv-el’s work.

By seeking summary judgment, the mov-ant assumes the burden to establish that no genuine issue of material fact exists and it is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. Nixon v. Mr. Property Management Co., 690 S.W.2d 546, 548 (Tex.1985). If, and only if, the movant carries its burden does the burden shift to the nonmovant to present controverting summary judgment evidence. Casso v. Brand, 776 S.W.2d 551, 556 (Tex.1989).

In order to defeat a motion for summary judgment where the movant has carried its burden, the nonmovant must clearly present, by written motion, answer, or other response, any reasons seeking to avoid the movant’s entitlement to summary judgment and, if necessary, must present summary judgment proof to establish a fact issue. Tex.R.Civ.P. 166a(c); City of Houston v. Clear Creek Basin Auth., 589 S.W.2d 671, 678 (Tex.1979). Evidence favorable to the nonmovant is taken as true, and every reasonable inference from that evidence will be resolved in favor of the nonmovant. Nixon v. Mr. Property Management Co., 690 S.W.2d at 548-49. All other evidence and inferences are disregarded. Id.

Texas courts recognize that the general employee of one employer may become the special employee or “borrowed servant” of another employer. Sparger v. Worley Hosp., Inc., 547 S.W.2d 582, 583 (Tex.1977). The issue of “right of control” is pivotal under the borrowed servant doctrine because the employer who has the right of control is exempted from common-law liability. Regalado v. H.E. Butt Grocery Co., 863 S.W.2d 107, 111 (Tex.App. — San Antonio 1993, no writ).

Our challenge is to ascertain the meaning of “right of control” as it applies in the “borrowed servant” context. To ascertain whether, an employee, in the general employ of one person, who has been loaned to another, is the employee of the original employer or of the borrowing employer, the test is whether the employee is subject to the specific direction and control of the loaning or the borrowing employer. Hilgenberg v. Elam, 198 S.W.2d 94, 95 (Tex.1946). The governing inquiry in the “borrowed servant” context is which employer, the general or special, controlled the “very transaction out of which the injury arose.” See Id. Directing the details and manner of work, confirms which employer has the “right of control” of an employee in the borrowed servant circumstance. Regalado v. H.E. Butt Grocery Co., 863 S.W.2d at 111. A “borrowed servant” may be the employee of the special employer for some acts and not for others. Hilgenberg v. Elam, 198 S.W.2d at 96.

Generally, the issue of right of control is a matter of agreement between the parties. Regalado v. H.E. Butt Grocery Co., 863 S.W.2d at 111. However, in an instance such as this where no written contract exists, and neither party claims their oral agreement addressed the issue, the facts and circumstances, and inferences therefrom, determine the right of control. Denison v. Haeber Roofing Co., 767 S.W.2d 862, 865 (Tex.App.— Corpus Christi 1989, no writ). The right of control is determined by examining the nature of the general project, the nature of the work to be performed by the employees furnished, length of the special employment, and acts representing an exercise of actual [615]*615control. Producers Chemical Co. v. McKay, 366 S.W.2d 220, 226 (Tex.1963).

The summary judgment evidence before the court includes the deposition testimony from Amado Esquivel, Richard Sandoval, fellow ATS co-worker at Mapelli’s, Armando Rodriguez, night manager at Ma-pelli’s, and affidavits from Judy Barrick, owner of ATS, and Armando Rodriguez. The deposition excerpts from Esquivel, Sandoval, and Rodriguez, as well as Rodriguez’s affidavit clearly indicate that Esquivel’s work at Mapelli’s was directed by Mapelli employees, particularly night supervisor, Sam Flowers and that no ATS personnel came to the Mapelli site.

Barrick’s affidavits are equivocal. In her first affidavit, Barrick avers that Mapelli exercised “complete direction, custody and control” over Esquivel while he was at Mapelli’s. Approximately two months later, Barrick made handwritten alterations to her original affidavit, changing it to say that ATS exercised “complete direction, custody and control” over Esquivel while he worked at Ma-pelli’s. Ten days after amending her first affidavit, Barrick made a third affidavit and attested to the following:

[Esquivel] was temporarily placed with Mapelli Food Distribution Services, Inc., with instructions to perform certain tasks, under verbal agreement between Mapelli and ATSI. Under such verbal agreement, our employees are instructed to do tasks outlined and directed by our clients on their premises, providing our clients adhere to those such tasks which fall in the category of their original work order, such as “laborer.”

Despite Barrick’s contradictory affidavits regarding “control,” it is uncontroverted that no ATS representative, including Barrick, ever went to the Mapelli Food Distribution location.

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Bluebook (online)
932 S.W.2d 612, 1996 WL 269203, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/esquivel-v-mapelli-meat-packing-co-texapp-1996.