Fair v. Nash Finch Co.

2007 SD 16, 728 N.W.2d 623, 2007 S.D. LEXIS 17, 2007 WL 475816
CourtSouth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 14, 2007
Docket24073, 24076
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 2007 SD 16 (Fair v. Nash Finch Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fair v. Nash Finch Co., 2007 SD 16, 728 N.W.2d 623, 2007 S.D. LEXIS 17, 2007 WL 475816 (S.D. 2007).

Opinions

MEIERHENRY, Justice.

[¶ 1.] Anna Fair (Fair) claimed workers’ compensation benefits due to an injury she received when she fell leaving the premises of her employer, Family Thrift Center (Family Thrift). The South Dakota Department of Labor (Department) determined that Fair’s injury did not arise out of or in the course of her employment because she had shopped for a short time after completing her shift. The Depart[626]*626ment denied benefits. Fair appealed to circuit court. The circuit court reversed and remanded to the Department to determine whether Fair was permanently and totally disabled under the odd-lot doctrine. The Department found she was permanently and totally disabled. The circuit court affirmed. Employer appeals. We affirm.

FACTS

[¶ 2.] Seventy-year old Fair had worked at several entry-level positions since graduating from high school in 1950. Her employment with Family Thrift, a convenience store, was as a cashier. Her injury occurred on July 8, 2003. Fair completed her shift at 7:00 p.m. and clocked out at 7:04 p.m. Before leaving the store, Fair purchased the following items: a gallon of milk, 12-pack of pop, meat, Kleenex, bread, and a carton of cigarettes for her daughter. Fair’s machine-stamped check shows that she paid for the groceries at 7:07 p.m. As Fair carried her groceries out of the store, she tripped over a rug near the store’s exit and fell forward, hitting her head and leg on the floor. She described the fall as “the hardest fall I’ve ever fell in all my life.” The night supervisor heard Fair fall and came to her assistance. Fair refused her fellow employee’s offer to summon an ambulance or contact her daughter. Fair subsequently drove herself home although someone followed her to make sure she got home safely. The supervisor completed an accident report and later completed a first report of injury indicating he had been informed of Fair’s injury on July 8, 2003. Fair had injured her ankle in 1993, 1996, 1999, 2001, and 2002, resulting in a recurrent ulcer forming on her ankle. The hard fall aggravated the ulcer, which began to seep yet that evening. Despite her injury, Fair returned to work the next day. After Fair’s ankle injury worsened, she sought medical attention from Dr. Robert Preston in October of 2003. Dr. Preston eventually informed Fair that she would have to find work that allowed her to elevate her leg since her ankle was not healing properly because she stood on her feet all day. Because Family Thrift had no positions that she could perform within Dr. Preston’s restrictions, Fair reluctantly left her job and has since been unemployed.

[¶ 3.] On November 21, 2003, Fair served a petition for hearing on Nash Finch Company1 and its insurer, Royal Sun Alliance, Inc. (collectively referred to as Employer), pursuant to South Dakota’s Workers’ Compensation Laws. The parties agreed to bifurcate the following issues: 1) whether Fair’s injury arose out of and in the course of her employment; and 2) whether Fair was permanently and totally disabled under the odd-lot doctrine, and if so, the date of onset and medical expenses. As to the first issue, the Department entered an order dismissing Fair’s petition for a hearing on the merits with prejudice because she had failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that her injuries arose out of and in the course of her employment. Fair appealed the Department’s decision to the circuit court. The circuit court reversed the Department’s order, entered a judgment in favor of Fair and remanded to the Department for a determination of whether Fair was permanently and totally disabled under the odd-lot doctrine.2 On remand, the administrative law judge concluded that Fair met her burden of persuasion in establish[627]*627ing that she was permanently and totally disabled under the odd-lot doctrine. Employer filed a notice of appeal to the circuit court. Fair filed a motion to dismiss the appeal because Employer failed to file a statement of issues as required by SDCL 1-26-31.4. The circuit court denied the motion to dismiss and affirmed the Department’s findings. Both sides appeal. Fair appeals raising the following issue:

1. Whether the circuit court erred by not dismissing Employer’s appeal based on the failure to file a statement of issues required by SDCL 1-26-31.4.

[¶ 4.] Employer appeals and raises the following issues:

1. Whether the circuit court erred in determining that Fair’s injuries arose out of and in the course of her employment.
2. Whether the department and circuit court erred in finding that Fair is entitled to permanent-total-disability benefits.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[¶ 5.] This Court reviews a workers’ compensation case in the same manner as the circuit court. Norton v. Deuel School Dist. # 19-4, 2004 SD 6, ¶ 5, 674 N.W.2d 518, 520. The circuit court’s determination is not presumed correct. Id. “We give great weight to the findings and inferences made by the agency on factual questions.” Grauel v. South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, 2000 SD 145, ¶ 7, 619 N.W.2d 260, 262. We use the clearly erroneous standard when reviewing factual issues, meaning we will reverse only if we are “definitely and firmly convinced a mistake has been committed _” Id. (citing Sopko v. C & R Transfer Co., Inc., 1998 SD 8, ¶ 6, 575 N.W.2d 225, 228). We review questions of law under the de novo standard of review. Id.

ANALYSIS

1) Fair’s Motion to Dismiss

[¶ 6.] Fair argues that the circuit court erred when it refused to dismiss Employer’s appeal because Employer had not filed a statement of the issues with the notice of appeal as required by SDCL 1-26-31.4. The circuit court determined that SDCL 1-26-31.4 only requires a statement of the issues to be filed, with the notice of appeal, if there are multiple parties involved. SDCL 1-26-31.4 provides as follows:

Within ten days after the filing of the notice of appeal as required by § 1-26-31, the appellant, if there are multiple parties to the appeal, shall file with the clerk of the circuit court a statement of the issues he intends to present on the appeal and shall serve on the other parties a copy of such statement. If any other party wishes to raise additional issues on appeal, he shall file an additional statement of issues on appeal within ten days after service of the appellant’s statement.

The circuit court concluded that the insurer’s and the employer’s interests were identical; therefore, they were not considered “multiple parties” under SDCL 1-26-31.4.3

[628]*628[¶ 7.] We review statutory interpretation de novo as a matter of law. Loesch v. City of Huron, 2006 SD 93, ¶ 3, 723 N.W.2d 694, 695.

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

Related

Nelson v. Tinkcom
2025 S.D. 42 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 2025)
Brewer v. Tectum Holdings, Inc.
2025 S.D. 23 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 2025)
Arneson v. Gr Management, LLC
2024 S.D. 61 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 2024)
McLane Western, Inc. v. S.D. Department of Revenue
2024 S.D. 1 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 2024)
Hughes v. Dakota Mill & Grain
959 N.W.2d 903 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 2021)
Lagler v. Menard, Inc.
2018 SD 53 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 2018)
Terveen v. South Dakota Department of Transportation
2015 SD 10 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 2015)
Whitesell v. Rapid Soft Water & Spas Inc.
2014 SD 41 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 2014)
Voeller v. HSBC Card Services, Inc.
2013 SD 50 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 2013)
Rabo Agrifinance, Inc. v. Rock Creek Farms
2012 S.D. 20 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 2012)
Fair v. Royal & Sun Alliance
278 F.R.D. 465 (D. South Dakota, 2012)
McKibben v. Horton Vehicle Components, Inc.
2009 SD 47 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 2009)
Baier v. Dean Kurtz Construction Inc.
2009 SD 7 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 2009)
Progressive Halcyon Insurance Co. v. Philippi
2008 SD 69 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 2008)
Fair v. Nash Finch Co.
2007 SD 16 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 2007)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2007 SD 16, 728 N.W.2d 623, 2007 S.D. LEXIS 17, 2007 WL 475816, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fair-v-nash-finch-co-sd-2007.