Griffin v. Wickes Lumber Co.

840 So. 2d 591, 2002 WL 31894762
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 20, 2002
Docket2002 CA 0294
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 840 So. 2d 591 (Griffin v. Wickes Lumber Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Griffin v. Wickes Lumber Co., 840 So. 2d 591, 2002 WL 31894762 (La. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

840 So.2d 591 (2002)

Ernest GRIFFIN and Lucy Griffin
v.
WICKES LUMBER COMPANY and/or Wickes, Inc. (Delaware), ABC Insurance Company, Ernest Gross, and Westaff, Inc. (F/K/A Western Temporary Services).

No. 2002 CA 0294.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

December 20, 2002.
Rehearing Denied April 8, 2003.

*592 Michael C. Palmintier, Baton Rouge, Counsel for Plaintiffs/Appellants, Ernest and Lucy Griffin.

Charles A. Schutte, Jr., Baton Rouge, Counsel for Defendant/Appellee, Wickes, Inc. and/or Wickes Lumber Co.

Before: PARRO, JAMES, and PATTERSON, JJ.[1]

PATTERSON, J. Pro Tempore.

Ernest Griffin (Griffin) and his major children, Ernest Griffin, Jr., JoAnn Griffin, Michael Griffin, Edward Griffin, and Frederick Griffin, individually and on behalf of the estate of Lucy Griffin, appeal the decision of the trial court granting the motion for summary judgment filed by Wickes, *593 Inc., formerly Wickes Lumber Company (Wickes).

FACTS

Wickes owns and operates retail stores selling lumber and building materials. In 1997, Wickes began a remodeling process designed to update its stores and more efficiently manage its inventory. One of the stores Wickes planned to remodel was located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For assistance in the remodeling, Wickes requested laborers from Manpower of Baton Rouge, Inc. (Manpower) and Westaff, Inc. (Westaff), two companies providing temporary labor services. Manpower leased the services of Griffin and Anthony Flowers as temporary laborers from September 9, 1997, through October 10, 1997; Westaff assigned Earnest Gross[2] (Gross) to work at the Wickes store on the same dates. On October 10, 1997, Griffin was injured when a portion of a metal rack fell on him. At the time of the accident, Griffin was working to construct metal racks in the warehouse to be used to store and display lumber maintained in the store's inventory. Manpower provided workers' compensation benefits to Griffin.

Griffin filed the present action against Wickes seeking damages in tort for Wickes' alleged negligence in causing Griffin's damages. Griffin amended his petition and added Gross and Westaff, Gross' direct employer, as additional defendants. Wickes filed a motion for summary judgment asserting it was Griffin's employer and seeking to avail itself of tort immunity under the Louisiana Workers' Compensation Act, La. R.S. 23:1021, et seq. Following a hearing, the trial court determined that Griffin was a borrowed employee, granted the motion for summary judgment, and dismissed Griffin's suit with prejudice.

Griffin appeals and argues the trial court erred in granting the motion for summary judgment, because there are issues of material fact regarding the employment status of Griffin.[3] We affirm.

DISCUSSION

A motion for summary judgment is a procedural device used to avoid a full-scale trial when there is no issue of material fact in dispute. Sanders v. Ashland Oil, Inc., 96-1751, p. 5 (La.App. 1 Cir. 6/20/97), 696 So.2d 1031, 1034, writ denied, 97-1911 (La.10/31/97), 703 So.2d 29. Summary judgment is properly granted if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue of material fact, and that the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. La. C.C.P. art. 966B. Summary judgment is favored and "is designed to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive *594 determination of every action." La. C.C.P. art. 966A(2). The burden of proof on a motion for summary judgment is set forth in La. C.C.P. art. 966C(2):

The burden of proof remains with the movant. However, if the movant will not bear the burden of proof at trial on the matter that is before the court on the motion for summary judgment, the movant's burden on the motion does not require him to negate all essential elements of the adverse party's claim, action, or defense, but rather to point out to the court that there is an absence of factual support for one or more elements essential to the adverse party's claim, action, or defense. Thereafter, if the adverse party fails to produce factual support sufficient to establish that he will be able to satisfy his evidentiary burden of proof at trial, there is no genuine issue of material fact.

If, as in this case, the issue before the court on the motion for summary judgment is one on which the party bringing the motion will bear the burden of proof at trial, the burden of showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact remains on the party bringing the motion and does not shift to the adverse party. See La. C.C.P. art. 966C(2); Buck's Run Enterprises, Inc. v. Mapp Const., Inc., 99-3054, p. 4 (La.App. 1 Cir. 2/16/01), 808 So.2d 428, 431. Once the court has determined that there is no genuine issue of material fact, summary judgment should be granted. La. C.C.P. arts. 966 and 967.

In determining whether summary judgment is appropriate, appellate courts review evidence de novo under the same criteria that govern the trial court's determination of whether summary judgment is appropriate. Sanders, 96-1751 at p. 7, 696 So.2d at 1035. Because it is the applicable substantive law that determines materiality, whether a particular fact in dispute is material can only be seen in light of the substantive law applicable to the case. Walker v. Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity (RHO Chapter), 96-2345, p. 6 (La.App. 1 Cir. 12/29/97), 706 So.2d 525, 528.

Under the Louisiana Workers' Compensation Act, an employee injured in an accident while in the course and scope of employment is generally limited to the recovery of workers' compensation benefits as his exclusive remedy against his employer. La. R.S. 23:1032A(1)(a); Dustin v. DHCI Home Health Services, Inc., 95-1989, p. 3 (La.App. 1 Cir. 5/10/96), 673 So.2d 356, 358.

Louisiana Revised Statute 23:1031C provides:

In the case of any employee for whose injury or death payments are due and who is, at the time of the injury, employed by a borrowing employer in this Section referred to as a "special employer", and is under the control and direction of the special employer in the performance of the work, both the special employer and the immediate employer, referred to in this Section as a "general employer", shall be liable jointly and in solido to pay benefits as provided under this Chapter. As between the special and general employers, each shall have the right to seek contribution from the other for any payments made on behalf of the employee unless there is a contract between them expressing a different method of sharing the liability. Where compensation is claimed from, or proceedings are taken against, the special employer, then, in the application of this Chapter, reference to the special employer shall be substituted for reference to the employer, except that the amount of compensation shall be calculated with reference to the earnings of the employee under the general employer by whom he is immediately employed.
*595 The special and the general employers shall be entitled to the exclusive remedy protections provided in R.S. 23:1032.

Louisiana Revised Statute 23:1061A provides:

(1) Subject to the provisions of Paragraphs (2) and (3) of this Subsection, when any "principal" as defined in R.S.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
840 So. 2d 591, 2002 WL 31894762, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/griffin-v-wickes-lumber-co-lactapp-2002.