Hall v. Dallman Contractors, LLC

51 N.E.3d 261, 2016 Ind. App. LEXIS 25, 2016 WL 412984
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 3, 2016
DocketNo. 49A02-1502-CT-67
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 51 N.E.3d 261 (Hall v. Dallman Contractors, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hall v. Dallman Contractors, LLC, 51 N.E.3d 261, 2016 Ind. App. LEXIS 25, 2016 WL 412984 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

ALTICE, Judge.

Case Summary

[1] This case arises out of a negligence action filed by Brenda Hall (Hall) against AT & T Services, Inc. (AT & T Services), among others,1 for injuries she sustained when she tripped and fell on her way into work. AT & T Services filed a motion for summary judgment asserting that Hall’s negligence claim against it was barred by the exclusive remedies provision of the Worker’s Compensation Act (the Act). See Ind.Code § 22-3-2-6. The trial court agreed, finding that the designated evidence established that under the corporate structure of AT & T, Inc., AT & T Services and Ameritech, Hall’s employer, were both subsidiaries of AT & T, Inc., and as such, were joint employers of Hall. Consequently, Hall’s negligence action against AT & T Services could not stand because Hall had already received a worker’s compensation settlement from Ameritech. The trial court therefore granted summary judgment in favor of AT & T Services.

[2] We affirm.2

[263]*263Facts & Procedural History

[3] On December 5, 2007, Hall, while on her way into work for Ameriteeh, tripped and fell over the snow-covered legs of a construction sign placed in a walkway adjacent to an ongoing construction project at the AT & T building in downtown Indianapolis. As a result of the fall, Hall injured her arm. On June 8, 2008, Hall filed for worker’s compensation benefits. On September 21, 2009, the Worker’s Compensation Board of Indiana issued a stipulated award to Hall to compensate her for a twenty-nine percent permanent partial impairment of her right arm.

[4] On February 25, 2008, Hall filed her complaint for damages against Dall-man Contractors, LLC (Dallman). On June 30, 2008, Dallman named “AT & T”3 as a non-party. Appellant’s Appendix at 27. Hall filed an amended complaint on April 29, 2009, in which she added Shook LLC and “American Telephone & Telegraph Company f/k/a AT & T, Inc. d/b/a AT & T Property Management” (AT & T Property Management) as additional defendants. Id. at 33. On October 20, 2009, AT & T Property Management filed an Ind. Trial Rule 17 motion to “substitute AT & T Services, Inc. in its stead as the real party in interest.” Id. at 54. AT & T Management alleged that “responsibility for physical building maintenance at the AT & T property in question, such as snow and ice removal, is properly designated as AT & T Services, Inc.” Id. AT & T Management maintained that it was responsible only for administrative management of the AT & T properties, including the property in question. The trial court granted the motion and AT & T Services was substituted for AT & T Management.

[5] On January 30, 2012, AT & T Services filed its first motion for summary judgment in which it claimed that Hall’s claim against it was barred under the exclusive remedy provision of the Act. On June 4, 2012, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of AT & T Services, thereby dismissing Hall’s claims against AT & T Services with prejudice. After her motion to correct error was denied, Hall appealed. This court reversed and remanded, finding that questions of fact remained as to whether AT & T Services was Hall’s employer or a joint employer for purposes of the exclusive remedy provision of the Act. Specifically, the court found that AT & T Services’ designated evidence did not establish that it was a subsidiary. See Hall v. Dallman Contractors, LLC, 994 N.E.2d 1220 (Ind.Ct.App.2013) (Hall I).

[6] On May 30, 2014, AT & T Services filed its second motion for summary judgment, again claiming that Hall’s claim was barred by the exclusive remedy provision of the Act. AT & T Services designated evidence it argued established that Ameri-tech and AT & T Services are both subsidiaries of AT & T, Inc., and therefore joint employers of Hall. On January 9, 2015, the trial court entered an order granting AT & T Services’ second motion for summary judgment. In support of its decision, the trial court determined that AT & T Services and Ameriteeh were both subsidiaries of AT & T, Inc., and therefore, for purposes of the Act, were joint employers of Hall. The court concluded that Hall’s prior worker’s compensation action “was her sole and exclusive remedy against them for the injuries she sustained as a result of her fall on December 5, 2007. [Hall], therefore, cannot proceed in this action against [AT & T Services] and accordingly; [AT & T Services] is entitled to Summary Judgment as a matter of law.” Appellant’s Appendix at 22-23.

[264]*264Discussion & Decision

[7] Hall maintains that summary judgment is inappropriate. We review summary judgment de novo, applying the same standard as the trial court: “Drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of ... the non-moving parties, summary judgment is appropriate ‘if the designated evidentiary matter shows that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.’ ” Williams v. Tharp, 914 N.E.2d 756, 761 (Ind.2009) (quoting Ind. Trial Rule 56(C)). “A fact is ‘material’ if its resolution would affect the outcome of the case, and an issue is ‘genuine’ if a trier of fact is required to resolve the parties’ differing accounts of the truth, or if the undisputed material facts support conflicting reasonable inferences.” Id. (internal citations omitted).

[8] The initial burden is on the summary-judgment movant to “demonstrate ... the absence of any genuine issue of fact as to a determinative issue,” at which point the burden shifts to the non-movant to “come forward with contrary evidence” showing an issue for the trier of fact. Id. at 761-62 (internal quotation marks and substitution omitted). And “[although the non-moving party has the burden on appeal of persuading us that the grant of summary judgment was erroneous, we carefully assess the trial court’s decision to ensure that [s]he was not improperly denied h[er] day in court.” McSwane v. Bloomington Hosp. & Healthcare Sys., 916 N.E.2d 906, 909-10 (Ind.2009) (internal quotation marks omitted).

[9] Indiana law is clear that the Act provides “the exclusive remedy for recovery of personal injuries arising out of and in the course of employment.” Hall I, 994 N.E.2d at 1224 (citing GKN Co. v. Magness, 744 N.E.2d 397, 401-02 (Ind.2001)). “ ‘Although the Act bars a court from hearing any common law claim brought against an employer for an on-the-job injury, it does permit an action for injury against a third-party tortfeasor provided the third-party is neither the plaintiffs employer nor a fellow employee.’ ” Id. (quoting GKN Co., 744 N.E.2d at 402).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
51 N.E.3d 261, 2016 Ind. App. LEXIS 25, 2016 WL 412984, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hall-v-dallman-contractors-llc-indctapp-2016.