Henriksen v. Crandic Stages, Inc.

246 N.W. 913, 216 Iowa 643
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedFebruary 14, 1933
DocketNo. 41785.
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 246 N.W. 913 (Henriksen v. Crandic Stages, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Henriksen v. Crandic Stages, Inc., 246 N.W. 913, 216 Iowa 643 (iowa 1933).

Opinion

Stevens, J.

The collision which resulted in serious injuries to appellee occurred about 6:30 p. m. on the evening of December 19, 1930, a short distance west of Dewitt on the Lincoln highway. Appellee was riding with four companions in a Pontiac sedan driven by Edmund M. Turner. The party was preceded a short distance by another car occupied by two members of the same party. They were all on their way to Cedar Rapids to attend a Christmas party given by the Iowa Mutual Liability Insurance Company located in that city, of which they were employees. At a point a short distance west of Dewitt and near a bridge on the highway a passenger bus traveling eastward and belonging to appellant, driven by one Harold B. Workman, collided with the Pontiac sedan, killing the driver, his wife; and one other occupant of the car and seriously injuring appellee. The bus was proceeding on one of its regular trips from Cedar Rapids eastward. The bridge adjacent to which the collision occurred is eighteen feet in width with a cement floor and a steel span eighty feet in length. Adjoining the bridge on the east and for a considerable distance there is a railing on either side of the eighteen-foot paving. Shortly preceding the accident a snow or sleet storm had caused the pavement to be covered with snow or ice. The traffic, however, had worn this covering away in the center of the pavement.

It is alleged in the petition that the driver of the bus failed to yield one-half of the traveled portion of the highway to the driver of the sedan and that he failed to operate the bus at a careful and prudent rate of speed with due regard to the traffic, condition of the surface, and width of the highway.

The foregoing issues of negligence were alleged and submitted to the jury. The evidence is in conflict as to the exact position of the bus on the highway at the time of the accident and as to the *645 cause thereof. We shall later refer in greater detail to the testimony relating to the collision.

The answer of appellant is in two counts — count one con-sisting of a general denial, together with admissions of certain material facts. In count two appellant set up a complete defense based upon the Workmen’s Compensation Laws of the state of Illinois (Smith-Hurd Rev. St. Ill. 1931, c. 48, sections 138-172).

Appellee resided in Chicago and was an employee of the Iowa Mutual Liability Insurance Company in that city. Prior to the commencement of this action, she was paid the compensation allowed, under the laws of Illinois, by her employer, for the injuries involved herein. It appears from the allegations of count two of appellant’s answer that, under the law of Illinois, where an injury is inflicted under circumstances creating a legal liability against a third party, who is also under the Workmen’s Compensation Law of that state, upon payment of the compensation thus allowed, the employer becomes subrogatéd to the rights of the employee and may maintain an action against such third party to recover the amount paid as compensation to the employee. A demurrer to count two of the answer was interposed by appellee and sustained by the court. Appellant thereupon elected to stand on its pleading and refused to plead over.

There is no dispute between counsel as to the law of Illinois. It is conceded by counsel for appellee that, if the compensation statutes of Illinois are applicable to the facts of this case, then the action is not prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest and the demurrer should have been overruled.

It is further alleged in count two of the answer that appellant is an Iowa corporation having its principal place of business in the city of Cedar Rapids and that the driver of the bus is a resident of Iowa and employed under a contract made in this state. It is also alleged by appellant that it operates motor buses between Cedar Rapids and Moline, Illinois, and that it has certain employees in the latter state who reside therein. The statute of Illinois is apparently without ambiguity and, under the decisions of that state, subrogation results in favor of the- employer only if the injuries were caused by a third party who is also operating under the law of Illinois. Goldsmith v. Payne, 300 Ill. 119, 133 N. E. 52. That is to say, the employer, employee, arid the third party causing the injuries must all be under the Workmen’s Compensation Law of the *646 state of Illinois. Appellant, as stated, is an Iowa corporation having its principal place of business at Cedar Rapids. The employment of the driver of the bus who resided herein was in this state. The sole hypothesis upon which appellant bases its contention that it was at the time of the accident operating under the Workmen’s Compensation Law of the state of Illinois is that its operation extends into that state where it has certain employees who reside and perform. their services therein. The statutes of the state of Illinois will not, by the courts of this state, be given extraterritorial effect. We know of no rule of comity or principle of law which requires the coprts of one state, under the circumstances of this case, as alleged in count two of appellant’s answer, to give application or effect to the law of a sister state. The rights of the parties are, in such case, governed by the law of this state where the accident occurred. Redfern v. Redfern, 212 Iowa 454, 236 N. W. 399; Brewster v. C. & N. W. Ry. Co., 114 Iowa 144, 86 N. W. 221, 89 Am. St. Rep. 348; Hyde v. St. L. & P. Railway Co., 61 Iowa 441, 16 N. W. 351, 47 Am. Rep. 820; Chicago, R. I. & P. Ry. Co. v. Lundquist, 206 Iowa 499, 221 N. W. 228; Podgorski v. Kerwin, 144 Minn. 313, 175 N. W. 694.

The relations of appellant and its employees in this state, so far as the Workmen’s Compensation Law may be involved, are under the laws thereof.

This case differs materially from the facts involved in Bradford Electric Light Co. v. Clapper, 286 U. S. 145, 52 S. Ct. 571, 76 L. Ed. 1026. That was an action brought in New Hampshire by a resident of Vermont to recover damages on account of the death of an employee of the electric light company, also a resident of Vermont. The statute of Vermont by its terms, was specifically made applicable to any injury received by an employee within or without that state. The Supreme Court of the United States held that the plaintiff could not recover damages under the common law against the defendant in the courts of New Hampshire for the reason that the statute under which the deceased was employed was, as already stated, by its terms made applicable to injuries received by an employee without, as well as within, the state of Vermont. The court further held that this conclusion did not give extraterritorial effect to the statute. The ultimate principle of the Bradford case was recognized by this court in Pierce v. Bekins Van & Storage Co., 185 Iowa 1346, 172 N. W. 191.

*647 Clearly, the appellant, at the time of the collision was not operating its line under the laws of Illinois and subrogation did not result from the payment of compensation.

II.

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Bluebook (online)
246 N.W. 913, 216 Iowa 643, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/henriksen-v-crandic-stages-inc-iowa-1933.