Hobbs-Western Company v. Craig

192 S.W.2d 116, 209 Ark. 630, 1946 Ark. LEXIS 298
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedJanuary 21, 1946
Docket4-7792
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 192 S.W.2d 116 (Hobbs-Western Company v. Craig) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hobbs-Western Company v. Craig, 192 S.W.2d 116, 209 Ark. 630, 1946 Ark. LEXIS 298 (Ark. 1946).

Opinion

MoFaddin, J.

Appellants, Hobbs-Western Co. and its insurance carrier, seek to have set aside an award of tbe Workmen’s Compensation Commission in favor of appellees, tbe widow and children of John Craig, deceased workman. Appellants contend that John Craig was an employee of Steve Lea, rather than Hobbs-Western Co., and that Steve Lea was not a subcontractor of Hobbs-Western Co. within the purview of § 6 of the Workmen’s Compensation Law of Arkansas (Act No. 319 of 1939).

The Commission found, that Steve Lea was a subcontractor of Hobbs-Western Co. within § 6 of the Workmen’s Compensation Law. We are asked by the appellants to hold “that there was not sufficient competent evidence in the record to warrant the making of the award” or “that the facts found by the Commission do not support the award.” These are grounds 4 and 3 in § 25(b) of the Act, and together necessitate (1) an examination of the evidence before the Commission to see if there was sufficient competent evidence in the record to justify the findings, and (2) a study of the facts found by the Commission to see if they support the award.

In examining to see if there is sufficient evidence in the record to justify the finding of the Commission, we have repeatedly announced that the finding of the Commission on the facts is entitled to the force and effect of a jury verdict, and that we review the evidence in the light most favorable to the appellee. Fordyce Lumber Co. v. Shelton, 206 Ark. 1134, 179 S. W. 2d 464, and cases there cited. 'See, also, West’s Arkansas Digest, “Workmen’s Compensation,” § 1939 and § 1964. On the contention that the facts found by the Commission do not support the award, the position of the appellants is about the same as though they were moving for a judgment non obstante veredicto, in which situation every intendment of the general verdict is construed against the movant. Iowa City State Bank v. Biggadike, 131 Ark. 514, 199 S. W. 539; Kansas City So. Ry. Co. v. Leinen, 144 Ark. 454, 223 S. W. 1; West’s Arkansas Digest, “Trial,” § 359.

The opinion and award of the Commission is eight typewritten pages in length, and review in detail the testimony of each witness. We summarize the findings of the Commission, and the evidence as follows:

(1) The Hobbs-Western Co., a corporation, (hereinafter referred to as “Hobbs-Western”) is engaged in the -business of producing and selling cross ties to various railroad companies. Hobbs-Western was under a contract with the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company and its trustee in bankruptcy (all hereinafter referred to as “Rock Island”), which contract, inter alia, obligated Hobbs-Western: “to produce cross ties on the line of the railway company,” and “the quantity of such cross ties to be furnished shall be for the railway’s entire requirements for the period of contract. ’ ’ In other words, Hobbs-Western was to produce for Rock Island all the cross ties that it needed during the period of the contract.

(2) Before the war emergency, Hobbs-Western had purchased most of its ties from individual farmers; but, due to the shortage of agricultural labor, not enough cross ties were produced by farmers to supply Hobbs-Western’s requirements, so — to meet that situation and to secure enough cross ties to fulfill its contract with Rock Island — Hobbs-Western undertook the financing of some eight or ten individually operated tie mills in Dallas county, Arkansas; and each such mill manufactured cross ties and delivered them to the tie yard of Hobbs-Western at Sparkman, Arkansas, where the ties were accepted by Rock Island. Steve Lea was one of the individuals so financed by Hobbs-Western.

(3) On September 18,1943, Hobbs-Western obtained a tie mill and one truck for Steve Lea at a total cost of $2,575, and took his note due on demand for this entire amount, and secured the note by a mortgage on the tie mill and truck. .Steve Lea did not invest a penny of His own money in the tie mill and truck. About the same time Hobbs-Western purchased from Charles Petty, for $900 cash, all the timber on 120 acrés of land, and took the timber deed in the name of Hobbs-Western. Then Hobbs-Western made an oral contract with Steve Lea, whereby he would locate the said mortgaged tie mill on the Petty land and manufacture the Petty timber into cross ties, and use the mortgaged truck in hauling the ties to the Hobbs-Western tie yard at Sparkman, Arkansas. Lea recruited the laborers to manufacture the ties and to deliver the same to the Sparkman tie yard, but did not carry any workmen’s compensation insurance, or in any other way comply with the Workmen’s Compensation Law.

(4) Steve Lea was paid by Hobbs-Western at an average price of 80c per tie for each tie he delivered; bnt from the 80c Hpbbs-Western was to retain:

(a) 10c per tie until the $2,575 note was paid in full; and also

(b) 12c per tie until Hobbs-Western had received therefrom the $900 it had paid for the Petty timber, and then 6c per tie on all other ties thereafter produced from the Petty timber. At the time that John Craig was injured Hobbs-Western was retaining 22c from the average price of 80c of each tie (since the $900 had not been received by Hobbs-Western). From the remaining 58c, Steve Lea paid the laborers who worked in the tie mill and on the truck.

(5) One of these laborers was John Craig, who received an injury on September 25, 1943, arising out of and in the course of his said employment; and John Craig died on September 30, 1943, as a direct result of said injury. It is clear that Steve Lea had no financial means and that Hobbs-Western had control over his operations and financed him for the purpose of Hobbs-Western obtaining the cross ties. The following appears in the cross-examination of the representative of Hobbs-Western:

“Q. If he (Steve Lea) had gone out on the Charles Petty tract and cut all the trees into lumber, and sold it to the Camden Furniture Co., or to anyone else, what would you have done about it?

“A. As long as he owed me money, I wouldn’t let him do it.

“Q. You are not in the finance business — you are interested in turning out cross ties, aren’t you?

“A. That’s right.”

The facts which we have just reviewed are facts which not only appear in the record, but which were also found by the Commission; and the question now becomes: Do these facts justify the award? We hold that they do.

Before discussing the law, we dispose of two contentions made hy appellants:

(1) We regard as unimportant the contention that Steve Lea received as his own the slabs and extra pieces of wood (called “tie sidings”), remaining after a tree had been manufactured into cross ties. There is no finding that this residue amounted to any appreciable item, or that any disposition was ever made of any such residue from the Petty tract.

(2) The appellants argue that Steve Lea was not obligated to deliver all the ties to ITobbs-Western, and could have sold ties to others, or manufactured the trees into lumber rather than cross ties.

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Bluebook (online)
192 S.W.2d 116, 209 Ark. 630, 1946 Ark. LEXIS 298, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hobbs-western-company-v-craig-ark-1946.