Howard-Johnson v. V & S Detroit Galvanizing, LLC

895 F. Supp. 2d 854, 2012 WL 4340841, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135408
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedSeptember 21, 2012
DocketCase No. 10-13870
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 895 F. Supp. 2d 854 (Howard-Johnson v. V & S Detroit Galvanizing, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Howard-Johnson v. V & S Detroit Galvanizing, LLC, 895 F. Supp. 2d 854, 2012 WL 4340841, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135408 (E.D. Mich. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

DAVID M. LAWSON, District Judge.

Darryl Johnson was fatally injured in an industrial accident while he was working for his employer, defendant V & S Detroit Galvanizing, LLC. His estate has sued the employer, alleging that its conduct has brought it within the so-called “intentional tort exception” to the exclusive remedy provision in Michigan’s Worker’s Disability Compensation Act. The defendant filed a motion for summary judgment, now pending before the Court, arguing that the facts in the case developed so far do not support the plaintiffs claim, and therefore it is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. After reviewing the record and the parties’ briefs, and hearing oral argument on September 12, 2012, the Court concludes that material fact issues preclude summary judgment. The motion, therefore, will be denied.

I.

V & S Detroit operates a job-shop hot dip galvanizing plant located in Redford, Michigan. It accepts contracts from various customers to galvanize all manner of metal items, ranging from small washers to large structural fixtures used in road construction. Hot dip galvanizing is a process in which a zinc coating is applied to a steel or iron part to protect it from rust and corrosion.

At the Redford plant, metal items to be galvanized are dipped into a vat that con[856]*856tains the coating in liquid form. Multiple parts are dipped at the same time. The parts are hung by wires from a long, steel I-beam called.a “rack.” The wires thread through holes drilled in the rack, and workers — such as Darryl Johnson — tie the parts to the wires. When the workers perform that task, the rack is set upon tall steel stands. The rack stands look like trestles; each end of the rack is set on a stand while the laborers work under it to attach the parts. Each rack holds between 5,000 and 15,000 pounds of steel parts when loaded. Sometimes, two racks are set on a single pair of stands so that twice as many parts can be hung.

The accident in this case occurred on November 3, 2009. Darryl Johnson was working in the racking department loading-metal parts onto one of two racks that were supported by a single pair of stands. Johnson and his coworkers were loading the second of the two racks while another worker — a crane operator — began to lift the first rack and move it away using the large overhead crane. After the first rack was lifted off of the rack stands, the weight of the second rack still resting on the other side of the stands caused the rack stands to lean, and then to tip. As the rack stands started to tip over, the employees began to run. Johnson saw that the rack was falling and tried to get out of the way, but could not escape. The rack with parts attached fell and pinned him to the floor, crushing him. Johnson died soon after from his injuries.

That was not the first time an accident of that sort occurred at the Redford facility. In October or November 2008, Lazar Ostravan was injured while working in the racking department. A rack fell on him as it was being hoisted by a crane. One end of the rack remained on its stand, but the other end fell but was caught by the forks of a hi-lo, which stopped that end from hitting the ground. Ostravan was unconscious for ten minutes after the accident. He suffered a broken leg. Other plant employees also testified to “near misses”— that is, a rack falling off a stand that did not injure a worker — on another 20 to 40 occasions.

After Darryl Johnson was killed, his personal representative, Tiana Howard-Johnson, filed suit in the Wayne County Circuit Court on August 25, 2010. V & S Detroit removed the case to this Court. After a period of discovery, V & S Detroit filed its motion for summary judgment.

II.

It is well settled that summary judgment is appropriate “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(a). “The party bringing the summary judgment motion has the initial burden of informing the district court of the basis for its motion and identifying portions of the record that demonstrate the absence of a genuine dispute over material facts.” Alexander v. CareSource, 576 F.3d 551, 558 (6th Cir.2009) (citing Mt. Lebanon Personal Care Home, Inc. v. Hoover Universal, Inc., 276 F.3d 845, 848 (6th Cir.2002)). “Once that occurs, the party opposing the motion then may not ‘rely on the hope that the trier of fact will disbelieve the movant’s denial of a disputed fact’ ....” Ibid, (quoting Street v. J.C. Bradford & Co., 886 F.2d 1472, 1479 (6th Cir.1989)). Instead, the party opposing a motion for summary judgment must designate specific facts in affidavits, depositions, or other factual material showing “evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the plaintiff.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). If the non-moving party, after sufficient opportunity for discovery, is unable to meet his or her [857]*857burden of proof, summary judgment is clearly proper. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). “Thus, the mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the [opposing partyj’s position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the [opposing party].” Highland Capital, Inc. v. Franklin Nat’l Bank, 350 F.3d 558, 564 (6th Cir.2003) (quoting Anderson, 477 U.S. at 251-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505) (internal quotation marks omitted).

Darryl Johnson’s estate received worker’s compensation benefits as a result of his work-related death. Under Michigan law, for a worker injured on the job, worker’s compensation benefits are the “exclusive remedy” against an employer. Mich. Comp. Laws § 418.131(1). But an exception to that rule has developed over the years.

Michigan’s workers’ compensation law, first enacted in 1912, altered the conventional tort reparations scheme recognized by the common law by providing a schedule of compensation for workers injured or killed on the job. To recover, the worker did not have to prove fault, and the employer was held immune from tort liability and damages. Initially, the program was voluntary; workers and employers could opt out. See Mich. Pub. Act P.A. 10, part I, §§ 5, 8 (1st Ex. Sess. 1912); Dagenhardt v. Special Mach. & Engineering, Inc., 418 Mich. 520, 546-47 & n. 26 & 27, 345 N.W.2d 164, 176 & n. 26 & 27 (1984) (Levin, J., dissenting). The program was made mandatory in 1943, and the exclusive remedy provision was firmly in place. Ibid.

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

Related

Gloria Barnes v. Sun Chemical Corp.
657 F. App'x 469 (Sixth Circuit, 2016)
Walston v. Boeing Co.
Washington Supreme Court, 2014

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
895 F. Supp. 2d 854, 2012 WL 4340841, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135408, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/howard-johnson-v-v-s-detroit-galvanizing-llc-mied-2012.