Kirkpatrick v. Transtector Systems

759 P.2d 65, 114 Idaho 559, 1988 Ida. LEXIS 80
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 20, 1988
Docket16985
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 759 P.2d 65 (Kirkpatrick v. Transtector Systems) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kirkpatrick v. Transtector Systems, 759 P.2d 65, 114 Idaho 559, 1988 Ida. LEXIS 80 (Idaho 1988).

Opinions

[560]*560HUNTLEY, Justice.

Transtector Systems, Inc., (Transtector), and General Insurance Company, (General), surety, appeal the Industrial Commission’s determinations that respondent David Kirkpatrick was injured while in the course and scope of his employment for Transtector; that the workers compensation laws of Idaho, rather than Ohio, apply; and that Kirkpatrick is entitled to an award of attorney fees pursuant to I.C. § 72-804. The issues arise out of injuries sustained by Kirkpatrick in an automobile accident in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday, November 10, 1984. Kirkpatrick had arrived in Columbus on November 9, 1984, after a week of travel-ling to various cities on business for Transtector. He was scheduled to travel the following week to Raleigh, North Carolina, and some other cities, whereupon he would return to Columbus to establish a Transtector office there and assume the position of district manager for a territory to include most of Ohio and part of West Virginia.

David Kirkpatrick began working for Transtector as an accounts representative in 1983, living in Spokane, Washington. Transtector was based in Hayden Lake, Idaho. In September, 1983, Transtector determined that, rather than continuing to have its sales people based out of the corporate office in Hayden Lake, it would open sales offices in various parts of the country. It was to one of these positions that Kirkpatrick was promoted. In mid-October 1984, Kirkpatrick and his wife went to Ohio for several days to determine whether they would enjoy living in that area. While there, they paid a deposit for rental of a townhouse, which deposit was subsequently returned by the owners after rejecting Kirkpatrick’s rental application. When Kirkpatrick arrived in Columbus on November 9, 1984, he checked into the Holiday Inn at Transtector’s expense. Transtector also furnished the vehicle Kirkpatrick used when driving in Columbus.

Early on November 10, 1984, Doug Hadley, another Transtector representative, arrived in town. Together, they worked to complete required weekly reports and coordinated their schedules with each other. Additionally, they prepared for a meeting they were to have with several corporate clients scheduled for Monday, November 12. They had lunch together, returned to the motel and completed more reports. Later in the evening, at approximately 6:00 o’clock, they drove downtown to the Eagles Club, where they continued to discuss coordinating their work schedules to rendezvous in Dayton, Ohio, two or three weeks later. They both drank three to four beers, and Kirkpatrick testified that he played the piano for some time while at the Eagles Club.

As Kirkpatrick was driving back to the hotel, Hadley and Kirkpatrick were in a single-car accident. Neither Hadley nor Kirkpatrick were drinking when the accident occurred.

On Monday, November 12, 1984, Transtector effected a payroll change, transferring Kirkpatrick from “clerk” status to “district manager” for Ohio. However, Transtector still did not, at that time, have a business office in Ohio. General does not insure worker’s compensation in Ohio, and Transtector had not yet, at that time, purchased any worker’s compensation insurance in Ohio.

Before the Commission, Transtector and General argued that the laws of Ohio, rather than Idaho, applied as Kirkpatrick was allegedly a domiciliary of Ohio. General and Transtector further argued that Kirkpatrick was not operating within the course and scope of his employment when injured in the car accident, as Kirkpatrick and Hadley were on a “personal pleasure trip” at the time of the accident. The Commission concluded that the workers compensation laws of Idaho, rather than Ohio, applied, as Kirkpatrick’s employment had yet to be “principally localized” in Ohio. Further, the Commission found that Kirkpatrick was operating within the course and scope of his employment when the accident occurred, relying upon the “travelling employee” doctrine. The Commission then awarded attorney fees equal to 25% of all compensation already paid by General to Kirkpatrick, and 25% of all compensation to be paid in the future, pursuant to I.C. [561]*561§ 72-804. General had paid total temporary disability benefits to Kirkpatrick amounting to $17,315.99, and medical bills totaling $16,502.39, for a sum of $33,818.38 from November 12, 1984 through February 16, 1986. On February 26, 1986, a claims adjustor newly assigned to Kirkpatrick’s case notified Kirkpatrick that General would seek an Application for Hearing before the Industrial Commission, as she believed that Ohio laws might apply and that Kirkpatrick might have been operating outside the course and scope of his employment at the time of the accident.

There are three issues before us on appeal: (1) Whether the workers compensation laws of Idaho or Ohio control the disposition of the instant case; (2) Whether Kirkpatrick was operating within the course and scope of his employment for Transtector when injured; and (3) Whether an award of attorney fees pursuant to I.C. § 72-804 is appropriate and, if so, to what extent.

THE WORKER’S COMPENSATION LAWS OF IDAHO APPLY

Transtector and General argue that, while on his trip to Ohio, Kirkpatrick had abandoned his residence in Washington and established a new residence in Ohio, noting that a change of residence may be accomplished in only one day. Robinson v. Robinson, 70 Idaho 122, 129, 212 P.2d 1031, 1035 (1949). They rely, in main, upon Kirkpatrick’s testimony that, after his business travel scheduled for the week following his accident, which included travel to Kentucky, he would have returned to Columbus, Ohio, to assume the new position of district manager. We disagree with appellants.

The pertinent jurisdictional statutes are I.C. § 72-217 and I.C. § 72-220(1). Idaho Code § 72-217 sets forth Idaho’s jurisdictional limitations with respect to extraterritorial coverage:

Extraterritorial coverage. — If an employee, while working outside the territorial limits of this state, suffers an injury or an occupational disease on account of which he, or in the event of death, his dependents, would have been entitled to the benefits provided by this law had such occurred within this state, such employee, or, in the event of his death resulting from such injury or disease, his dependents, shall be entitled to the benefits provided by this law, provided that at the time of the accident causing such injury, or at the time of manifestation of such disease: (1) His employment is principally localized in this state; or (2) He is working under a contract of hire made in this state in employment not principally localized in any state; or (3) He is working under a contract of hire made in this state in employment principally localized in another state, the workmans compensation law of which is not applicable to his employer; or (4) He is working under a contract of hire made in this state for employment outside the United States and Canada.

The Industrial Commission specifically concluded that Kirkpatrick’s employment was, at the time of the accident, still principally localized in Idaho. We agree. Idaho Code § 72-220(1) defines the term “principally localized.”

Locale of employment.

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Kirkpatrick v. Transtector Systems
759 P.2d 65 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1988)

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Bluebook (online)
759 P.2d 65, 114 Idaho 559, 1988 Ida. LEXIS 80, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kirkpatrick-v-transtector-systems-idaho-1988.