Margolis v. Charles Precourt & Sons, Inc.

10 Mass. L. Rptr. 43
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedApril 30, 1999
DocketNo. 974029
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 10 Mass. L. Rptr. 43 (Margolis v. Charles Precourt & Sons, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Margolis v. Charles Precourt & Sons, Inc., 10 Mass. L. Rptr. 43 (Mass. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

Brassard, J.

Plaintiff, Eleanor Margolis (“Margolis”), brings this action claiming negligence resulting in personal injury against defendant, Charles Precourt & Sons, Inc. (“Precourt”). Precourt has now filed a motion for summary judgment on the grounds that the claim is barred by the exclusivity provision of the Worker’s Compensation Act as Margolis reached a settlement with Friday Management, Inc. (“Friday’s”), an employee leasing company hired by Precourt. For the reasons set forth below, defendant’s motion is DENIED.

BACKGROUND

Viewing the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, Margolis, the undisputed facts are as follows:

Margolis began working for Precourt in August of 1988. Margolis was employed as a secretary and, at all relevant times, her supervisors were Michael and Charles Precourt (“the Precourts”). All personnel and human resources decisions came through the Pre-courts or Doris Josephson. Margolis worked until August 11, 1994, the day she tripped and fell over template paper on Precourt’s premises. She suffered a herniated disc and settled her worker’s compensation case with Friday’s as the employer.

In 1992, Friday’s entered into a Client Service Agreement (“contract”) with Precourt to handle all of the administrative aspects of the employees working at Precourt. The contract stated that Friday’s would provide staffing to Precourt in exchange for a service fee. "A portion of said fees will be applied to the payment of Workers’ Compensation premiums pur-suantto G.L.c. 152, §18.” The contract also provided that Friday’s would “furnish and keep in full force and effect” worker’s compensation benefits for employees covered by the agreement. The contract further states that Friday’s is an independent contractor and “all individuals assigned to [Precourt] to fill the Job Function Positions are employees of Friday Management, Inc.” Friday’s was responsible for payment of taxes, provision of worker’s compensation coverage, and provision of fringe benefits. The contract stated that Friday’s had sole responsibility for recruiting, hiring, training, evaluating, replacing, supervising, disciplining, and firing of employees and Friday’s was responsible for all policies and procedures.

Also in the record is the Massachusetts Employee Leasing Endorsement required by the Commissioner of Insurance pursuant to 211 CMR 111.04.1 The Endorsement provides that it forms a part of the policy issued to Friday’s by the Insurance Company of Pennsylvania. The Endorsement applies to those employees provided to the client company, Precourt, under the employee leasing arrangement. The Endorsement states that the Worker’s Compensation part of the insurance policy "will apply as though the client company is insured.” 211 CMR 111.04 states, in relevant part, that

Each policy written to cover leased employees shall be issued to the employee leasing company as the named insured. The client company shall be identified thereon by the attachment of an appropriate endorsement indicating that the policy provides coverage for leased employees in accordance with Massachusetts law. The endorsement shall, at a minimum, provide for the following: (a) Coverage under the policy shall be limited to the named insured’s employees leased to the client company.

The language of the Endorsement in the present case is consistent with these requirements.

[44]*44DISCUSSION

Summary judgment shall be granted where there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Kourouvacilis v. General Motors Corp., 410 Mass. 706, 716 (1991); Cassesso v. Commissioner of Correction, 390 Mass. 419, 422 (1983); Community National Bank v. Dawes, 369 Mass. 550, 553 (1976); Mass.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The moving party bears the burden of affirmatively demonstrating the absence of a triable issue and that, therefore, the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Pederson v. Time, Inc., 404 Mass. 14, 17 (1989). Once the moving party establishes the absence of a triable issue, the party opposing the motion must respond and allege specific facts establishing the existence of a genuine issue of material fact. Id. at 17.

Margolis contends that it is her right to bring this action against Precourt because the exclusivity provision of the Worker’s Compensation Act applies only to Friday’s. Specifically, Margolis asserts that the exclusivity provision does not protect an entity who is not a named insured on a worker’s compensation policy or endorsement. The exclusivity provision, G.L.c. 152, §24, provides in relevant part:

[a]n employee shall be held to have waived his right of action at common law or under the law of any other jurisdiction in respect to an injury that is compensable under this chapter, to recover damages for personal injuries, if he shall not have given his employer, at the time of his contract of hire, written notice that he claimed such right. . .

See also Green v. Wyman-Gordon Co., 422 Mass. 551 (1996) (common law actions are barred by exclusivity provision of worker’s compensation act where plaintiff is employee, his condition is a personal injury within the meaning of the Act, and injury is shown to have arisen out of and in the course of employment). In accordance with this provision, therefore, if Margolis is deemed an employee of Friday’s, Friday’s would get the protection of the exclusivity provision but Precourt would still be liable to suit for Margolis’ personal injury.

Authority regarding employee leasing companies is limited. The Legislature has enacted a section regarding employee leasing companies within the context of the Worker’s Compensation Act chapter. G.L.c. 152, §14A provides:

(1) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings — (a) “Client company,” a person, association, partnership, corporation or other entity that utilizes workers provided by an employee leasing company pursuant to a contract . . . (c) “Employee leasing company,” a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation or other form of business entity whose business consists largely of leasing employees to one or more client companies under contractual arrangements that retain for such employee leasing companies a substantial portion of personnel management functions, such as payroll, direction and control of workers, and the right to hire and fire workers provided by the employee leasing company; provided, however, that the leasing arrangement is long term and not an arrangement to provide the client company temporary help services during seasonal or unusual conditions.

Unfortunately, this provision does not give any further indication of which party, in this case, Precourt or Friday’s, shall be deemed the “employer” for purposes of determining who is entitled to the benefit of the exclusivity provision.

Cases involving employee leasing agreements have largely been addressed under G.L.c. 152, §18, entitled “Independent and sub-contractors; liability of insurer and others.” The relevant portion of this section provides:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
10 Mass. L. Rptr. 43, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/margolis-v-charles-precourt-sons-inc-masssuperct-1999.