Martin v. H.B. Zachry Co.

560 So. 2d 51, 1990 La. App. LEXIS 925, 1990 WL 48733
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 11, 1990
DocketNo. 89-CA-776
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 560 So. 2d 51 (Martin v. H.B. Zachry Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Martin v. H.B. Zachry Co., 560 So. 2d 51, 1990 La. App. LEXIS 925, 1990 WL 48733 (La. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

CHEHARDY, Chief Judge.

Plaintiff employee sued his employer’s executive officers and insurers for negligent injury and intentional tort. The employer’s insurers sought summary judgment claiming that the named individual defendants were not executive officers and so were not covered under the employer’s compensation or liability policies. The district court agreed and granted summary judgment for the insurers. Plaintiff appeals. We amend the district court judgment to reflect that partial summary judgment is granted, and remand the case for further proceedings.

Phil John Martin was employed by H.B. Zachry Company as a laborer/construction worker. On September 24, 1975, while working at the Union Carbide Plant job site, he experienced a low back injury when he tripped and fell over concrete reinforcement rods which were partially buried in the muddy ground. In August 1976 Martin brought suit against H.B. Zachry Company and its “[executives and supervisory personnel” in negligence for failure to maintain a safe place to work, failure to correct a dangerous condition that they knew existed on the job site, failure to use reasonable care in directing the construction and failure to warn employees of a dangerous condition on the job site. Fourteen days later plaintiff amended his petition to name as defendants Zachry employees, Norman Creel, Woodrow “Woody” Gray and Huey Arcement. These individuals were never served with process. In January 1977 the tort suit against Zachry was dismissed on exception.

In May 1978 Martin filed a second amended petition alleging that his accident and injury were “the result of an intentional act on the part of H.B. Zachary (sic) and their officers, directors, supervisors and shareholders”. By third amended petition filed in April 1982 plaintiff sued Employers National Insurance Company as the liability insurer of the individual defendants. Employers National answered denying coverage, and by separate pleading intervened in suit as the compensation carrier of H.B. Zachry Company to recover benefits paid or payable to Martin.

By fourth amended petition filed in August, 1986 Martin sued Employers National and Employers Casualty Company as the liability insurers of the individual defendants. Each insurer answered, denying liability for plaintiff’s accident and injury. The insurers then jointly moved for summary judgment arguing that neither provided coverage to the named individuals sued as executive officers. In January 1989 plaintiff successfully defeated the motion by contending that his inability to depose H.B. Zachry Company representative E.M. Hammond left material issues of fact unresolved and precluded summary judgment.

After plaintiff deposed Hammond in March 1989 defendant insurers reurged their no-coverage motions. Summary judgment was granted in favor of the insurers on September 11, 1989. It is from this judgment that Martin now appeals.

Two days before argument on the motion plaintiff filed a fifth amended petition naming Employers National and Employers Casualty as carriers who “insured all coworkers of plaintiff against liability herein detailed, whether these persons are named or unnamed; these defendants likewise insured all executive officers, directors or stockholders”. The defendant insurers responded with exceptions of prescription and no cause or right of action.

Plaintiff’s argument on appeal is that the grant of summary judgment was error because: (1) the insurers did not show that the individually named defendants were not “executive officers” under the broadest application of the term; (2) the amendment of pleading to sue plaintiff’s co-workers raises [53]*53material coverage issues with respect to both the compensation and liability carriers. Neither argument has merit in this appeal.

The principles which govern this case are found in the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure. Summary judgment is properly granted when the moving party shows that there is no genuine issue as to material fact and that he is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. LSA-C.C.P. art. 966. When, as here, the motion is supported by affidavit and other evidence, the adverse party must respond by setting forth specific facts that show a genuine issue for trial, in order to defeat the motion. LSA-C.C.P. art. 967.

Martin sued the insurers as the liability carriers of the named defendants. The insurers moved for summary judgment arguing lack of coverage. Employers National submitted a certified copy of its Standard Workman’s Compensation and Employer’s Liability policy issued to the insured H.B. Zachry Company. The policy, by its terms and conditions, pays “all compensation and other benefits required of the insured by the workmen’s compensation law”. In this instance it provides indemnity and medical benefits to an employee of the insured who sustained injury arising out of and in the course of his employment. With respect to Employer’s Liability Insurance, which protects against liability not covered by the compensation insurance, the policy protects the insured employer H.B. Zachry Company and companies listed in Endorsement # 12. It does not insure the liability of the individually named defendants. Summary judgment in favor of Employers National Insurance Company was properly granted.

Employers Casualty Company provided comprehensive general liability coverage to the named insured H.B. Zachry Company and agreed to pay “all sums which the insured shall become legally obligated to pay as damages.” The policy defines Persons Insured:

Each of the following is an insured under this insurance to the extent set forth below:
* * * * * *
(e) if the named insured is designated in the declarations as other than an individual, partnership or joint venture, the organization so designated and any executive officer, director or stockholder thereof while acting within the scope of his duties as such; ...

In its motion for summary judgment Employers Casualty outlined the legal criteria for determining whether an individual is an executive officer or corporate director. The distinction between an employee and an officer or executive is not determined by the nature of the work performed but by the nature of the relationship of the particular person to the corporation. The inquiry is a factual determination of the extent of the individual’s managerial responsibility with respect to the affairs of the corporation and the degree of closeness he shows to the Board of Directors and high officers in the company. Bruce v. Travelers Insurance Company, 266 F.2d 781 (5th Cir.1959); Employer’s Liability Assurance Corp. v. Upham, 150 So.2d 595 (La.App. 4th Cir.1963).

Hadrick v. Diaz, 302 So.2d 345 (La.App.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
560 So. 2d 51, 1990 La. App. LEXIS 925, 1990 WL 48733, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/martin-v-hb-zachry-co-lactapp-1990.