Maryland Casualty Co. v. Foote

139 S.W.2d 602, 1940 Tex. App. LEXIS 263
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 5, 1940
DocketNo. 2008
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 139 S.W.2d 602 (Maryland Casualty Co. v. Foote) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Maryland Casualty Co. v. Foote, 139 S.W.2d 602, 1940 Tex. App. LEXIS 263 (Tex. Ct. App. 1940).

Opinions

GRISSOM, Justice.

In a workman’s compensation case plaintiff, Elvis Foote, recovered judgment against the defendant, insurer, for 50 weeks’ total incapacity and 100 weeks’ partial incapacity. From the judgment defendant, Maryland Casualty Company, has appealed.

Plaintiff’s petition contained the usual preliminary allegations in a workman’s compensation case. He further alleged that on August 15, 1938 while plaintiff was employed by and working for H. L. Rice, the insured, and while engaged in his regular course of employment and in furtherance of the business of his employer in Taylor County he was injured; he alleged the injury and the manner of its occurrence in detail,.and that as a result of said injury plaintiff was totally disabled for performing labor for a period of 100 weeks, with a subsequent partial disability of 75 per cent and that said partial incapacity was permanent. Section 3 of plaintiff’s petition was as follows:

“That plaintiff was employed at the time of said accidental injury as a laboring hand and performing the usual tasks of a laborer for his employer and plaintiff was being paid a wage of $2.40 per day, working 6 days a week, that the class of work that plaintiff was doing he had been so engaged in the same or similar kind of work, wheth-" er for the same employer or other employers, for the whole or substantially the whole of the year next preceding the date [603]*603of said accidental injury on the 15th day of August, 1938, and had drawn an average daily wage of $2.40 per day for the whole or substantially the whole of the year next preceding the date of said accidental injury and his annual income had been $720 covering the whole of said year next preceding the date of said injury, that plaintiff’s compensation rate should be calculated under Subdivision 1, Section 1 of Article 8309 on the basis of plaintiff’s annual earnings for the year next preceding the date of said accidental injury.
“Plaintiff pleads in the alternative and says that if it should be determined upon the trial of this cause that he had not been continuously employed for the whole nor substantially the whole of the year next preceding the date of said accidental injury and that Subdivision 1, Section 1 of Article 8309 could not be applied, then plaintiff says there were other employees doing the same or similar kind of work in the same neighborhood as that of plaintiff at the date of such injury who had been so employed for the whole or substantially the whole of the year next preceding the date of the 15th day of August, 1938 and whose average daily wage had been $2.40 per day, or $720.00 annual earnings- and that plaintiff’s compensation should be calculated in that event under Subdivision 2, Section 1 of Article 8309 on the basis of such other employees wage rate.
“But, plaintiff further pleads in the alternative and says if it should be determined upon the trial of this cause that Subdivisions 1 nor 2 of Section 1 of Article 8309 could not be applied, then plaintiff says that on account of the shortness of the length of time that he had been so employed by his employer which was less than substantially the whole of the year next preceding the date of said accidental injury, then and in that event plaintiff’s compensation should be calculated under Subdivision 3, Section 1 of Article 8309 in such way and manner as would be just and fair to all parties concerned; but plaintiff would show that on account of the nature of his injury that he is entitled to 100 weeks total compensation at the rate of $8.31 per week, with a 75% partial disability for a period of 300 weeks beginning at the expiration of said 100 weeks and that plaintiff is entitled to $6.24 per week for a continuous period of 300 weeks.”

To said section 3 of plaintiff’s petition, the defendant excepted as follows:

“Defendant specially excepts to said plaintiff’s first amended original petition on the ground that Section ‘3’ thereof, which is composed of three paragraphs, alleges conflicting grounds for recovery in attempted alternative counts, and fails to expressly or by reference group into separate counts the particular and consistent facts warranting any certain or definite relief sought and such paragraphs so grouped present alleged rights of the plaintiff to a judgment on conflicting theories which should be in separate counts.
“Wherefore, defendant prays that such portion of plaintiff’s said amended petition be stricken and dismissed, and that said petition as a whole be dismissed.”

,Said special exception, or demurrer, was overruled. Said action of the court is made the basis of appellant’s first proposition. In support of said proposition and as authority upon which defendant relies for the reversal of the judgment, for said reason, defendant cites Moore v. Rice, Tex.Civ.App., 80 S.W.2d 451; Jennings v. Texas Farm Mort. Co., 124 Tex. 593, 80 S.W.2d 931; Colbert v. Dallas Joint Stock Land Bank, 129 Tex. 235, 102 S.W.2d 1031.

We are of the opinion that the court did not err in overruling the exception. It will be observed from reading the petition that plaintiff alleged the injury and the facts common or necessary to a recovery under any of the three subdivisions of Art. 8309, relative to the -manner of fixing the compensation rate. Thereafter, in section 3 of his petition, in separate alternative counts, plaintiff alleged facts bringing him within each of the three subdivisions of Art. 8309, fixing his wage rate. The proposition is overruled. See Pryor & Wilson v. Moody, Tex.Civ.App., 49 S.W.2d 506; Davies v. Texas Emp. Ins. Ass’n., Tex.Com.App., 16 S.W.2d 524, 525; Texas Emp. Ins. Ass’n. v. White, Tex.Civ.App., 32 S.W.2d 955, 958; Traders’ & Gen. Ins. Co. v. Williams, Tex.Civ.App., 66 S.W.2d 780, 784; International & G. N. Ry. Co. v. Acker, Tex.Civ.App., 128 S.W.2d 506, 517; Traders & Gen. Ins. Co. v. Huntsman, Tex.Civ.App., 125 S.W.2d 431, 433; Hartford Acc. & Ind. Co. v. Leigh, Tex.Civ.App., 57 S.W.2d 605, 606; Indemnity Ins. Co. of North America v. Bailey, Tex.Civ.App., 50 S.W.2d 484, 489; Traders & Gen. Ins. Co. v. Rouse, Tex.Civ.App., 39 S.W.2d 80, 81; Morris v. Sanders, Tex.Civ.App., 55 S.W.2d 594.

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Bluebook (online)
139 S.W.2d 602, 1940 Tex. App. LEXIS 263, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/maryland-casualty-co-v-foote-texapp-1940.