Mason, A. v. Northeast Architectural Products

Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided December 21, 2023·No. 735 MDA 2023·Unpublished

Opinion

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

ANTHONY MASON : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA

Appellant :

:

:

v. :

:

:

NORTHEAST ARCHITECTURAL : No. 735 MDA 2023 PRODUCTS D/B/A DARON :

NORTHEAST :

Appeal from the Order Entered April 28, 2023 In the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County Civil Division at No(s): 2017-06152

BEFORE: DUBOW, J., McLAUGHLIN, J., and McCAFFERY, J. MEMORANDUM BY McCAFFERY, J.: FILED: DECEMBER 21, 2023 Anthony Mason (Mason) appeals from the order entered in the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas entering summary judgment in favor of Northeast Architectural Products d/b/a/ Daron Northeast (Daron) in this negligence action seeking damages for a work-related injury. On appeal, Mason contends the trial court erred in determining, as a matter of law, that he was Daron’s “borrowed employee” at the time of the incident, and, therefore, Daron was immune from liability under the exclusivity provisions of Pennsylvania’s Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA).1 For the reasons below, we affirm.

1 See 77 P.S. § 1 et seq.

Mason instituted this negligence action following a work-related injury he suffered on January 22, 2016, while working at Daron’s manufacturing plant. Daron produces “[h]ardscape products,” such as pavers and concrete blocks. See Daron’s Motion for Summary Judgment, 2/3/23, Exhibit G, Deposition of Michael Kapuscinski, 12/1/22 (Kapuscinski’s Deposition) at 10.2 Approximately a month prior, Mason went to Express Services, Inc. (Express), a temporary employment agency, in search of employment. See Daron’s Motion for Summary Judgment, Exhibit I, Deposition of Anthony Mason, 11/1/21 (Mason’s Deposition) at 33-34. He filled out paperwork for Express and was told about an inspector position at Daron. Id. at 35. Express explained “it was a physically demanding job, very fast-pace[d], 12-hour days[,]” and instructed him to report to Daron at 5:00 a.m. the next workday. Id. at 35-37.

When Mason arrived at Daron for work, one of Daron’s supervisors, Dale, gave him and the other new workers a tour of the facility, and provided them with hearing protection, eyewear, and gloves. See Mason’s Deposition at 39-40. He had been informed by Express that he needed to wear steel- toed boots. Id. at 40. Dale had a “brief” discussion with Mason concerning his job responsibilities, which included “inspection of the . . . bricks [as they]

2 Kapuscinski was Daron’s operations manager at the time of Mason’s employment. Kapuscinski’s Deposition at 9-10.

were coming out of the mold[,]” and the removal of any defective bricks from the conveyor belt before they went into the “palletizer.” Id. at 40-41, 51.

The accident occurred when Mason stopped the conveyer belt after noticing “a brick was angled improperly” as it entered the palletizer. Mason’s Complaint, 5/15/20, at 4. In order to “access the line,” Mason had to enter a caged-off area near a mechanical arm. Id. He had been told that when he opened the cage door, “magnetization would stop everything . . . inside the fence[,]” including the mechanical arm. See Mason’s Deposition at 57. However, upon entering the area, the mechanical “arm struck him, and pinned him against a barrier . . . causing severe injuries[.]” Mason’s Complaint at 4. Mason subsequently received workers’ compensation benefits from Express.3 See N.T., 4/11/23, at 4.

Mason initiated this negligence action against Daron by filing a praceipe for writ of summons on November 21, 2017. Subsequently, on May 15, 2020, Mason filed a complaint,4 and Daron thereafter filed an answer and new

3 We note that none of Mason’s workers’ compensation documents are included in the certified record. Indeed, the only reference to the fact that Mason received workers’ compensation benefits from Express was by Daron’s attorney during argument on the motion for summary judgment. See N.T., 4/11/23, at 4.

4 It appears from the record that Mason did not have the proper name and

address of Daron for an extended period of time after he filed the praecipe for writ of summons, and thus, was unable to complete service of process. The record includes a Stipulation, dated January 8, 2020, in which counsel for both parties agreed that “Northeast Architectural Products d/b/a Daron Northeast” (Footnote Continued Next Page)

matter, asserting, inter alia, it was statutorily immune from liability as Mason’s employer. See Daron’s Answer & New Matter to Mason’s Complaint, 7/23/20, at 20.

After discovery was complete, on February 3, 2023, Daron filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing, inter alia, there was no genuine issue of material fact that Mason was Daron’s borrowed employee, and, therefore, Daron was entitled to workers’ compensation immunity. See Daron’s Motion for Summary Judgment at 9. Mason filed an answer, and the trial court conducted oral argument on April 11, 2023.

Thereafter, on April 28, 2023, the trial court granted Daron’s motion and entered judgment in its favor. This timely appeal by Mason follows.5 Mason purports to raise three issues for our review:

I. Whether [Daron] is considered a statutory employer[?]

II. Whether the trial court erred in granting [Daron’s] motion for summary judgment[?]

III. Whether the trial court erred in ruling . . . Mason was [Daron’s] borrowed employee as a matter of law[?]

Mason’s Brief at 5. Because all three of Mason’s claims challenge the trial court’s determination that he was Daron’s “borrowed employee” for purposes of WCA immunity, we address the claims together.

was the proper party, and that all other named defendants were dismissed without prejudice. See Stipulation, 1/8/20.

5 Mason complied with the trial court’s directive to file a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) concise statement of errors complained of on appeal.

A trial court may grant summary judgment “when the record clearly shows that there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Krepps v. Snyder, 112 A.3d 1246, 1258 (Pa. Super. 2015) (citation omitted). When considering a trial court’s order granting summary judgment:

We view the record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, and all doubts as to the existence of a genuine issue of material fact must be resolved against the moving party. . . . Our scope of review . . . is plenary, and our standard of review is clear:

the trial court’s order will be reversed only where it is established that the court committed an error of law or abused its discretion.

Gardner v. MIA Prod. Co., 189 A.3d 441, 443 (Pa. Super. 2018) (citation omitted).

“[T]he WCA requires employers to pay employees who are injured on the job workers’ compensation benefits regardless of negligence[,]” in exchange for which employers receive immunity from tort liability with respect to work-related injuries. Brown v. Gaydos, ___ A.3d ___, ___ 2023 PA Super 258, *3 (Pa. Super. Dec. 7, 2023) (en banc) (citation omitted). See also 77 P.S. § 481(a).

Preliminarily, we emphasize that the trial court did not find Daron was Mason’s “statutory employer” for purposes of WCA immunity pursuant to the five-part test outlined in McDonald v. Levinson Steel Co., 153 A. 424 (Pa. 1930). See id. at 426 (requiring the following elements to create “statutory employer” relationship: (1) employer is under contract with owner or one in position of owner; (2) premises is under control of or occupied by owner; (3)

subcontract made by employer; (4) employer entrusted part of regular business to subcontractor; and (3) injured worker is employee of subcontractor). See also 77 P.S. § 52. Despite the fact that Mason addresses “statutory employer” immunity in his first issue, he concedes that Daron “did not assert this area of immunity.” See Mason’s Brief at 14.

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