MORILLO, NEIKER v. DANIEL BARRON d/b/a ALL AROUND HVAC SERV., LLC

2021 TN WC 218

• Court: Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims
• Decided: August 20, 2021
• Docket: 2020-05-0824, 2020-05-0824A, 2020-05-0824B
• Status: Published

Opinion

FILED Aug 20, 2021 07:57 AM(CT) TENNESSEE COURT OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS

TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION IN THE COURT OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS AT MURFREESBORO

NEIKER MORILLO, ) Docket No. 2020-05-0824 Employee, ) 2020-05-0824A v. ) 2020-05-0824B DANIEL BARRON d/b/a ALL ) AROUND HVAC SERV., LLC ) Employer, ) State File No. 5479-2020 And ) THE HARTFORD INS. CO., ) LIBERTY MUTUAL INS. CO., ) TEXAS MUTUAL INS. CO. ) Judge Robert Durham

COMPENSATION ORDER GRANTING PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT

This case came before the Court on August 18, 2021, on the partial summary judgment motions of Liberty Mutual and The Hartford. As grounds, Liberty Mutual and The Hartford asserted they did not provide workers’ compensation insurance for Mr. Barron for the Nissan project where Mr. Morillo was working at the time of his alleged injury on July 8, 2020. Considering the evidence, the Court grants the partial summary judgment motions and dismisses Mr. Morillo’s claim against Liberty Mutual and The Hartford. 1

Facts

Mr. Morillo alleged he suffered an injury to his left hand on July 8, 2020, while working for Mr. Barron at the Nissan plant in Smyrna, Tennessee. Liberty Mutual and The Hartford each filed affidavits and Statements of Undisputed Facts asserting that,

1 Mr. Morillo also alleged that Mr. Barron had workers’ compensation insurance through Texas Mutual Insurance Company. When Texas Mutual received notice of the Petition for Benefit Determination, it sent correspondence to the mediator asserting that Texas Mutual only insures Texas claims, and Tennessee does not have jurisdiction over Texas Mutual. However, Texas Mutual has not filed anything with the Court seeking dismissal of Mr. Morillo’s claim against it. 1 while they provided workers’ compensation coverage to Mr. Barron for other projects in Tennessee, they did not provide insurance for any work performed at the Nissan plant. Neither Mr. Morillo nor Mr. Barron filed affidavits or responses to the Statements of Undisputed Facts contesting the assertions of Liberty Mutual and The Hartford. 2

Analysis

Summary judgment is appropriate if there is no genuine issue as to any material fact, and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. To meet this standard, Liberty Mutual and The Hartford must either: (1) submit affirmative evidence that negates an essential element of Mr. Morillo’s claim, or (2) demonstrate that his evidence is insufficient to establish an essential element of his claim. Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-16-101; see also Rye v. Women’s Care Ctr. of Memphis, MPLLC, 477 S.W.3d 235, 264 (Tenn. 2015). If Liberty Mutual and The Hartford satisfy this burden, Mr. Morillo must then show that the record contains specific facts upon which a trier of fact could base a decision in his favor. Rye, at 265.

Here, no one opposed the motions of Liberty Mutual and The Hartford. As required by Rule 54.02 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court finds that there is no just reason for delay in directing entry of final judgment as to Liberty Mutual’s and The Hartford’s liability in this claim. Given the undisputed facts, the Court holds that Liberty Mutual and The Hartford are entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law and are not liable for providing workers’ compensation benefits to Mr. Morillo.

IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that:

1. The Court grants the partial summary judgment motions of Liberty Mutual and The Hartford and dismisses them with prejudice.

2. The Court directs entry of final judgment dismissing Mr. Morillo’s claims against Liberty Mutual and The Hartford. Unless appealed, this Order shall become final in thirty days.

3. The parties shall attend a status conference on September 20, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. C.T. by calling 855-689-9049. Failure to attend may result in the resolution of issues without the party’s participation.

IT IS ORDERED.

2 At the hearing, Mr. Barron’s counsel stated that Mr. Barron did not have workers’ compensation insurance for Mr. Morillo’s injury, and he intends to make the general contractor to the Nissan project, Ivey Mechanical, a party to the action. 2 ENTERED August 20, 2021

__________________________________ Judge Robert V. Durham Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that a copy of the Order was sent as indicated on August 20, 2021.

Name Certified Email Service sent to: Mail Neiker Morillo, X Neikermorillo26@gmail.com Employee Drew Saulters, X dsaulters@ortalekelley.com Employee’s Attorney Blair Cannon, X L.Blair.Cannon@thehartford.com The Hartford’s Attorney Owen Lipscomb, X Owen.Lipscomb@libertymutual.com Liberty’s Attorney Vanecia Johnson, X vaneciajohnson@texasmutual.com Texas Mutual’s Attorney

_____________________________________ Penny Shrum, Court Clerk WC.CourtClerk@tn.gov

3 NOTICE OF APPEAL Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation www.tn.gov/workforce/injuries-at-work/ wc.courtclerk@tn.gov | 1-800-332-2667

Docket No.: ________________________

State File No.: ______________________

Date of Injury: _____________________

___________________________________________________________________________ Employee

v.

___________________________________________________________________________ Employer

Notice is given that ____________________________________________________________________ [List name(s) of all appealing party(ies). Use separate sheet if necessary.]

appeals the following order(s) of the Tennessee Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims to the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (check one or more applicable boxes and include the date file- stamped on the first page of the order(s) being appealed):

□ Expedited Hearing Order filed on _______________ □ Motion Order filed on ___________________ □ Compensation Order filed on__________________ □ Other Order filed on_____________________ issued by Judge _________________________________________________________________________.

Statement of the Issues on Appeal Provide a short and plain statement of the issues on appeal or basis for relief on appeal: ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________

Parties Appellant(s) (Requesting Party): _________________________________________ ☐Employer ☐Employee Address: ________________________________________________________ Phone: ___________________ Email: __________________________________________________________ Attorney’s Name: ______________________________________________ BPR#: _______________________ Attorney’s Email: ______________________________________________ Phone: _______________________ Attorney’s Address: _________________________________________________________________________ * Attach an additional sheet for each additional Appellant *

LB-1099 rev. 01/20 Page 1 of 2 RDA 11082 Employee Name: _______________________________________ Docket No.: _____________________ Date of Inj.: _______________

Appellee(s) (Opposing Party): ___________________________________________ ☐Employer ☐Employee Appellee’s Address: ______________________________________________ Phone: ____________________ Email: _________________________________________________________ Attorney’s Name: _____________________________________________ BPR#: ________________________ Attorney’s Email: _____________________________________________ Phone: _______________________ Attorney’s Address: _________________________________________________________________________ * Attach an additional sheet for each additional Appellee *

I, _____________________________________________________________, certify that I have forwarded a true and exact copy of this Notice of Appeal by First Class mail, postage prepaid, or in any manner as described in Tennessee Compilation Rules & Regulations, Chapter 0800-02-21, to all parties and/or their attorneys in this case on this the __________ day of ___________________________________, 20 ____.

______________________________________________ [Signature of appellant or attorney for appellant]

LB-1099 rev. 01/20 Page 2 of 2 RDA 11082