Perry v. Express Services, Inc.

923 P.2d 673, 143 Or. App. 321, 1996 Ore. App. LEXIS 1342
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedSeptember 4, 1996
Docket940302210; CA A89109
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 923 P.2d 673 (Perry v. Express Services, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Perry v. Express Services, Inc., 923 P.2d 673, 143 Or. App. 321, 1996 Ore. App. LEXIS 1342 (Or. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

*323 LANDAU, J.

Plaintiff was injured in an automobile accident while she was working on temporary assignment at an automobile rental company. The car she was driving collided with another driven by defendant Boarts, who also was a temporary employee on assignment at the same automobile rental company. Plaintiff sued Boarts and Boarts’s temporary employment service, Express Services, Inc. (Express), which had assigned Boarts to the rental company. Boarts moved for summary judgment on the ground that plaintiffs exclusive remedy for work-related personal injuries caused by a coworker lay in workers’ compensation. Express likewise moved for summary judgment on the basis of the exclusive remedy statute. In the alternative, Express argued that it could not be held vicariously liable as a matter of law, because it exercised no control over Boarts’s work at the automobile rental company. The trial court granted the motions and entered judgment dismissing all claims against both defendants. We affirm the entry of summary judgment as to Boarts, but reverse as to Express.

In reviewing the trial court’s summary judgment rulings, we determine whether there are genuine issues of material fact and whether defendants are entitled to judgment as a matter of law. ORCP 47 C. A genuine issue of material fact exists when, based on the record as a whole and viewing the evidence in a manner most favorable to the adverse party, an objectively reasonable juror could return a verdict for the adverse party on the matter that is the subject of the summary judgment motion. Id.

The relevant facts are undisputed. Plaintiff worked for a temporary employment service, Interim Personnel (Interim). Interim provides temporary workers to its clients, other businesses. Interim entered into an agreement with Alamo Rent-a-Car (Alamo) and, pursuant to that agreement, assigned plaintiff to work at Alamo. Alamo paid Interim an hourly rate for plaintiffs work. That hourly rate included an amount sufficient to pay workers’ compensation benefits for plaintiff. Interim did in fact pay premiums for plaintiffs workers’ compensation coverage. While assigned to work at *324 Alamo, Alamo directed plaintiff when to come to work, when to leave, where to work and what to do while at work.

Boarts worked for Express, another temporary employment service that provides temporary workers to its client businesses. Express also had an agreement with Alamo to provide temporary workers to the rental car company. Pursuant to that agreement, Express assigned Boarts to work at Alamo. Part of the fee that Express charged Alamo included an amount for workers’ compensation coverage for Boarts. While assigned to work at Alamo, Alamo directed Boarts when to come to work, when to leave, where to work and what to do while at work. Before assigning Boarts to work at Alamo, Express checked Boarts’s personnel records to ensure that Boarts was properly qualified to perform the assignment; it also checked to ensure that Boarts had a valid Oregon driver’s license and that she had not been in an automobile accident or received any traffic citations during the last three years.

Plaintiff was injured as she shuttled cars while on assignment at Alamo. She was hit from behind by a vehicle driven by Boarts, who was also shuttling cars while on assignment at Alamo. The accident occurred on a public highway, off Alamo’s premises. Plaintiff sued both Boarts and Express. Plaintiffs theory of liability was that Boarts was negligent and that Express, as Boart’s employer, is strictly liable for that negligence. AlS we have noted, the trial court entered summary judgment in favor of both defendants.

On appeal, plaintiff first argues that the trial court erred in granting Boarts’s summary judgment motions. According to plaintiff, Boarts is not subject to the exclusive remedy provision of the workers’ compensation statutes, because that statute accords immunity from tort liability only to employers of a subject worker and to his or her coworkers, and, she argues, Boarts was neither. Boarts argues that she was, in fact, a coworker, because at the time of the accident both she and plaintiff were working for the same employer, Alamo.

The issue presented requires that we determine the scope of the exclusive remedy provisions of the workers’ compensation statutes. We do that by ascertaining the intended *325 meaning of the applicable statutes, considering the text in context and, if necessary, legislative history and other aids to construction. PGE v. Bureau of Labor and Industries, 317 Or 606, 610-12, 859 P2d 1143 (1993). Also relevant are prior judicial decisions concerning the intended meaning of the relevant statutes. State v. Sullens, 314 Or 436, 443, 839 P2d 708 (1992).

ORS 656.017(1) provides that every employer who employs workers subject to the workers’ compensation statutes must ensure that the workers will receive workers’ compensation coverage for compensable on-the-job injuries. ORS 656.018 then provides, in relevant part:

“(l)(a) The liability of every employer who satisfies the duty required by ORS 656.017 (1) is exclusive and in place of all other liability arising out of injuries * * * that are sustained by subject workers, the workers’ beneficiaries and anyone otherwise entitled to recover damages from the employer on account of such conditions or claims resulting therefrom * * *.
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“(2) The rights given to a subject worker and the beneficiaries of the subject worker under this chapter * * * are in lieu of any remedies they might otherwise have * * * against the worker’s employer * * *.
“(3) The exemption from liability given an employer under this section is also extended to the employer’s insurer, the self-insured employer’s claims administrator, the department, and the contracted agents, employees, officers and directors of the employer * *

Thus, a worker compensably injured may not sue in tort the worker’s employer or the worker’s coworker. The injured worker may, however, sue a “third person not in the same employ” as the worker. ORS 656.154. For the purposes of ORS 656.017(1) and ORS 656.018, a temporary worker is considered to be an employee both of the temporary employment agency and the employment agency’s client. Blacknall v. Westwood Corporation, 89 Or App 145, 147-48, 747 P2d 412 (1987), aff'd 307 Or 113, 764 P2d 544 (1988); Robinson v. Omark Industries, 46 Or App 263, 265-66, 611 P2d 665 (1980), rev dismissed 291 Or 5 (1981).

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Bluebook (online)
923 P.2d 673, 143 Or. App. 321, 1996 Ore. App. LEXIS 1342, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/perry-v-express-services-inc-orctapp-1996.