Peterson v. Ponda

893 N.E.2d 1100, 2008 Ind. App. LEXIS 2099, 2008 WL 4331632
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 24, 2008
Docket37A04-0712-CV-689
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 893 N.E.2d 1100 (Peterson v. Ponda) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Peterson v. Ponda, 893 N.E.2d 1100, 2008 Ind. App. LEXIS 2099, 2008 WL 4331632 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

OPINION

CRONE, Judge.

Nick Peterson and Patricia Peterson (collectively, “the Petersons”) appeal from the trial court’s denial of their motion for summary judgment. We affirm.

The facts most favorable to Robert and Karen Ponda (collectively, “the Pondas”) as the nonmoving parties are as follows. The Petersons, a married couple, own a residential property on U.S. Highway 231 *1102 in Rensselaer. In July 2002, the Peter-sons began supervising construction of their new home on this property. They lived in a mobile home on the property and served as general contractors on the home-building project. Patricia had previously worked in a general contractor’s office, and Nick was a union ironworker.

The Petersons subcontracted various construction jobs to independent contractors. They also hired several employees to assist in the construction of the home. Nick worked at the job site each day. Patricia was present on the job site each day and took photographs of the site at each phase of construction.

John Skomac, Nick’s co-worker and Mend, volunteered on the construction project during the summer of 2002. At some point, the Petersons agreed to pay Skomac $12.00 per hour for his work on the home. In early 2003, Skomac informed his friend and co-worker, Robert, that the Petersons needed another worker to help install sheeting on the roof of the new home. Robert had experience in sheet metal work. Robert and the Peter-sons then agreed that Robert would work on the Petersons’ home for $10.00 per hour.

Robert worked on the home for eight hours on each of the following days in 2003: January 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25. During that time, Robert sheeted part of the roof, installed insulation board, and worked on the basement. The Petersons supplied Robert with all the necessary materials and tools, but Robert chose to use his own tools.

On January 28, 2003, Robert and Sko-mac arrived at the jobsite at approximately 8:00 a.m. Patricia made them breakfast, and Nick instructed them to sheet the roof on the other side of the house from where they had been working previously. No scaffolding was set up for this area of the roof. Skomac refused to get on the roof because there was ice and snow on it. Skomac suggested that he and Robert move the scaffolding and nail down a cleat prior to climbing on the roof. Robert stated that he would go on the roof without these safety measures. Once Robert got on the roof, Skomac attempted to hand him a two-by-six board to nail to the roof for the purpose of stopping any falls. Robert refused to use the board. Shortly thereafter, he fell from the roof and sustained injuries. Skomac later testified that Nick provided ladders, scaffolding, and cleat material at the jobsite and insisted that Skomac use these safety devices.

On May 8, 2003, the Pondas filed a complaint for damages against the Peter-sons. On July 7, 2003, the Petersons filed a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The Petersons contended that Robert was their employee at the time of the accident and that therefore his remedy was limited to that provided by the Indiana Worker’s Compensation Act. On March 26, 2004, the Pondas filed a response to the Petersons’ motion to dismiss, claiming that Robert had been working for the Petersons as an independent contractor. On June 11, 2004, the trial court held a hearing on the motion to dismiss. On June 24, 2004, the trial court denied the motion to dismiss, stating that the “evidence is conflicting regarding the verbal agreements or understanding of these parties, the skill or lack thereof of the Plaintiff, Robert Ponda, and even the exact type of work he was expected to perform. These are questions for the trier of fact.” Appellants’ App. at 203.

On July 2, 2004, the Petersons filed a motion to reconsider and set aside the June 24, 2004, order. On August 2, 2004, the trial court granted the Petersons’ motion to reconsider, expressing its agreement with the Petersons that it must spe *1103 cifically determine as a matter of law whether Robert was an employee or independent contractor at the time of the accident in order to resolve the jurisdictional question raised in the Petersons’ motion to dismiss.

On November 5, 2004, the trial court issued an order stating in relevant part:

[T]he Court finds that the Plaintiff, Robert Ponda, was not an employee of the Defendants, Nick Peterson and Patricia Peterson, on the 28th day of January, 2003, at the time that he fell off the roof on the Defendants’ home, and that instead, he was an independent contractor.
The Court therefore finds that the Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss pursuant to Trial Rule 12(B) for Lack of Jurisdiction should be overruled and denied.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED AND DECREED by the Court that the Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss is hereby overruled and denied.

Id. at 224.

On March 30, 2007, the Petersons filed a motion for summary judgment. The Pe-tersons argued that they were entitled to summary judgment because there was no genuine issue of material fact as to whether they had assumed a duty to provide Robert a safe workplace. On May 21, 2007, the Pondas filed a memorandum in opposition to summary judgment, arguing that there was a genuine issue of material fact because Robert had been under the direction and control of the Petersons at the time of the accident. On June 25, 2007, the Petersons filed a reply to the Pondas’ memorandum in opposition to summary judgment, in which they contended that the Pondas were estopped from making the factual assertions regarding control that were necessary to defeat the Petersons’ motion for summary judgment. On September 5, 2004, the trial court held a summary judgment hearing.

On November 1, 2007, the trial court issued an order denying the Petersons’ motion for summary judgment that states in relevant part:

[Ujnder Indiana law, an independent contractor may recover against a landowner or general contractor based upon factual determinations regarding the assumption of a duty based upon the acts of the landowner or general contractor.
Those factors as outlined by Indiana case law differ from the factors used in a threshold inquiry as to whether or not a person is an independent contractor or an employee.
The Court finds that a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether the Defendants assumed a duty, and therefore the Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment should be denied.
In denying the motion for summary judgment, the Court specifically rejects the argument set forth by both parties regarding judicial estoppel. The Plaintiffs and Defendants argued zealously over the threshold issue as to whether or not the Plaintiff was an employee or an independent contractor. The Plaintiffs do not seek to now claim that he is not an independent contractor, but that as an independent contractor he is entitled to recover for injuries against the Defendants.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
893 N.E.2d 1100, 2008 Ind. App. LEXIS 2099, 2008 WL 4331632, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/peterson-v-ponda-indctapp-2008.