R&L Carriers Shared Services, LLC v. Markley

2017 Ark. App. 240, 520 S.W.3d 268, 2017 Ark. App. LEXIS 259
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedApril 19, 2017
DocketCV-16-39
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 2017 Ark. App. 240 (R&L Carriers Shared Services, LLC v. Markley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
R&L Carriers Shared Services, LLC v. Markley, 2017 Ark. App. 240, 520 S.W.3d 268, 2017 Ark. App. LEXIS 259 (Ark. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

Larry D. Vaught, Judge

I iThis is an appeal from a negligence action involving an eighteen-wheeler that hit a telephone line and injured a worker repairing the line. In this appeal, we consider whether the worker’s employer can be liable for negligence under the theory of implied indemnity. We also review several alleged evidentiary errors and decide whether the circuit court erred by refusing to grant a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) or alternatively for a new trial. We affirm.

I. Background

This case begins with a low-hanging telephone line that stretched across the entry to Roy’s Body Shop in Madison County, Arkansas. Madison County Telephone Company, Inc. (MCTC), dispatched its employee Stuart Markley to repair the low-hanging line. Markley worked from the raised bucket of a work truck to repair the line. He was not |2wearing a safety harness, and he did not put out any warning cones to alert others to his presence.

During this time, Dean Wethington, in the scope of his employment with R&L Carriers Shared Services, LLC (R&L), was making a delivery to Roy’s Body Shop in an eighteen-wheeler. While driving the eighteen-wheeler into the entrance of Roy’s Body Shop, Wethington’s truck snagged the low-hanging telephone line that Markley was repairing. This set off a chain of events that left Markley severely injured.

Markley sued Wethington and R&L for negligence and recklessness. R&L and Wethington responded and alleged comparative fault by Markley. Specifically, they emphasized Markley’s failure to abide by certain National Electric Safety Code (NESC) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations as well as Arkansas statutes. R&L also filed a third-party complaint against MCTC, Roy’s Body Shop, and its owner, Roy Elsey. 1

In its third-party complaint against MCTC, R&L claimed that MCTC’s negligent supervision and training of Markley contributed to Markley’s injuries and that MCTC failed to perform some of its statutory . and regulatory responsibilities. MCTC filed a motion to dismiss R&L’s complaint against it on the basis that, because it had paid workers’-compensation benefits to Markley, it could not be liable for negligence. R&L responded by arguing that MCTC could be held liable under the theory of implied indemnity. The circuit court denied MCTC’s motion to dismiss. At this juncture, MCTC and R&L filed competing motions for summary judgment on the issue of whether MCTC had an implied [¡¡duty to indemnify R&L. The circuit court denied MCTC’s motion and took R&L’s motion under advisement. It also severed the negligence and indemnity claims and bifurcated the trial.

The issues between R&L, Wethington, and Markley were tried to a jury in July 2015. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Markley, finding that he was 35 percent negligent and that R&L and Wethington were 65 percent negligent. It found that Markley’s damages were $570,000, resulting in a judgment against R&L and We-thington in the amount of $370,500.

Following the entry of the judgment, R&L and Wethington filed a motion for JNOV or alternatively for a new trial. The motion was based on the premise that the jury’s verdict was not based on substantial evidence and that the circuit court committed evidentiary errors. The motion was deemed denied.

MCTC also filed a second motion for summary judgment on the issue of implied indemnity. R&L’s competing motion was still under advisement. After a hearing, the circuit court granted MCTC’s motion and found that MCTC did not have a duty to indemnify R&L. The circuit court also denied R&L’s motion for summary judgment. The circuit court entered an order and certification of final judgment, and this appeal by R&L and Wethington followed.

On appeal, R&L and Wethington argue that the circuit court (1) erroneously granted summary judgment to MCTC, (2) erred in denying them motion for JNOV or a new trial, and (3) committed evidentiary errors.

14II. Summary Judgment

Summary judgment is appropriate where “the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Ark. R. Civ. P. 56(c). A circuit court’s conclusion on a question of law is reviewed de novo and is given no deference on appeal. Crafton, Tull, Sparks & Assocs. v. Ruskin Heights, LLC, 2015 Ark. 1, 453 S.W.3d 667. And when the parties agree on the facts, the appellate court simply determines whether the appellee was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id. When parties file cross-motions for summary judgment, as they did in this appeal, they essentially agree that there are no material facts remaining, and summary judgment is an appropriate means of resolving this case. Id.

Our charge is to determine whether the circuit court erred in ruling that MCTC was not liable to R&L on the basis of implied indemnity. In seeking resolution of this issue, the parties posed two overarching questions to the circuit court. First, the circuit court must consider whether there was a special relationship between MCTC and R&L to give rise to a duty of implied indemnity. If a special relationship exists, the circuit court considers whether an indemnitee can recover from an indemnitor for the indemnitee’s own negligence. We focus our review on whether a special relationship existed. Because we conclude that MCTC did not have a special relationship with R&L, we affirm without reaching the merits of the second argument raised by the parties.

The. Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Act, codified at Arkansas Code Annotated sections 11-9-101 et seq. (Repl. 2012 & Supp. 2015), provides for the payment of disability ^benefits to workers who suffer an injury in the course of their employment. The Act provides that an employer cannot be sued or joined by a third party as a joint tortfeasor. Ark. Code Ann. § 11-9-105. However, there is a recognized exception to the exclusivity of the workers’-compensation remedy when there is a contract or special relationship capable of carrying with it an implied obligation to indemnify. Mosley Mach Co., Inc. v. Gray Supply Co., 310 Ark. 214, 833 S.W.2d 772 (1992). Implied indemnity is an equitable remedy. Id. A special relationship may be created by operation of law when statutes or regulations govern an' employer’s conduct. Smith v. Paragould Light & Water Comm’n, 303 Ark. 109, 793 S.W.2d 341 (1990).

R&L argues that OSHA and NESC regulations as well as Arkansas statutes give rise to a special relationship between it and MCTC. The relevant statutes and regulations placed several obligations on MCTC. MCTC is required to construct, operate, and maintain its telephone lines in a safe and reasonable condition. MCTC must also keep its lines free and clear of roadways and public areas over which they hang.

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Bluebook (online)
2017 Ark. App. 240, 520 S.W.3d 268, 2017 Ark. App. LEXIS 259, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rl-carriers-shared-services-llc-v-markley-arkctapp-2017.