Sanchez v. Harbor Const. Co., Inc.

968 So. 2d 783, 2007 La.App. 4 Cir. 0234, 2007 La. App. LEXIS 1917, 2007 WL 3015106
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 3, 2007
Docket2007-CA-0234
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 968 So. 2d 783 (Sanchez v. Harbor Const. Co., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sanchez v. Harbor Const. Co., Inc., 968 So. 2d 783, 2007 La.App. 4 Cir. 0234, 2007 La. App. LEXIS 1917, 2007 WL 3015106 (La. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

968 So.2d 783 (2007)

Aguillard SANCHEZ
v.
HARBOR CONSTRUCTION CO., INC.

No. 2007-CA-0234.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

October 3, 2007.

*784 David W. Bernberg, Henna Ghafoor, The Law Office of David W. Bernberg, L.L.C., New Orleans, LA, for Plaintiff/Appellant.

Richard S. Vale, Pamela F. Noya, Blue Williams, L.L.P. Metairie, LA, for Defendants/Appellees.

(Court composed of Chief Judge JOAN BERNARD ARMSTRONG, Judge PATRICIA RIVET MURRAY, Judge TERRI F. LOVE).

PATRICIA RIVET MURRAY, Judge.

This is a tort suit. The sole issue presented in this appeal is whether the trial court erred in finding that the plaintiff, Aguillard Sanchez, was the borrowed servant of the defendant, Harbor Construction Co., Inc. ("Harbor"), at the time of his personal injury and thus dismissing on summary judgment Mr. Sanchez's tort suit against Harbor; Harbor's general liability and maritime insurer, the Gray Insurance Company; and one of Harbor's employees, Thai Nguyen. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Global Fabrication and Welding ("Global") is a temporary labor service that supplies Harbor with workers on an "as needed" basis. Harbor is a general construction company. On August 8, 2002, Harbor contacted Global and requested a welder for the next day. On August 9, 2002, Global sent Mr. Sanchez to Harbor's jobsite, which was at the Napoleon Avenue Wharf. Global instructed Mr. Sanchez to report to Harbor's foreman. On his first day on the job, Mr. Sanchez was injured when a 500,000 gallon diesel fuel tank fell from the forklift that one of Harbor's employees, Mr. Nguyen, was operating. This tort suit followed.

In March 2005, Harbor filed a motion for summary judgment contending that Mr. Sanchez was its borrowed servant at the time of the accident, and, therefore, his exclusive remedy is worker's compensation benefits.[1] In support, Harbor relied on the affidavit of its general superintendent, Sullivan Perry, who attested that on August 9, 2002, Mr. Sanchez was working at a Harbor job site pursuant to a "long-standing agreement" under which Global would provide laborers to work at Harbor job sites. Opposing the first summary judgment, Mr. Sanchez and Global emphasized the lack of a written contractual agreement between the parties. In support, Global provided the affidavit of its owner and president, Michelle Hebert, who attested that on August 8, 2002, there was no written contract between Harbor and Global. On July 29, 2005, the trial court denied the motion for summary judgment.

On August 10, 2006, Harbor[2] filed a second motion for summary judgment *785 again arguing that Mr. Sanchez was its borrowed servant. In support, it provided new evidence: Ms. Hebert's deposition testimony acknowledging that her statement in her affidavit that there was no written agreement in effect between Harbor and Global at the time of the accident was inaccurate. Harbor also provided a copy of the written contract itself, entitled the "Master Service Agreement." This contract provided the basic terms and conditions of the relationship between Harbor and Global. Additionally, Harbor provided the deposition testimony of Mr. Perry, who testified regarding the relationship between Harbor and Global.

Opposing the summary judgment, Mr. Sanchez contended that the following factual discrepancies precluded summary judgment:

• The accident occurred on premises other than that of Harbor while work was being done for Impsa at the Napoleon Street Wharf.
• Mr. Sanchez's employer, Global, completed an accident report and no accident report was completed by Harbor.
• The written agreement between Harbor and Global mandated that Global was to carry worker's compensation insurance, insuring Mr. Sanchez for any work related incidents — this is prima facie proof of employment.
• A policy of liability and maritime insurance was issued by Gray in favor of Harbor and this policy makes no mention for additional employees or additional insureds of other companies including those of Global. There was no worker's compensation coverage that was available to Mr. Sanchez that was provided by Harbor.
• Ms. Hebert stated that she had the ultimate authority of whether to hire or fire Mr. Sanchez.
• Global provided its own safety meetings for its own employees and these were attended by Mr. Sanchez as evidenced by the accident report completed by Global. The safety minutes of Harbor show that Mr. Sanchez did not attend any of these meetings, was never instructed on the safety policies of Harbor, and was not provided with a copy of their safety manuals or instruction booklets.
• Mr. Ed Cronic, a Global employee, was Mr. Sanchez's first line supervisor and completed the accident report following Mr. Sanchez's injury.
• Global paid Mr. Sanchez his salary.

On August 2, 2006, the trial court granted Harbor's motion for summary judgment and dismissed all claims by Mr. Sanchez against it pursuant to La. R.S. 23:1031.[3] This appeal followed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

"Favored in Louisiana, the summary judgment procedure `is designed to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action' and shall be construed *786 to accomplish these ends." King v. Parish Nat'l Bank, 04-0337, p. 7 (La.10/19/04), 885 So.2d 540, 545 (quoting La. C.C.P. art. 966(A)(2)). An appellate court reviews a trial court's decision granting summary judgment de novo using the same standard applied by the trial court in deciding the motion for summary judgment. Schmidt v. Chevez, 00-2456, p. 4 (La.App. 4 Cir.1/10/01), 778 So.2d 668, 670. According to this standard, a summary judgment shall be granted if 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 material fact, and that the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. La. C.C.P. art. 966(B); Schmidt, 00-2456 at p. 3, 778 So.2d at 670.

DISCUSSION

The dispositive issue on appeal is whether Mr. Sanchez was Harbor's borrowed servant. Although an employee's borrowed servant status is a legal issue for the court to decide, the jurisprudence has enunciated the following nine factual factors to be considered in determining whether an employee should be characterized as a borrowed servant:

1. Who had control over the employee and the work he was performing beyond mere suggestion of details or cooperation?
2. Whose work was being performed?
3. Was there an agreement, understanding, or meeting of the minds between the original and the borrowing employer?
4. Did the employee acquiesce in the new work situation?
5. Did the original employer terminate his relationship with the employee?
6. Who furnished tools and place for performance?
7. Was the new employment over a considerable length of time?
8. Who had the right to discharge the employee?
9. Who had the obligation to pay the employee?

Hall v. Equitable Shipyard, Inc., 95-1754 at p. 4 (La.App. 4 Cir. 2/29/96), 670 So.2d 543, 545-46 (citing Ledet v. Quality Shipyards, Inc., 615 So.2d 990, 992 (La.App. 1st Cir.1993)); see also Wells v.

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Bluebook (online)
968 So. 2d 783, 2007 La.App. 4 Cir. 0234, 2007 La. App. LEXIS 1917, 2007 WL 3015106, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sanchez-v-harbor-const-co-inc-lactapp-2007.