Short v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co.

719 So. 2d 519, 1998 La. App. LEXIS 2261, 1998 WL 354984
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 29, 1998
DocketNo. 96 CA 2382R
StatusPublished

This text of 719 So. 2d 519 (Short v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co.) 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
Short v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., 719 So. 2d 519, 1998 La. App. LEXIS 2261, 1998 WL 354984 (La. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinions

|2FOGG, Judge.

This appeal arises from an action for personal injury brought by Yvonne L. Short against her employers, the law firm of Lane, Fertitta, Lane & Tullos (hereinafter “Lane/Fertitta”) and Horace Lane. The salient issue raised on appeal is whether Horace Lane is immune from tort liability pursuant to LSA-R.S. 23:1032.

Yvonne Short was employed by Lane/Fer-titta as a legal secretary for one of its partners, Horace Lane. She also performed bookkeeping services for the law firm for which she was paid separately. Additionally, she performed bookkeeping services for Horace Lane with respect to various pieces of real estate that he owned and/or leased. For these services, Mr. Lane paid her separately. Therefore, Ms. Short performed in three distinct capacities.

Lane/Fertita located its offices in two adjacent buildings that were connected by a walkway. One building was located at 435 Louisiana Avenue and was owned by Horace Lane. The other building, located at 445 Louisiana Avenue, was owned by a partnership of which Horace Lane was a member. Mr. Lane leased both buildings to the law firm. Additionally, Mr. Lane owned a parking lot that was located behind the buildings that he leased it to the law firm. He also leased from the Employees’ Retirement System for the City of Baton Rouge another parking lot (hereinafter the “ERS/BR parking lot”) to the west of 435 Louisiana Avenue. Horace Lane subleased the ERS/BR parking lot to Lane/Fertitta.

On February 11, 1987, Ms. Short stepped on a roofing nail in the ERS/BR parking lot [521]*521after parking in her assigned parking space. The adjoining building, located at 445 Louisiana Avenue, was re-roofed approximately two and one-half months before Ms. | ¡-¡Short’s injury. Approximately two and one-half years earlier, the roof of the building at 435 Louisiana Avenue had been repaired. Because of complications with her injury, Ms. Short underwent three surgeries and allegedly remains in constant pain.

Ms. Short claimed and received workers’ compensation benefits for approximately two and one-half years following her injury. One year after the injury, she filed this suit against, among others, Lane/Fertitta, Horace Lane in his capacity as lessor of the EBR parking lot, and State Farm Fire and Casualty Company (hereinafter “State Farm”). State Farm was the workers’ compensation insurer for the law firm and its partners, and the liability insurer for Horace Lane, individually, with regard to the ERS/BR parking lot.

The trial court initially rendered judgment that plaintiffs exclusive remedy against both the law firm and Horace Lane, individually, was in workers’ compensation. However, upon plaintiffs motion for a new trial, the trial court found that workers’ compensation was the plaintiffs exclusive remedy with regard to the law firm but not with regard to Horace Lane in his capacity as lessor of the EBR parking lot. Ms. Short was awarded $258,685.28 in damages against State Farm; State Farm was awarded $71,618.28 against Ms. Short for reimbursement of workers’ compensation payments previously paid.

Ms. Short appealed that judgment and State Farm answered the appeal. On appeal, State Farm urges solely that the trial court erred in faffing to find that Ms. Short’s sole remedy against Horace Lane was workers’ compensation benefits pursuant to LSA-R.S. 23:1032, the exclusive remedy provision of the Workers’ Compensation Law.

Herein, the trial court determined as a matter of fact that Ms. Short was in “the course and scope of her employment with the law firm, not with Horace Lane” at the time of the accident. The |4facts of this case clearly show that these conclusions were reasonable based upon the evidence. An appellate court may not set aside a trial court’s findings of fact in absence of manifest error or unless it is clearly wrong. Stobart v. State, Through DOTD, 617 So.2d 880 (La.1993); Rosell v. ESCO, 549 So.2d 840 (La.1989). That Ms. Short was not in the course and scope of her employment with Horace Lane at the time the accident occurred is not manifestly erroneous. Therefore, we must decide whether Mr. Lane, in his capacity as lessor of the ERS/BR parking lot, is immune from tort liability pursuant to LSA-R.S. 23:1032.

At the time of the accident, LSA-R.S. 23:1032, the exclusive remedy provision of the Workers’ Compensation Law, provided, in pertinent part, as follows:

The rights and remedies herein granted to an employee or his dependent on account of an injury, or compensable sickness or disease for which he is entitled to compensation under this Chapter, shall be exclusive of all other rights and remedies of such employee, his personal representatives, dependents, or relations, against his employer, or any principal or any officer, director, stockholder, partner or employee of such employer or principal, for said injury, or compensable sickness or disease.

The Louisiana Supreme Court reviewed this version of LSA-R.S. 23:1032 in the case of Ducote v. Albert, 521 So.2d 399 (La.1988). Therein, the supreme court held that, in a medical malpractice action, a company doctor is not immune from tort liability under the workers’ compensation statute as the doctor has characteristics of both an employee and of an independent contractor. The court held the doctor may be sued in tort in his “dual capacity” as an independent contractor. Ducote v. Albert, 521 So.2d at 400.

The dual capacity doctrine recognizes that in some instances an employer or eo-employ-ee may function in two roles simultaneously. Under the dual capacity doctrine, - one of those roles could involve obligations that are outside the scope of 1.^workers’ compensation and, thereby, expose the employer or co-employee to tort liability. Ducote v. Albert, [522]*522521 So.2d at 400.1

Then, in 1994, the supreme court further explained the dual capacity doctrine as follows:

In a true dual capacity case, an employer or co-employee must wear two hats simultaneously, as is the case with a company doctor. At the time of the work-related injury, the company doctor has two relationships with the plaintiff: doctor and co-employee. Another example of dual capacity is when an employee is injured on the job using a product manufactured by his employer. In such situations, an employer’s second capacity is inextricably intertwined with his capacity as employer.

Wright v. State, 93-3095 (La.7/5/94), 639 So.2d 258, 260. (footnote omitted) (emphasis added).

Subsequently, the supreme court further interpreted the pre-1990 legislation in the case of Stelly v. Overhead Door Company of Baton Rouge, 646 So.2d 905 (La.1994). Although this case was handed down after the Wright decision, it dealt with an injury that occurred in 1987. Therein, the court held that under the pre-1990 law an employer who contractually assumed the liability of its lessor was not shielded from tort liability by LSA-R.S. 23:1032. In reaching this conclusion, the court employed the following analysis:

Louisiana’s dual capacity theory or doctrine pertains to employers with multiple relationships, connections or involvement to the employee’s injury and/or the cause of the injury, which ordinarily would result in liability being imposed upon the employer by operation of law in addition to the provisions of the Worker’s Compensation Act.

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Related

Stobart v. State Through DOTD
617 So. 2d 880 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1993)
Deagracias v. Chandler
551 So. 2d 25 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1989)
Moore v. St. Francis Cabrini Hosp.
679 So. 2d 943 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1996)
Wright v. Moore
382 So. 2d 164 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1980)
White v. Naquin
500 So. 2d 436 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1986)
Arceneaux v. Domingue
365 So. 2d 1330 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1978)
Ducote v. Albert
521 So. 2d 399 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1988)
Lewis v. STATE, DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION & DEV.
654 So. 2d 311 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1995)
Wright v. State
639 So. 2d 258 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1994)
Stelly v. Overhead Door Co. of BR
646 So. 2d 905 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1994)
Rosell v. Esco
549 So. 2d 840 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1989)
Wright v. Moore
380 So. 2d 172 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1979)

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Bluebook (online)
719 So. 2d 519, 1998 La. App. LEXIS 2261, 1998 WL 354984, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/short-v-state-farm-fire-casualty-co-lactapp-1998.