Singleton v. Georgia Pacific Corp.

Supreme Court of Georgia

Singleton v. Georgia Pacific Corp.

315 S.E.2d 876, 252 Ga. 557, 1984 Ga. LEXIS 768

CourtSupreme Court of Georgia

DecidedMay 16, 1984

Docket40509

StatusPublished

Cited by2 cases

This text of 315 S.E.2d 876 (Singleton v. Georgia Pacific Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Singleton v. Georgia Pacific Corp., 315 S.E.2d 876, 252 Ga. 557, 1984 Ga. LEXIS 768 (Ga. 1984).

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Opinion

Smith, Justice.

James Singleton was employed by BAMM, Inc., which was in turn under contract to repair the roof of a Georgia Pacific building in Brunswick. In March 1982, Singleton was injured while working on Georgia Pacific’s roof for BAMM, Inc. He made a claim for, and received, workers’ compensation benefits from BAMM as a result of this injury. Singleton thereupon sued Georgia Pacific in tort, but the trial court entered an order granting summary judgment in favor of Georgia Pacific on the ground that it was Singleton’s statutory employer under the Workers’ Compensation Act and entitled to immunity from tort liability, citing Godbee v. Western Electric Co., 161 Ga. App. 731 (288 SE2d 881) (1982). The Court of Appeals agreed with the trial court’s decision and affirmed. We granted certiorari and now reverse.

Our decision in this case is constrained by recent opinions from this Court and the Court of Appeals. In Modlin v. Black & Decker, Court of Appeals case no. 67781 (decided March 5,1984), Godbee and its progeny were overruled on the ground at issue here. We examined Modlin and its effect on Godbee with approval in Manning v. Ga. Power Co., 252 Ga. 404 (314 SE2d 432) (1984). We conclude that the present case is controlled by Manning. Georgia Pacific is an owner, not a contractor, and as such is not liable for workers’ compensation benefits. Thus Georgia Pacific was not the statutory employer of Singleton for purposes of the Workers’ Compensation Act and is not [558]*558immune from tort liability pursuant to OCGA § 34-9-11 (Code Ann. § 114-103).

Decided May 16, 1984. Edward E. Boshears, for appellant. Richard M. Scarlett, M. Lynn Frey III, for appellee. J. S. Hutto, Alton D. Kitchings, Gene Mac Winburn, Billy E. Moore, Dan F. Sullivan, Thomas W. Malone, Michael J. Rust, George C. Grant, Williston C. White, Harvey S. Gray, amici curiae.

Judgment reversed.

All the Justices concur, except Marshall, P. J., who dissents.

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Smith, Justice.

James Singleton was employed by BAMM, Inc., which was in turn under contract to repair the roof of a Georgia Pacific building in Brunswick. In March 1982, Singleton was injured while working on Georgia Pacific’s roof for BAMM, Inc. He made a claim for, and received, workers’ compensation benefits from BAMM as a result of this injury. Singleton thereupon sued Georgia Pacific in tort, but the trial court entered an order granting summary judgment in favor of Georgia Pacific on the ground that it was Singleton’s statutory employer under the Workers’ Compensation Act and entitled to immunity from tort liability, citing Godbee v. Western Electric Co., 161 Ga. App. 731 (288 SE2d 881) (1982). The Court of Appeals agreed with the trial court’s decision and affirmed. We granted certiorari and now reverse.

Our decision in this case is constrained by recent opinions from this Court and the Court of Appeals. In Modlin v. Black & Decker, Court of Appeals case no. 67781 (decided March 5,1984), Godbee and its progeny were overruled on the ground at issue here. We examined Modlin and its effect on Godbee with approval in Manning v. Ga. Power Co., 252 Ga. 404 (314 SE2d 432) (1984). We conclude that the present case is controlled by Manning. Georgia Pacific is an owner, not a contractor, and as such is not liable for workers’ compensation benefits. Thus Georgia Pacific was not the statutory employer of Singleton for purposes of the Workers’ Compensation Act and is not [558]*558immune from tort liability pursuant to OCGA § 34-9-11 (Code Ann. § 114-103).

Decided May 16, 1984. Edward E. Boshears, for appellant. Richard M. Scarlett, M. Lynn Frey III, for appellee. J. S. Hutto, Alton D. Kitchings, Gene Mac Winburn, Billy E. Moore, Dan F. Sullivan, Thomas W. Malone, Michael J. Rust, George C. Grant, Williston C. White, Harvey S. Gray, amici curiae.

Judgment reversed.

All the Justices concur, except Marshall, P. J., who dissents.

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315 S.E.2d 876, 252 Ga. 557, 1984 Ga. LEXIS 768, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/singleton-v-georgia-pacific-corp-ga-1984.

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