Snyder v. Burl C. Lange, Inc.

706 P.2d 56, 109 Idaho 167, 1985 Ida. LEXIS 485

• Court: Idaho Supreme Court
• Decided: May 20, 1985
• Docket: 15076
• Status: Published

Opinions

BAKES, Justice.

Tamara Snyder appeals from an Industrial Commission order denying her workmen’s compensation benefits following the death of her husband. We affirm the Industrial Commission’s decision.

The Industrial Commission issued an order which recited the following evidentiary findings. Roderick Snyder was employed by Burl C. Lange, Inc., as a truck driver. Burl Lange is the president of Burl C. Lange, Inc. The company leases a shop which is located outside of Weippe, Idaho. The lease arrangement between Mr. Lange and the lessor was a verbal agreement. The specific boundary of the leased area has never been defined.

A Christmas party was held in the employer’s shop on December 21, 1979. The maintenance foreman had the initial idea for the party and discussed it with other employees. Several of the employees then got together to plan the Christmas party for December 21, 1979. Notice of the party was given by word of mouth. Several of these employees contributed money for the purchase of gifts for Burl Lange and his wife. The employees also contributed money for the purchase of alcohol for the party. Additionally, the maintenance foreman sold some old batteries which he owned, using the money from the sale of these batteries to purchase party refreshments. Without Burl Lange’s knowledge or permission, another employee also sold some junk batteries which were owned by Burl C. Lange, Inc., and which were lying around the shop. The money derived from the sale of these junk batteries was used to purchase party refreshments.

The commission further found that Mr. Burl Lange never gave his permission or authorization for the party. Although Lange knew about the party, he did not initially plan to attend the party. Less than 20% of the employees did. However, the maintenance foreman requested that Mr. Lange stop by the shop while the party was in progress, since the employees wished to present Mr. Lange with the gifts they had purchased.

The party began in the middle of the afternoon. At approximately 7:00 p.m., Mr. Lange arrived at the shop where the party was being held. At that time the maintenance foreman gave Mr. Lange a Christmas present and a present for Mr. Lange’s wife. Mr. Lange had a beer before he left the party. Mr. Lange’s total stay at the party was between 20 and 30 minutes. During Mr. Lange’s short stay at the party he observed Roderick Snyder and another employee engaged in a wrestling match. However, the two men wrestled for only a short time and then walked arm-in-arm into the shop.

After Mr. Lange departed, Mr. Snyder got involved in several altercations with other employees. He hit one employee over the head with a tire iron and knocked him unconscious. He hit another employee on his hard hat with the tire iron, and the employee responded by hitting Snyder in the face twice and rendering him semi-conscious. Snyder was then carried out of the shop and placed in his pickup truck by four men who were present in the shop. They then returned to the shop to administer aid to the employee who had been knocked unconscious by the tire iron wielded by Mr. Snyder. Subsequently, one of the men attending the party looked outside to check on Mr. Snyder and observed that Mr. Snyder had started up the pickup and was warming the engine. Subsequently, the party ended and the shop was locked by the maintenance foreman. Since Mr. Snyder’s pickup was gone when the last men left the shop, the men assumed that Mr. Snyder had driven himself home.

The next day, December 22, 1979, Mr. Snyder’s body was found. The examining pathologist testified that Mr. Snyder died of hypothermia. Mr. Snyder’s death occurred after he drove out of the shop parking lot down an embankment and then across the road into a field. He then drove back across the road and became stuck in a creek bed. Mr. Snyder left his vehicle and wandered into a marshy area where he was subsequently overcome. His body was found on property which was owned by the same individual from whom Mr. Lange leased the property on which his shop was located.

In reviewing Industrial Commission decisions this Court must determine whether the Industrial Commission’s findings of fact are supported by substantial competent evidence. In re Chavez, 104 Idaho 279, 281, 658 P.2d 950, 952 (1983); I.C. § 72-732; Idaho Const. Art. 5, § 9. The Industrial Commission’s findings of fact will not be disturbed if supported by competent, although conflicting, evidence. Lampe v. Zamzow’s, Inc., 102 Idaho 126, 626 P.2d 782 (1981); Logsdon v. Northern Iron & Metals Co., 101 Idaho 74, 76, 608 P.2d 877, 879 (1980). On appeal, the facts and all inferences therefrom must be viewed most favorably to the party who prevailed below. Higginson v. Westergard, 100 Idaho 687, 604 P.2d 51 (1979); Matter of Webber’s Estate, 97 Idaho 703, 551 P.2d 1339 (1976).

Having fully reviewed the record, we have determined that the commission’s findings as summarized above are supported by substantial competent evidence. Accordingly, the Industrial Commission’s findings of fact will not be disturbed on appeal.

Nor do we find error in the commission’s legal analysis of those facts. The claimant can only recover workmen’s compensation benefits if Mr. Snyder’s death arose out of or occurred within the course of his employment. Based upon the findings of fact set forth above, the Industrial Commission determined that Mr. Snyder’s death did not arise out of and in the course of his employment.

We find no merit in appellant’s argument that the case of Grant v. Brownfield’s Orthopedic and Prosthetic, 105 Idaho 542, 671 P.2d 455 (1983), released subsequent to the Industrial Commission’s decision here, mandates a reversal of this case. Although Grant was not available for the Industrial Commission’s consideration, the Industrial Commission relied upon Moore's Case, 110 N.E.2d 764 (Mass.1953), in reaching its conclusion here. Since Moore’s Case was favorably cited and relied on by this Court in Grant as “[o]ne of the more lucid opinions” in this area of the law, there is no indication that the commission incorrectly applied the law in reaching its conclusion here.

Grant is also easily distinguishable from this case on the facts. The accidental death of the employee in Grant occurred during a traditional annual employer-sponsored Christmas party in which the entire party was planned and paid for by the employer and was deducted on the employer’s income tax return as a business expense. The employer expressly stated that the party was to promote employee good will, and company bonuses were traditionally given out at that party. By way of contrast, the Industrial Commission found here that

“the party was neither arranged by nor paid for by the employer. Rather, it was arranged by a few of the employees. The evidence establishes that there was no employer tradition of an annual Christmas party and that there was no compulsion for the employees to attend the party. It was also established that the employees did not have any expectation of a party, nor did they regard it as an employment benefit to which they were entitled.”

The commission further found that the employee’s death occurred after the decedent left the party, and that it occurred off of the employer’s premises. Those findings are supported by substantial evidence in •the record.

Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the Industrial Commission.

DONALDSON, C.J., SHEPARD, J., and WALTERS, J. Pro Tern., concur.