Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. Jenkins

63 S.W.2d 563
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 4, 1933
DocketNo. 4066
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 63 S.W.2d 563 (Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. Jenkins) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. Jenkins, 63 S.W.2d 563 (Tex. Ct. App. 1933).

Opinion

JACKSON, Justice.

The appellee, Elmer Jenkins, instituted this suit in the district court of Potter county against the appellant, Texas Employers’ Insurance Association, to set aside the decision of the Industrial Accident Board awarding to him unsatisfactory compensation for injuries he sustained while employed by the Burrus Panhandle Elevators, Inc., which carried compensation insurance with appellant for employees.

No complaint is made here of the statement of the jurisdictional facts or the cause of action as alleged in appellee’s petition.

Appellant answered by general demurrer, special exceptions, and general denial.

In response to special issues submitted, the jury found, in effect, that appellee sustained personal injuries in the course of his employment with the Burrus Panhandle Elevators, Inc., which totally incapacitated him for work' for a period of two hundred weeks, but that such total incapacity is not permanent; that he sustained 66% per cent, partial incapacity which is permanent; that he sustained a total loss of the use of his right foot for two hundred weeks, but that such total loss is not permanent; that he suffered 66⅝ per cent, partial loss of the use of his right foot and that such partial loss is permanent; that the appellee sustained other injuries to the physical structure of his body in addition to the injury to the right foot; that the injuries to the other parts of his body were not permánent, but continued for a period of eight weeks; that there were employees of the same class working in Amarillo substantially the whole of the year immediately preceding May 27, 1931, engaged in employment similar to that of appellee, and that such employees were earning an average weekly wage of $16.-80-; that appellee was not entitled to a lump-sum settlement,

On these findings judgment was rendered that appellee recover $10.08 per week on account of total incapacity for a period of two hundred weeks from May 27,1931, less $363.-60 which the appellant had paid to appellee in forty-two weekly payments of $8.65 each; that appellee is entitled to recover further compensation for permanent partial incapacity the sum of $6.72 per week for a period of two hundred one weeks.

The appellant presents as error the action of the court in refusing to peremptorily instruct a verdict in its behalf because the evidence shows conclusively that the appel-lee was merely a temporary workman employed by the Burrus Panhandle Elevators, Inc., to assist it in the erection of a grain elevator at- Amarillo, which work was an exceptional and isolated transaction and a deviation from its regular and usual business of storing, buying, and gelling grain, and hence appellee was not an employee as contemplated in the Compensation Law at the time of his injury.

The testimony discloses that the Burrus Panhandle Elevators, Inc., usually engaged in grain merchandising, storing, buying, and selling, and doing the ordinary business common among grain elevators; that it erected its own elevator plants, but engaged in construction work for itself only. That on May 27, 1931, the date on which appellee received his injuries, the corporation at Amarillo was engaged in erecting for its own use here an elevator plant with a capacity of 2,500,-000 bushels and appellee was an employee of and assisting as a laborer the corporation in the construction of the plant.

Article 8309, § 1, R. C. S., contains this definition: “ ‘Employee’ shall mean every person in the service of another under any contract of hire, expressed or implied * * * except one whose employment is not in the usual course of trade, business, profession or occupation of his employer.”

Appellant contends under the facts, the statute, and the construction thereof by the Commission of Appeals (Oilmen’s Reciprocal Association v. Gilleland, 291 S. W. 197), that appellee’s employment was not in the usual course of business of the Burrus Panhandle Elevators, Inc., and he can not recover compensation under the policy.

In the Gilleland Case, supra, the court held that the policy was issued to the City Laundry Company to insure it against liability for injuries to its employees while the laundry was engaged in its usual course of business. In the instant case the record shows conclusively that the policy of appellant was issued to protect the Burrus Panhandle Elevators, Inc., against liability fox-injuries to its employees, not while engaged in its usual business, but while it was engaged in the ‘-'occupation” of building a new [565]*565grain elevator at Amarillo, and in our opinion the holding in the Gilleland Case is not decisive of the question under consideration, hut is clearly distinguishable on the facts.

In the record are the following instruments:

“Notice that Employer has Become Subscriber.
“The Industrial Accident Board,
“Austin, Texas.
“Gentlemen:
“Notice is hereby given as required by the Employers’ Liability Act * ⅜ * and amendments thereto, that Burrus Panhandle Elevators, Inc., of * ⅜ ⅜ Amarillo, Texas, has become a subscriber under said act and amendments thereto and provided for the payment of compensation to employees under the terms and provisions thereof by insuring with Texas Employers Insurance Association.
“Occupation Building new grain elevators * * ⅞
“Policy No. A13956 Date effective 1-21-31 Hour effective, 12:01 A. M. Policy expires 1-21-32.
“Burrus Panhandle Elevators, Inc.”
“Industrial Accident Board,
“Austin, Texas.
“Gentlemen:
“The foregoing notice is herewith transmitted to you as required by the Employers’ Liability Act and in addition thereto we notify you of the following information.
“Employer Burrus Panhandle Elevators, Inc. * * * Amarillo, Texas.
“Location of risk Amarillo or elsewhere in Texas.
“Occupation Building new grain elevators * * *
“Policy No. A13956.
“Dated at Dallas, this the 21st day of January, 19—
“Texas Employers
Insurance Association.”
Stamped:
“Received Jan. 23, 1931.
“Industrial Accident Board,
State of Texas.”

These instruments were duly certified as true and correct photostatic copies and indorsed: “Notice that employer has become subscriber under policy No. A13956 issued to Burrus Panhandle Elevators Inc. of Amarillo, Texas, by Texas Employers Insurance Association, effective 1-21-31, and expiring 1-21-32, said notice having been received and filed in this office on January 23, 1931, and which now appears of record in this Department in what is known and designated as ‘Subscribers File.’ ”

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Related

Texas Employers' Insurance v. Wright
97 S.W.2d 171 (Texas Supreme Court, 1936)
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Bluebook (online)
63 S.W.2d 563, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/texas-employers-ins-assn-v-jenkins-texapp-1933.