Urbano v. STAT Courier, Inc.

878 A.2d 58, 2005 Pa. Super. 190, 2005 Pa. Super. LEXIS 1317
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedMay 23, 2005
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 878 A.2d 58 (Urbano v. STAT Courier, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Urbano v. STAT Courier, Inc., 878 A.2d 58, 2005 Pa. Super. 190, 2005 Pa. Super. LEXIS 1317 (Pa. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

OPINION BY

DEL SOLE, P.J.:

¶ 1 This is an appeal from an order granting Appellees’ motion for judgment [60]*60on the pleadings and dismissing Appellant’s class action complaint. The complaint alleged that Appellees violated the Wage Payment and Collection Law, 43 P.S. § 260.1 et seq. (WPCL), and sought damages for breach of contract as well as an accounting based on the contention that Appellant and other members of the class were employees of the Appellees and were improperly treated as independent contractors. The trial court, from its review of the pleadings, concluded that Appellant’s claim could not proceed. We reverse in part and remand this matter for further proceedings.

¶ 2 Appellant’s complaint named as defendants Appellees, STAT Courier, Inc. (STAT), STATRANS Delivery System Inc. (STATRANS), Mark Pulford,1 Bruce Tomczak, and all other officers and directors of the two named companies. The Appellee-companies engage in courier delivery services for the medical and business community. The complaint alleged that Appellant, along with members of the class, was a driver and delivery person employed by Appellees, and was required to sign a Driver and Equipment Lease Agreement and related written agreements and acknowledgements as a condition of employment. These documents identified Appellant as an independent contractor. The complaint further stated that the relations between Appellees and the members of the class were really one of employer-employee. It provided an enumerated list of instances as evidence of such a relationship including the manner of pay and control, and the fact that Appellant and other members of the class were named as employees under a policy of workers’ compensation insurance. The complaint alleged that Appellees improperly breached certain obligations owed to employees by improperly considering them independent contractors.

¶ 3 Appellees later filed an answer and new matter to the complaint. Therein, they denied that they had committed any violations of the WPCL or breached any contract and contended that they had compensated drivers and delivery persons in accordance with the terms of their written contracts. In their new matter, which was endorsed with a notice to plead, Appellees alleged that STATRANS was not a party to any signed agreements and that it was not mentioned or otherwise identified as a party or signatory in any of the documents attached to Appellant’s complaint. It further alleged that no payment or compensation for Appellant’s services was ever made by STATRANS. Regarding the contracts, the new matter stated that Appellant and the other members of the class were adult individuals who voluntarily signed the agreements after reading and understanding the terms set forth therein. The new matter set forth language found in those agreements indicating that the drivers operate as independent contractors and not as employees of STAT.

¶ 4 Appellant failed to reply to the new matter and thereafter Appellees filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings. The trial court granted Appellees’ motion, dismissing Appellant’s complaint.

¶ 5 It is proper to grant a motion for judgment on the pleadings only where the pleadings demonstrate that no genuine issue of fact exists, and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Consulting Eng’rs, Inc. v. Insurance Co. of N. America, 710 A.2d 82, 83-84 (Pa.Super.1998). “Thus, in reviewing a trial [61]*61court’s decision to grant judgment on the pleadings, the scope of review of the appellate court is plenary; the reviewing court must determine if the action of the trial court is based on a clear error of law or whether there were facts disclosed by the pleadings which should properly go to the jury.” Id.

¶ 6 In reviewing Appellees’ motion the trial court first found that Appellant had stated no cause of action against STA-TRANS. It noted that the parties to all the agreements at issue were identified only as Appellant and STAT, and that STATRANS was not mentioned or identified in the documents. The trial court further noted that the agreement specifically stated that Appellant would be paid by STAT. Because the pleadings did not allege facts to establish that Appellant had been aggrieved by the workplace practices of STATRANS, the trial court found he could not individually, or on behalf of members of a class, maintain an action against STATRANS.

¶ 7 We find no reason to disturb the trial court’s ruling dismissing Appellant’s claims against STATRANS. As the trial court noted, Appellant’s complaint alleged no facts regarding a relationship with STA-TRANS. Although Appellant now claims that he could have been considered an at-will employee of STATRANS without a written employment contract, the complaint set forth no such allegations. Rather, it attached employment documents which do not identify STATRANS as a party to the agreements. Further, Appel-lees’ assertions set forth in their new matter indicate that Appellant never received any compensation or other payment from STATRANS for his services during his tenure as a driver/delivery person. This statement is deemed as admitted as Appellant failed to reply to the new matter in a timely fashion and only issued a response after the pleadings were closed and Appel-lees filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings. See Pa.R.C.P. 1026(a) and 1034. On these facts we agree with the trial court’s conclusion that Appellant’s claims against STATRANS cannot proceed.

¶ 8 The trial court also found that Appellant’s claims against STAT could not go forward because it determined, as a matter of law, that Appellant’s status with STAT was as an independent contractor and as such he and other class members were not subject to the provisions of the WPCL which applies strictly to employees. In determining whether a relationship is one of employer-employee or independent contractor:

... the basic inquiry is whether such person is subject to the alleged employer’s control or right to control with respect to his physical conduct in the performance of the services for which he was engaged. The hallmark of an employee-employer relationship is that the employer not only controls the result of the work but has the right to direct the manner in which the work shall be accomplished; the hallmark of an independent contractee-contractor relationship is that the person engaged in the work has the exclusive control of the manner of performing it, being responsible only for the result.

Valles v. Albert Einstein Med. Ctr., 758 A.2d 1238, 1244 (Pa.Super.2000).

¶ 9 Where the sole evidence of the relationship between the parties is found in an agreement and where the terms of the agreement are not in dispute, it is the function of the court, not the jury, to determine the relationship between the parties. Green v. Independent Oil Co., 414 Pa. 477, 201 A.2d 207, 210 (1964). The trial court ruled that the pleadings did not [62]*62dispute the validity of the documents signed at the beginning of the relationship and they established Appellant’s status as an independent contractor.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
878 A.2d 58, 2005 Pa. Super. 190, 2005 Pa. Super. LEXIS 1317, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/urbano-v-stat-courier-inc-pasuperct-2005.