Vaughn v. BFI WASTE SYSTEMS OF N. AMERICA, INC.

793 So. 2d 410, 2001 WL 869830
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 25, 2001
Docket2001-C-1105
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 793 So. 2d 410 (Vaughn v. BFI WASTE SYSTEMS OF N. AMERICA, INC.) 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
Vaughn v. BFI WASTE SYSTEMS OF N. AMERICA, INC., 793 So. 2d 410, 2001 WL 869830 (La. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

793 So.2d 410 (2001)

Michael VAUGHN
v.
BFI WASTE SYSTEMS OF NORTH AMERICA, INC.

No. 2001-C-1105.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

July 25, 2001.

*411 Dennis J. Phayer, Charles W. Farr, Burglass & Tankersley, L.L.C., Metairie, LA, Counsel for Relator.

Christopher J. Bruno, Bruno & Bruno, New Orleans, LA, Counsel for Respondent.

Court composed of Chief Judge WILLIAM H. BYRNES III, MIRIAM G. WALTZER and JAMES F. McKAY III, Judges.

WALTZER, Judge.

Relator challenges the trial court's decision denying defendant's motion for summary judgment. We grant the application for supervisory writs, deny relief and affirm the ruling of the trial court.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Michael Vaughn filed suit against BFI Waste Systems of North America, Inc., the Relator, for injuries he sustained when he fell from the back of one of Relator's trucks. Relator filed a motion for summary judgment on the basis that Vaughn was limited to a claim for worker's compensation because he was a borrowed employee of Relator. The trial court denied the motion for summary judgment.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS

Plaintiff alleged that on the day of the accident, 21 July 1998, he was an employee of Quixx Temporary Services (Quixx) and was working on one of Relator's garbage trucks when the truck stopped suddenly, causing him to fall and fracture his wrist. He further alleged that there was no written agreement between Quixx and Relator; thus, Relator was not entitled to immunity from suit in tort under LSA-R.S. 23:1061.

In its motion for summary judgment, Relator alleged that Vaughn was a direct employee of Task Force Temporary Services, Inc. (Task Force) with whom Relator had contracted for the provision of temporary workers. Relator further alleged that once Vaughn was assigned to work as a hopper for Relator, Task Force exercised no control over his work. Relator admitted that Vaughn was paid directly by Task Force, but his wages were determined by the time he worked for Relator.

In support of its motion for summary judgment, Relator submitted a copy of the contract between it and Task Force; the affidavit of Caroll Caro, of Task Force; and the affidavit of Robert Terrell, the operations manager for Relator. Caro stated in his affidavit that in July 1998, pursuant to a written contract, Task Force provided temporary workers to Relator and that one of those workers was Vaughn. He further stated that, pursuant to the contract, it provided worker's compensation insurance in favor of temporary workers and that the cost of the insurance was passed on to Relator. Caro also stated that Task Force was not in the business of garbage collection, that Task Force exercised no control or supervision over Vaughn's work with Relator, that it did not provide him with any tools or equipment for the performance of his work, and that Relator had the discretion not to allow Vaughn to work on its trucks. Terrell *412 stated in his affidavit that Relator's routine, customary, ordinary, and usual business activity involved the collection and disposal of garbage; that Relator customarily used its own employees to perform such work; that during times of exceptionally heavy demand and workloads, Relator would contract with temporary manpower services to provide temporary workers; that one of those temporary manpower services it used in July 1998 was Task Force; and that in July 1998 Task Force supplied temporary workers to Relator who used those workers to conduct its business of garbage collection and disposal. Terrell further stated that the work performed by the Task Force's personnel was part of Relator's routine, customary, ordinary, and usual business activity; that Relator controlled and supervised the work performed by Task Force's personnel; that Relator owned and operated the trucks on which Task Force's personnel worked; that Relator determined the route its trucks took in the course of collecting garbage; that if Relator were not satisfied with the work performed by a particular Task Force employee, Relator had the discretion not to use that worker's services again; and that Relator paid Task Force at a rate based on the hours that Task Force's personnel worked for Relator.

Vaughn opposed the motion for summary judgment by asserting that he was an employee of Quixx which did not have a written contract with Relator and thus, he was neither a borrowed servant nor statutory employee of Relator. He pointed to the fact that Quixx paid his salary and worker's compensation benefits. He also asserted that Relator failed to show any relationship between Quixx and the work that Relator was performing on the date of his accident. Vaughn submitted his deposition in which he stated that he had never heard of Task Force and that Quixx was the only name he knew. He argued that Relator failed to show any relationship between Quixx and the work that Relator was performing on the day of his accident.

DISCUSSION

Relator complains that the trial court erred in denying its motion for summary judgment because there is no genuine issue of material fact that Vaughn was its borrowed employee thereby barring his tort claim for injuries he sustained while in the course and scope of his employment with Relator. Relator asserts that Vaughn has failed to submit any evidence that contradicts the evidence it submitted in support of its motion for summary judgment.

A motion for summary judgment will be granted "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to material fact, and that mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." LSA— C.C.P. art. 966(B). LSA-C.C.P. art. 966(C)(2) provides:

The burden of proof remains with the movant. However, if the movant will not bear the burden of proof at trial on the matter that is before the court on the motion for summary judgment, the movant's burden on the motion does not require him to negate all essential elements of the adverse party's claim, action, or defense, but rather to point out to the court that there is an absence of factual support for one or more elements essential to the adverse party's claim, action, or defense. Thereafter, if the adverse party fails to produce factual support sufficient to establish that he will be able to satisfy his evidentiary burden of proof at trial, there is no genuine issue of material fact.

*413 Once the motion for summary judgment has been properly supported by the moving party, the failure of the non-moving party to produce evidence of a material factual nature mandates the granting of the motion for summary judgment. Babin v. Winn-Dixie Louisiana, Inc., XXXX-XXXX (La.6/30/00), 764 So.2d 37. Appellate courts review summary judgments de novo and use the same criteria that govern the trial court's consideration of whether summary judgment is appropriate. Haney v. Delta Petroleum Co., Inc., 99-0170 (La. App. 4 Cir. 10/9/99), 748 So.2d 36, writ denied 99-3177 (La.1/14/00), 753 So.2d 217.

Relator argues that Vaughn confused the issues of a borrowing employer and a statutory employer in opposing the motion for summary judgment. Borrowed employees are dealt with in LSA—R.S. 23:1031(C), which provides:

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Bluebook (online)
793 So. 2d 410, 2001 WL 869830, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vaughn-v-bfi-waste-systems-of-n-america-inc-lactapp-2001.