Title: Hanna v. CRA, Inc.

State: kansas

Issuer: Kansas Supreme Court

Document:

196 Kan. 156 (1966)
409 P.2d 786
DUONE H. HANNA, Appellant,
v.
CRA, INC., Appellee.
No. 44,292

Supreme Court of Kansas.
Opinion filed January 22, 1966.
Roy E. Williams, of Kingman, argued the cause and was on the briefs for the appellant.
Robert L. Howard, of Wichita, argued the cause, and George B. Powers, Carl T. Smith, John F. Eberhardt, Stuart R. Carter, Robert C. Foulston, Malcolm Miller, Robert N. Partridge, Robert M. Siefkin, Richard C. Harris, Gerald Sawatzky, Donald L. Cordes, Charles J. Woodin, Mikel L. Stout, Ronald K. Badger, and Benjamin C. Langel, all of Wichita, were with him on the briefs for the appellee.
The opinion of the court was delivered by
PARKER, C.J.:
This is an appeal from a summary judgment denying an employee of an independent contractor the right to maintain an action against the principal contractor for negligent injury on the basis that the employee's exclusive remedy was under the Workmen's Compensation Act.
The limited facts before us appear in the form of a stipulation as to the record. In lieu of setting out the petition it is stipulated:
After the filing of the petition the defendant, CRA, Inc., submitted a request for admissions which resulted in the following answers:
Thereafter the defendant, CRA, Inc., filed a motion for summary judgment contending that the plaintiff's exclusive remedy was under the Workmen's Compensation Act and attached to the motion was an affidavit of the president of CRA, Inc., which, omitting its formal parts, stated:
The motion for summary judgment was presented to the trial court on oral argument and briefs.
Later that tribunal submitted the following memorandum opinion:
"Please submit Journal Entry."
Subsequently a summary judgment was entered for the defendant and the plaintiff perfected the instant appeal.
It is further stipulated in the record:
The appellant contends that he was the employee of an independent contractor and that he had a right to bring the action under the provisions of K.S.A. 44-504 as the injury was caused by someone other than the employer.
The appellee admits that the appellant was the employee of an independent contractor but contends that it was also a statutory employer of the appellant under the provisions of K.S.A. 44-503.
It is a well settled rule of this court that if a workman can recover workmen's compensation under the Workmen's Compensation Act for an injury, the remedy is exclusive and he cannot maintain a common law action for damages founded on negligence against a party from whom he could have recovered compensation under the act.
Inasmuch as it is conceded that if the Workmen's Compensation Act applies to the master and servant relationship existing in this case it is by virtue of the provisions of K.S.A. 44-503, we will consider the section which, so far as here material, provides:
There is no contention that any of the exceptions provided by subsection (d) are applicable in the case at bar.
Since the appellee, as principal in this case, has undertaken to have work executed by an independent contractor the only question we have for determination is whether the work to be performed under the contract is part of the principal's "trade or business."
This court has considered the purpose of the statute. In Hoffman v. Cudahy Packing Co., 161 Kan. 345, 167 P.2d 613, we held:
Although the purpose of the act was to give the employee of a contractor a remedy against the principal, it cannot be anticipated that the legislature intended all principal contractors to be included or it would not have used the limited phrase, "which is part of his trade or business."
This court has had many occasions to consider the phrase "which is part of his trade or business." Much confusion appears to have arisen. The confusion arises largely because each case must be determined on its own particular facts and circumstances.
This court has laid down two rather definite tests by which to determine whether the work covered by a contract is part of the principal's trade or business, i.e., (1) is the work being performed by the independent contractor and the injured employee necessarily inherent in and an integral part of the principal's trade or business? *160 (2) is the work being performed by the independent contractor and the injured employee such as would ordinarily have been done by the employees of the principal?
If either of the foregoing questions is answered in the affirmative the work being done is part of the principal's "trade or business," and the injured employees sole remedy against the principal is under the Workmen's Compensation Act.
The first rule announced above was fully explored in Lessley v. Kansas Power & Light Co., 171 Kan. 197, 231 P.2d 239, where this court considered a situation where the principal was engaged in the production, sale and transmission of electric power contracted for the erection of a new building and the installation of steam boilers, turbines, generators and other equipment necessary and essential to the production, sale and transmission of electricity. An employee of the contractor was injured and he brought a common law action for damages. There we said:
We note some of the earlier cases approved in the Lessley case. See Purkable v. Greenland Oil Co., 122 Kan. 720, 253 Pac. 219, where it is said:
See, also, William v. Cities Service Gas Co., 139, Kan. 166 30 P.2d 97, and Bailey v. Moseby Hotel Co., 160 Kan. 258, 160 P.2d 701.
We also note Swift v. Kelso Feed Co., 161 Kan. 383, 168 P.2d 512, where it was held:
In the later case of Coble v. Williams, 177 Kan. 743, 282 P.2d 425, it is said:
In Durnil v. Grant 187 Kan. 327, 356 P.2d 872, this court placed its approval on both rules heretofore mentioned for testing whether work was part of the principal's trade or business, we said:
*162 See, also, Henderson v. Sutton's Food City, 191 Kan. 145, 379 P.2d 300.
In our most recent decision, Hataway v. Proctor & Gamble Manufacturing Co., 195 Kan. 335, 405 P.2d 350, the following statement appears:
In the Hataway case the court did not consider the first test heretofore mentioned for the purpose of determining whether the work covered by the contract was part of the principal's trade or business, i.e., was the work being performed by the independent contractor and the injured employee necessarily inherent in and an integral part of the principal's trade or business? Perhaps the facts were not sufficient to raise the question.
It should be noted that in most of the cases in which the question now under consideration has been brought to our attention, such question was raised by demurrer, motion for judgment on the pleadings or by motion for summary judgment. The facts were necessarily limited. From the limited facts in this case the question having been presented on a motion for summary judgment, it may be possible to rule that the construction of the building in controversy was not necessarily an integral part of and inherent in the appellee's trade or business, but there is not a particle of evidence touching on the second test, i.e., was the construction of the building, work such as would have ordinarily been performed by the employees of the principal, the appellee?
Motions for summary judgments should not be sustained unless all the facts which are necessary to a complete determination of the issues presented are before the trial court and there is no genuine issue of any material fact. (See Brick v. City of Wichita, 195 Kan. 206, 403 P.2d 964.)
The judgment should be reversed with instructions to the district court to require the appellee to file its answer, and that the court then proceed to receive evidence as to whether the construction of *163 the building in controversy was a part of the appellee's trade or business under the tests set out in this opinion.
It is so ordered.
FATZER, J., concurring:
The statute (K.S.A. 44-503), in defining the responsible area of CRA, Inc. in this case does not refer to "a reasonable incident of the trade or business," or whether the work being done was "such as would have ordinarily been performed by the employees of the principal," or whether it was "ancillary or incidental" or "germane and pertinent" to the principal's trade or business. It states in simple and unqualified terms, "any work which is a part of his trade or business." What was the trade or business of CRA, Inc. as disclosed by the record? One need look only to the affidavit of the president to ascertain without qualification that its trade or business was the work of operating an oil refinery to produce lubricating oil and other products. This classification does not include the work of constructing a metal building or shed on its refinery site. (Purkable v. Greenland Oil Co., 122 Kan. 720, 253 Pac. 219.) Building the metal shed had nothing to do with the trade or business of CRA, Inc., and that work was no part of integral equipment necessary to operate the refinery. (Lessley v. Kansas Power & Light Co., 171 Kan. 197, 231 P.2d 239.) Moreover, it was Contractor Lynch's business to construct the metal shed and it was the trade and business of CRA, Inc. to use the building after it was constructed. (Hataway v. Proctor & Gamble Manufacturing Co., 195 Kan. 335, 405 P.2d 350.
I would reverse the judgment of the district court and direct CRA, Inc. to file its answer and proceed to trial on the question of its negligence and plaintiff's contributory negligence, if any.