Title: Davidson v. Pet, Inc.

State: alabama

Issuer: Alabama Supreme Court

Document:

644 So. 2d 896 (1994)
Dennis Wayne DAVIDSON
v.
PET, INC.
1921395.

Supreme Court of Alabama.
May 20, 1994.
Rehearing Denied July 15, 1994.
Clarence L. McDorman, Birmingham, for appellant.
David C. Livingston of Turnbach & Warren, P.C., Gadsden, for appellee.
COOK, Justice.
Dennis Wayne Davidson appeals a summary judgment in favor of his employer, Pet, Inc., with regard to Pet's right to reimbursement for worker's compensation benefits paid to Davidson as a result of a motor vehicle accident. We affirm.
Davidson was a passenger in a tractor-trailer unit owned by his employer and driven by a co-employee, Ricky Harrell, when another tractor-trailer unit, driven by Roger Lynn Fowler, an employee of Steel Processing Services, Inc., SPS Transportation, collided with their vehicle. Who was at fault in the accident was in dispute. As a result of the accident, Davidson sued Pet for worker's compensation benefits. The trial court determined that he was 55% disabled as a result of the accident and that he was entitled to $63,248.00 in worker's compensation benefits.
In a separate action, Davidson and Harrell sought damages from Steel Processing Services, Inc., SPS Transportation; Fowler; and Ryder Truck Rentals, Inc., which had rented the truck to Steel Processing; that action alleged that negligence on the part of Fowler had caused the accident. Pet intervened in that action, seeking reimbursement for the worker's compensation benefits it had paid to Davidson. Davidson settled with Steel Processing for $130,000 and the jury found in favor of Harrell and against Steel Processing.[1]*897 The trial court held that Pet was entitled to reimbursement of the worker's compensation benefits it had paid to Davidson; Davidson appealed. We affirm.
Davidson contends that he was not made whole as a result of the settlement with Steel Processing and that, therefore, pursuant to Powell v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield, 581 So. 2d 772 (Ala.1990). Pet is not entitled to reimbursement for payments made to him. We disagree. Powell, supra, specifically states in footnote 8:
Powell, supra, at 779. The Alabama Workers' Compensation Act states as follows:
§ 25-5-11(a), Code of Alabama 1975.
Millers Mutual Insurance Association v. Young, 601 So. 2d 962, 963 (Ala.1992). See also Northeast Utilities, Inc. v. Pittman Trucking Co., 595 So. 2d 1351, 1354 (Ala. 1992). The reimbursement of Pet, Inc., is mandated by statute. Therefore, the judgment is affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
HORNSBY, C.J., and ALMON, HOUSTON and KENNEDY, JJ., concur.
[1]  The jury found in favor of Harrell; therefore, he could not have been guilty of contributory negligence.