FILED 

TNCOURTOF 

1\ ORKI.RS' COllPlNSATION 

ClAD.lS 

Time, IO:l:S All 

TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION 

IN THE COURT OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS 

AT NASHVILLE 

David Raine, 

Employee, 

v. 

White Castle, 

Employer, 

And 

Trumbull Insurance Company, 

Carrier. 

Docket No.: 2015-06-0986 

State File No.: 48420-2015 

Judge Kenneth M. Switzer 

COMPENSATION ORDER GRANTING 

MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT 

This matter came before the Court on December 6, 2016, upon the Motion for 

Summary Judgment filed by White Castle. In determining this motion, the Court 

considered all relevant filings and holds for the reasons set forth below that White Castle 

is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. 1 Therefore, Mr. Raine's claim is 

dismissed with prejudice to its refiling. 

History of Claim 

This Court and the Tennessee Workers' Compensation Appeals Board drafted. 

previous orders setting forth the facts, which factual summaries are incorporated by 

reference into this Order. The Court recaps only the facts relative to whether summary 

judgment is appropriate. 

Mr. Raine allegedly sustained workplace injuries on two occasions: He alleged 

hurting his left·shoulder while throwing a trash bag into a dumpster and later injuring his 

right knee by hitting it on a pallet. The dates of these incidents - of central importance to 

the determination of this matter - are unclear. Mr. Raine listed the date of injury on his 

Petition for Benefit Determination (PBD) as "August 2014." However, he told a claims 

adjuster in a recorded statement he injured his shoulder in "late July or early August," 

1 The Court attached a listing of the technical record as an appendix, which documents it considered to reach its 

determinations. 

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and the knee injury occurred "around that same time." In his two separate affidavits, Mr. 

Raine listed the dates of injury in the caption as "07/01/2014 && [sic] 08/2014." In the 

March 2016 affidavit, he stated the shoulder injury occurred "sometime in July or August 

2014," and the knee injury "occurred sometime later on a different occasion." Further, in 

his deposition testimony, when asked if he knew the date of the shoulder injury, Mr. 

Raine responded, "The exact date, no, but I just - I know the approximate time, month 

and time it happened." As for the knee injury, he testified it happened sometime after the 

shoulder injury, on a Tuesday evening, before he sought medical treatment on September 

24, 2014. 

Mr. Raine sought treatment with a variety of providers for his injuries, culminating 

with shoulder surgery in May 2015. He testified that he considered for the first time that 

workers' compensation might cover his alleged work-related injuries while treating with 

the surgeon. Prior to that point, he generally did not know anything about workers' 

compensation. 

Mr. Raine gave written notice of the accident in a June 3, 2015 memo to his 

manager, stating that he sustained the shoulder injury "[ s ]ometime in July or August of 

last year (20 14 ), " and, "not long after that, I hit the inside of my right knee against the 

wooden pallet[.]" White Castle denied the claim. Mr. Raine filed his PBD on August 19, 

2015. 

At Mr. Raine's request, this Court conducted a review of the file and denied the 

relief sought. See generally Raine v. White Castle, et al. No. 2015-06-0954, 2015-06-

0955, 2016 TN Ct. Wrk. Comp. Cl. LEXIS _,(Tenn. Ct. Workers' Comp. Cl. Sept. 2, 

2016). The Court reasoned that Mr. Raine "repeatedly was unable to provide dates and 

times with specificity" regarding when the alleged work-related incidents took place. 

Thus, he failed to satisfy his burden to show that his injuries occurred in the course of 

employment, as required by Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-102(14)(A) (2015). 

The Court further found that White Castle did not pay benefits; Mr. Raine sustained his 

injuries sometime in late July or early August 2014; and he filed his PBD on August 19, 

20 15. Therefore, he failed to file a PBD within one year after the alleged accidents 

resulting in injury, barring his right to compensation under Tennessee Code Annotated 

section 50-6-203(b)(l) (2015). 

Mr. Raine appealed. The Tennessee Workers Compensation Appeals Board 

affirmed this Court's findings of fact and conclusions of law in a memorandum opinion. 

Specifically, the Appeals Board wrote it had "no difficulty finding the trial court's 

determinations are supported by a preponderance of the evidence." Raine v. White 

Castle, et al., No. 2015-06-0954, 2015-06-0955, 2016 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 

32, at *4-5 (Tenn. Workers' Comp. App. Bd. Oct. 14, 2016). 

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White Castle filed its Motion for Summary Judgment, a Statement of Undisputed 

Material Facts, a Memorandum of Facts and Law in Support of the Employer's Motion 

for Summary Judgment, and Exhibits. (T.R. 1-4.) White Castle also filed and served a 

copy of Rule 56 with the moving papers, in accordance with the Court's Practices and 

Procedures, to assist Mr. Raine, who is self-represented. (T.R. 5.) Mr. Raine failed to 

file a Response to the Summary Judgment Motion and supporting materials. 

Legal Principles and Analysis 

Motions for summary judgment are governed by Tennessee Code Annotated 

section 20-16-101 (2016) and Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 56. Rule 56.03 requires 

that a motion for summary judgment "be accompanied by a separate concise statement of 

the material facts as to which the moving party contends there is no genuine issue for 

trial." Rule 56.03 further requires any party opposing the motion for summary judgment 

must, not later than five days before the hearing, serve and file a response to each fact set 

forth by the movant, and that such response shall be filed with the papers in opposition to 

the motion for summary judgment. The nonmoving party must "demonstrate the 

existence of specific facts in the record which could lead a rational trier of fact to find in 

favor of the nonmoving party." Rye v. Women's Care Ctr. of Memphis, MPLLC, 477 

S.W.3d 235, 265 (Tenn. 2015). 

Rule 56.06 states: 

When a motion for summary judgment is made and supported as provided 

in this rule, an adverse party may not rest upon the mere allegations or 

denials of the adverse party's pleading, but his or her response, by 

affidavits or as otherwise provided in this rule, must set forth specific facts 

showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. If the adverse party does not 

so respond, summary judgment, if appropriate, shall be entered against the 

adverse party. 

(Emphasis added). The Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court's grant of summary 

judgment where the non-moving party failed to file a response. Williams v. Little, No. 

M2008-02105-COA-R3-CV, 2009 Tenn. App. LEXIS 703, at *6 (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 20, 

2009). 

Here, White Castle fully complied with Rule 56's requirements and this Court's 

rule that it provide a copy of Rule 56 to Mr. Raine. Mr. Raine failed to file a response. 

The Court holds summary judgment is appropriate, and, by the plain language of Rule 

56.06, this Court enters judgment against him. 

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IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED as follows: 

1. White Castle's Motion for Summary Judgment is granted, and Mr. Raine's claim 

against White Castle for the requested workers' compensation benefits is 

dismissed on the merits with prejudice to its refiling. The Status Conference 

previously scheduled for January 9, 20 1 7, is cancelled. 

2. The filing fee of $150.00 for this cause is taxed to the Employer, White Castle, 

pursuant to Tennessee Compilation Rules and Regulations 0800-02-21-.07 (20 15), 

to be paid within five days of the entry of this order, and for which execution may 

Issue as necessary. 

3. White Castle shall prepare and submit the SD-1 for this matter within ten days of 

the date of judgment. 

ENTERED this the 6th day of December, 2016. 

Right to Appeal: 

udge Kenneth M. S itzer 

Court of Workers' Compensati 

Tennessee Law allows any party who disagrees with this Order to appeal the 

decision to the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board or the Tennessee Supreme Court. 

To appeal your case to the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, you must: 

1. Complete the enclosed form entitled: "Compensation Hearing Notice of Appeal." 

2. File the completed form with the Court Clerk within thirty calendar days of the 

date the Workers' Compensation Judge entered the Compensation Hearing Order. 

3. Serve a copy of the Compensation Hearing Notice of Appeal upon the opposing 

party. 

4. The appealing party is responsible for payment of a filing fee in the amount of 

$75.00. Within ten calendar days after the filing of a notice of appeal, payment 

must be received by check, money order, or credit card payment. Payments can be 

made in person at any Bureau office or by United States mail, hand-delivery, or 

other delivery service. In the alternative, the appealing party may file an Affidavit 

of Indigency, on a form prescribed by the Bureau, seeking a waiver of the filing 

fee. The Affidavit of Indigency may be filed contemporaneously with the Notice 

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of Appeal or must be filed within ten calendar days thereafter. The Appeals Board 

will consider the Affidavit of Indigency and issue an Order granting or denying 

the request for a waiver of the filing fee as soon thereafter as is 

practicable. Failure to timely pay the filing fee or file the Affidavit of 

Indigency in accordance with this section shall result in dismissal of the 

appeal. 

5. The party filing the notice of appeal, having the re~ponsibility of ensuring a 

complete record on appeal, may request, from the Court Clerk, the audio recording 

of the hearing for the purpose of having a transcript prepared by a licensed court 

reporter and filing it with the Court Clerk within fifteen calendar days of the filing 

of the Compensation Hearing Notice of Appeal. Alternatively, the party filing the 

appeal may file a joint statement of the evidence within fifteen calendar days of 

the filing of the Compensation Hearing Notice of Appeal. The statement of the 

evidence must convey a complete and accurate account of what transpired in the 

Court of Workers' Compensation Claims and must be approved by the workers' 

compensation judge before the record is submitted to the Clerk of the Appeals 

Board. See Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0800-02-22-.03 (2016). 

6. After the Workers' Compensation Judge approves the record and the Court Clerk 

transmits it to the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, the appeal will be 

docketed and assigned to an Appeals Board Judge for review. At that time, a 

docketing notice shall be sent to the parties. Thereafter, the parties have fifteen 

calendar days to submit briefs to the Appeals Board for consideration. See Tenn. 

Comp. R. & Regs. 0800-02-22-.03 (2016). 

To appeal your case directly to the Tennessee Supreme Court, the 

Compensation Order must be final and you must comply with the Tennessee Rules 

of Appellate Procedure. If neither party timely files an appeal with the Appeals 

Board, this Order will become final by operation of law thirty calendar days after 

entry, pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-239(c)(7) (2016). 

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APPENDIX 

Technical Record: 

1. Employer/Carrier's Motion for Summary Judgment 

2. Employer/Carrier's Statement ofUndisputed Material Facts in Support of its 

Motion for Summary Judgment 

3. Memorandum of Law in Support of Employer/Carrier's Motion for Summary 

Judgment 

4. Exhibits 

5. Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 56 

6. Expedited Hearing Order 

7. Appeals Board Memorandum Opinion 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing Order was sent to the 

following recipients by the following methods of service on this the 6th day of 

December, 2016. 

Name Certified Via Via Service sent to: . 

Mail Fax Email 

David Raine, self- X X 1701 Luton St., Apt. B, 

represented Nashville, TN 37207, 

ilagosian@.gmail.com 

Brett Burrow, X Bburrow@burrowlee.com 

Employer's attorney 

m, Clerk 

Court o orkers' Compensation Claims 

WC.CourtClerk@tn.gov 

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