1 TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION IN THE COURT OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS AT NASHVILLE

Carlton Roach , ) Docket No. 202 3

- 06

- 4294

Employee, )

v. ) Grouper Holdings, LLC, a/k/a Aludyne North America , ) ) State File No. 8189

- 2022 Employer, ) And ) Travelers Indemnity Co. , )

Carrier. ) Judge Kenneth M. Switzer

COMPENSATION ORDER GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Th e Court heard Grouper Holdings ’ s motion for summary judgment on July 16

, 2024. The issue is whether Grouper Holdings is entitled to summary judgment because the statute of limitations bars Mr. Roach ’s claim. For the reasons below, the Court holds Grouper Holdings is entitled to summary judgment.

Claim History

Grouper Holdings filed a statement of undisputed material facts with citations to the record in compliance with Rule 56.03 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure (2023)

. They are summarized as follows:

• Mr. Roach was an employee of G rouper H oldings on September 13

, 2021 , when he allegedly sustained an injury in the course and scope of his employment

.

• Mr. Roach filed his petition for benefit determination on June 20

, 2023

.

• Mr. Roach was aware of the denial of his claim for workers ’ compensation benefits

.

• Neither Grouper Holdings nor its carrier, Travelers, paid benefits of any type to or on behalf of Mr. Roach for the alleged September 13, 2021 injury. 

### FILED Jul 17, 2024 10:54 AM(CT)
TENNESSEE COURT OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION

CLAIMS2

Grouper Holdings supported these facts with the P etition for B enefit D etermination and t wo affidavits. Brian Green, chief human resources officer for Grouper Holdings, and Schuyler Crowe, a claims professional for Travelers, testified that no benefits were paid on Mr. Roach’s claim.

Mr. Roach did not file a response , nor did he appear at the hearing.

L aw and Analysis

Summary judgment is appropriate “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 any material fact and that the m oving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Tenn. R. Civ. P. 56.04.

As the moving party, Grouper Holdings must do one of two things to prevail on its motion: (1) submit affirmative evidence that negates an essential element of M r. Roach’s claim, or (2) demonstrate that h is evidence is insufficient to establish an essential element of h is claim. Tenn. Code An n. § 20

- 16

- 101 (2023) ; see also Rye v. Women’s Care Ctr. of Memphis, MPLLC , 477 S.W.3d 235, 264 (Tenn. 2015).

If Grouper Holdings successfully meets one of those burdens , Mr. Roach must respond by producing specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial

. Id.; Tenn. R. Civ. P. 56.06. Rule 56.03 states, “Each disputed fact must be supported by specific citations to the record.” As to the record, Rule 56.04 allows a court to consider “pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any.”

Grouper Holdings argue s that the Court should grant summary judgment because it affirmativ ely negated an essential element of Mr. Roach’s claim

– that he timely filed his petition

. Grouper Holdings relie s on Tennessee Code Annotated section 50

- 6

- 203(b)( 1 ), which states that when an employer has not paid workers’ compensation benefits to or on behalf of an employee, “the right t o compensation under this chapter shall be forever barred, unless

. . . a petition for benefit determination is filed

. . . within one (1) year after the accident resulting in injury.”

Here, the undisputed, properly supported facts show that Mr. Roach alleged a work injury occurring on September 13, 2021, and Grouper Holdings and Travelers paid no benefits. Mr. Roach did not file his p etition until June 20 , 2023 , past the one

- year post

accident deadline for filing his lawsuit

. Th erefore , Grouper Holdings successfully negated an essential element of Mr. Roach’s claim ̶ that he timely filed the p etition ̶ and showed that his facts are insufficient to prove this element.3

Because Grouper H oldings met its burden, the Court considers whether Mr. Roach produced pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions on file, or affidavits setting forth specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial. He did not.

Specifically, Mr. Ro ach filed no response to Grouper Holdings’s statement of undisputed material facts

. He also did not appear to make any argument in support of denying the motion. Because Mr. Roach did not point to any specific facts or present any admissible countervaili ng evidence regarding Grouper Holdings’s statute of limitations defense, he did not show a genuine issue of material fact for trial. The Court holds Grouper Holdings is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law.

IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED as follows:

1. Grouper Holdings ’s m otion for s ummary j udgment is granted, and Mr. Roach ’s claim is dismissed with prejudice to its refiling.

2. Unless appealed, this order shall become final 30 days after entry.

3. The Court taxes the $150.00 filing fee to Grouper Holdings under Tennessee Compilation Rules and Regulations 0800

- 02

- 21

- .06 (2023), payable to the Clerk within five days of this order becoming final.

ENTERED July 1 7 , 20 2 4

.

______________ __________________________ J UDGE K ENNETH M. S WITZER Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims4 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that a copy of th is Order was sent as indicated on July 1 7 , 202 4

.

Name Certified Mail Regular

mail Email Sent to

Carlton Roach

, employee X X Carltonroach76@gmail.com 701 Gracey Ave. #105A Clarksville TN 37040 Chip Storey

, employer ’s attorney X cstoreyj@travelers.com dbest@travelers.com

_______________________________________ PENNY SHRUM Clerk, Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims WC.CourtClerk@tn.govFor self

- represented litigants: Help from an Ombudsman is available at 800

- 332

- 2667. Right to Appeal : If you disagree with th e Court’s Order, you may appeal to the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. To do so, you must:

1. Complete the enclosed form entitled “Notice of Appeal” and f ile it with the Clerk of the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims before the expiration of the deadline.  If the order being appealed is “ e xpedited” (also called “interlocutory”)

, or if the order does not dispose of the case in its entirety, the notice of appeal must be filed within seven (7) business days of the date the order was filed.  If the order being appealed is a “Compensation Order, ” or if it resolves all issues in the case, the notice of appeal must be filed within thirty (30) calendar days of the date the C ompensation O rder was filed. Wh en filing the Notice of Appeal, you must serve a copy on the opposing party (or attorney

, if represented).

2. You must pay, via check, money order, or credit card, a $75.00 filing fee within ten calendar days after filing the Notice of Appeal. Payments can be made in

- person at any Bureau office or by U.S. mail, hand

- delivery, or other delivery service. In the al ternative, you may file an Affidavit of Indigency (form available on the Bureau’s website or any Bureau office) seeking a waiver of the filing fee. You must file the fully

- completed Affidavit of Indigency within ten calendar days of filing the Notice of A ppeal. Failure to timely pay the filing fee or file the Affidavit of Indigency will result in dismissal of your appeal.

3. You are responsible for ensuring a complete record is presented on appeal. If no court reporter was present at the hearing, y ou may r equest from the C ourt C lerk the audio recording of the hearing for a $25.00 fee. If you choose to submit a transcript as part of your appeal, which the Appeals Board has emphasized is important for a meaningful review of the case, a licensed court reporter must prepare the transcript

, and you must file it with the C ourt C lerk

. The Court Clerk will prepare the record for submission to the Appeal s Board, and you will receive notice once it has been submitted. For deadlines related to the filing of transcripts, statements of the evidence, and briefs on appeal , see the applicable rules on the Bureau’s website at https://www.tn.gov/wcappealsboard . (Click the “Read Rules” button.)

4. After the Workers’ Compensation Judge approves the record and the C ourt C lerk transmits it to the Appeals Board, a docketing notice will be sent to the parties.
If neither party timely files an appeal with the Appeals Board, the Court Order becomes enforceable

. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 50

- 6

- 239(d)(3) (expedited/interlocutory orders) and Tenn. Code Ann. § 50

- 6

- 239(c)(7) (compensation orders)

.LB -1099 rev. 01/20 Page 1 of 2 RDA 11082 NOTICE OF APPEAL Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation www.tn.gov/workforce/injuries- at -work/ wc.courtclerk@tn.gov | 1- 800

- 332 -2667

Docket No. :

________________________ State File No.:

______________________ Date of Injury: _____________________

___________________________________________________________________________ Employee

v.

___________________________________________________________________________ Employer

Notice is given that ____________________________________________________________________

[List name(s) of all appealing party(ies). Use separate sheet if necessary.]

appeals the following order(s) of the Tennessee Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims to the
Workers’ Co mpensation Appeals Board (check one or more applicable boxes and include the date filestamped on the first page of the order(s) being appealed):



### □ Expedited Hearing Order fil ed on

_______________ 

### □ Motion Order filed on ___________________



### □ Compensation Order filed on

__________________ 

### □ Other Order filed on

_____________________ issued by Judge _____________________________________________________________________

____ .

Statement of the Issues on Appeal Provide a short and plain statement of the issues on appeal or basis for relief on appeal:

______________________________________________________________________________________ __

______________________________________________________________________________________ __

______________________________________________________________________________________ __

______________________________________________________________________________________ __
Parties Appellant(s) (Requesting Party): _________________________________________ ☐ Employer ☐ Employee Address: _______________________________________________________

_ Ph one: ___________________ Email: __________________________________________________________ Attorney’s Na me:

_____________________________________________ _ BPR#: _______________________ Attorney’s E mail: _____________________________________________

_ Phone: _______________________ Attorney’s Ad dress:

_________________________________________________________________________ * Attach an additional sheet for each additional Appellant *LB -1099 rev. 01/20 Page 2 of 2 RDA 11082

Employee Name: _______________________________________ Docket No.: __________________

__ _ Date of Inj.:

____

___________

Appellee(s) (Opposing Party): ___________________________________________ ☐ Employer ☐ Employee App ellee’s Address:

_____________________________________________ _ Phone:

_ ___________________ Email: _________________________________________________________ Attorney’s Na me:

_____________________________________________ B PR#: ________________________ Attorney’s E mail: _____________________________________________ Phone:

_______________________ Attorney’s Ad dress:

_________________________________________________________________________ * Attach an additional sheet for each additional Appellee *

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, _____________________________________________________________, certify that I have forwarded a true and exact copy of this Notice of Appeal by First Class mail, postage prepaid, or in any manner as described in Tennessee Compilation Rules & Regulations, Chapter 0800- 02

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, to all parties and/or their attorneys in this case on this the __________ day of ___________________________________, 20 ____.

__ ____________________________________________ [Signature of appellant or attorney for appellant]