Opinion ID: 1179749
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Summary Judgment Was Cargill a Statutory Employer of Bright Under K.S.A. 44-503?

Text: A prologue to any analysis of a summary judgment issue is the recitation and acknowledgment of the movant's burden and of our scope of appellate review. The burden of the party seeking summary judgment is a strict one. The trial court is required to resolve all facts and inferences which may reasonably be drawn from the evidence in favor of the party against whom the ruling is sought. Bacon v. Mercy Hosp. of Ft. Scott, 243 Kan. 303, 306-07, 756 P.2d 416 (1988). Summary judgment is proper where the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file together with any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. When summary judgment is challenged on appeal, we must read the record in the light most favorable to the party who defended against the motion for summary judgment. Patterson v. Brouhard, 246 Kan. 700, 702-03, 792 P.2d 983 (1990). The Workers Compensation Act K.S.A. 1991 Supp. 44-501(b) states in part: Except as provided in the workers compensation act, no employer, or other employee of such employer, shall be liable for any injury for which compensation is recoverable under the workers compensation act . .. . The statute is referred to as the exclusive remedy provision of the Workers Compensation Act (the Act). Under this provision, a worker may not maintain a common-law negligence action against an employer if the worker may recover benefits for an injury from that employer under the Act. Zehring v. Wickham, 232 Kan. 704, 706, 658 P.2d 1004 (1983). We have stated that the provisions of the Act are to be liberally construed for the purpose of bringing a worker under the Act whether or not desirable for the specific individual's circumstances. Zehring, 232 Kan. at 709. The provisions of the Act shall be applied impartially to both employers and employees. K.S.A. 1991 Supp. 44-501(g). K.S.A. 44-503(a) provides in part: Where any person (in this section referred to as principal) undertakes to execute any work which is a part of his trade or business or which he has contracted to perform and contracts with any other person (in this section referred to as the contractor) for the execution by or under the contractor of the whole or any part of the work undertaken by the principal, the principal shall be liable to pay to any workman employed in the execution of the work any compensation under the workmen's compensation act which he would have been liable to pay if that workman had been immediately employed by him; and where compensation is claimed from or proceedings are taken against the principal, then in the application of the workmen's compensation act, references to the principal shall be substituted for references to the employer.... (Emphasis added.) K.S.A. 44-503(a) extends the application of the Act to certain individuals or entities who are not the immediate employers of the injured worker. Hollingsworth v. Fehrs Equip. Co., 240 Kan. 398, 402, 729 P.2d 1214 (1986). We observed in Zehring that a principal purpose of K.S.A. 44-503(a) is `to prevent employers from evading liability under the act by the device of contracting with outsiders to do work which they have undertaken to do as a part of their trade or business.' Hoffman v. Cudahy Packing Co., 161 Kan. 345, Syl. ¶ 4, 167 P.2d 613 (1946). See also Fugit, [Administratrix v. United Beechcraft, Inc.,], 222 Kan. [312, 315, 564 P.2d 521 (1977)]. 232 Kan. at 707. In Hanna v. CRA, Inc., 196 Kan. 156, 159-60, 409 P.2d 786 (1966), we set out the following test to determine whether the work which gave rise to the worker's injury was a part of the principal's trade or business under K.S.A. 44-503(a): (1) [I]s 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? (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 employee's sole remedy against the principal is under the Workmen's Compensation Act. We have adhered to the Hanna test. Hollingsworth, 240 Kan. 398; Zehring, 232 Kan. 704; and Woods v. Cessna Aircraft Co., 220 Kan. 479, 553 P.2d 900 (1976). Cargill's Contentions Cargill contends that it is immune from Bright's common-law negligence action because Bright was performing work that was a part of Cargill's trade or business, making Cargill Bright's K.S.A. 44-503(a) statutory employer. In support of its motion for summary judgment, Cargill provided 13 paragraphs of uncontroverted facts. A number of the uncontroverted facts were intended by Cargill to establish that the first test from Hanna had been met (the work performed by Bright was necessarily inherent in and an integral part of Cargill's trade or business). These facts provided: (1) the storage of grain is one of Cargill's primary business operations; (2) Cargill's C-house is used for the storage of grain; (3) the purpose of the C-house leg drive is to transport grain for storage into the C-house elevator; (4) the C-house leg drive is the only method of transporting grain into the elevator for storage; (5) without the C-house leg drive, Cargill cannot use the C-house elevator to store grain; (6) the C-house leg drive is necessarily inherent in and an integral part of Cargill's business of storing grain; and (7) the purpose of the work being completed by Southwest was to replace the C-house leg drive and, in effect, increase the production of the elevator. The asserted uncontroverted facts were supported by a series of affidavits from Cargill's management and employees. Paragraphs 10 and 11 of Cargill's statement of uncontroverted facts supported the second Hanna test (whether the work being performed by the injured worker is work that would ordinarily have been done by the principal's employees). Paragraphs 10 and 11 stated that: (1) Cargill's employees had the equipment and skill to perform the work being done by Southwest and had performed similar work on several occasions in the past, and (2) the type of work being performed by Southwest was work that Cargill's maintenance employees would normally perform if they had time. These asserted uncontroverted facts were supported by references to depositions of Cargill's regional production superintendent, maintenance supervisor, and elevator superintendent. Bright's Contentions Bright responded in opposition to Cargill's motion for summary judgment. Bright controverted Cargill's uncontroverted fact that the C-house leg drive is the only method of transporting grain into the elevator, contending grain may also be transported into the elevator using the A- and B-house leg drives. Bright also controverted Cargill's assertion that the C-house leg drive is necessarily inherent in and an integral part of Cargill's business. Bright asserted that Cargill was conducting business as usual and did not have to shut down while the C-house leg drive was being replaced. Bright supported his statements controverting Cargill's uncontroverted facts with affidavits. Bright also controverted Cargill's paragraphs 10 and 11 with the deposition testimony of four Cargill employees. Generally, the employee depositions stated that the work being done by Southwest was not work that Cargill employees would normally do. The trial court found the first Hanna test had been satisfied and did not discuss the second test from Hanna. The First Hanna Test Bright argues the trial court erred in finding, based on the uncontroverted facts, that the work being performed by Bright and Southwest was inherent in and an integral part of Cargill's trade or business. He asserts Cargill and the trial court incorrectly focused on the result of the work (the necessity of the equipment) rather than the type of work being done by Bright and Southwest (a task of major replacement, involving structural modification). He asserts Cargill presented no evidence bearing on the issue of whether comparable companies would have done this type of major replacement. Bright argues that Cargill only presented evidence regarding the importance of the C-house leg drive to Cargill's business operation. Bright would submit the issue to a jury.