Opinion ID: 1962145
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: whether mississippi's worker's compensation act extends immunity to a general contractor or a subcontractor in a negligence action brought against them by the employee of a sub-subcontractor?

Text: We begin our analysis of the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Act reminded that this Court has previously addressed the issue of workers' compensation coverage and immunity and has stated: Reason and consistency require that we apply the provisions of the [workers' compensation] act and the decisions interpreting it with an equal hand, both where coverage is asserted and where the exclusive remedy provisions of the statute are involved. Stubbs v. Green Brothers Gravel Co., 206 So.2d 323, 325 (Miss. 1968). Crowe argues that, since Miss. Code Ann. § 71-3-7 (1972) does not compel general contractors to provide workers' compensation insurance for the employees of sub-subcontractors, general contractors are not afforded immunity from negligence suits through the exclusive remedy provision of Miss. Code Ann. § 71-3-9 (1972). Brasfield and FaBarc argue that, if Model had not provided workers' compensation coverage to Crowe, then they would have been responsible for providing the coverage and, therefore, they are entitled to immunity under Miss. Code Ann. § 71-3-9 (1972). This is a case of first impression. We have not addressed this situation in a published opinion. Moreover, few other jurisdictions have confronted this question through published opinions. Those jurisdictions which have addressed this issue have held that the general contractor and subcontractor have statutory immunity from negligence actions brought by employees of the sub-subcontractor when the sub-subcontractor had workers' compensation insurance. See Mathew v. Aetna Cas. And Sur. Co., 578 So.2d 242, 244 (La. Ct. App. 1991); Fred G. Wright, Inc. v. Edwards, 642 So.2d 808, 809 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1994); Dodge v. William E. Arnold Co., 373 So.2d 98, 100 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1979). Crowe frames the argument as a dispute over the meaning of the term subcontractor found in Miss. Code Ann. § 71-3-7 (1972). Section 71-3-7 provides in relevant part: In the case of an employer who is a subcontractor, the contractor shall be liable for and shall secure the payment of such compensation to employees of the subcontractor, unless the subcontractor has secured such payment. Crowe argues for a strict and limited interpretation of Section 71-3-7. That is, since Crowe was employed by a sub-subcontractor, and since the statute does not specifically mention sub-subcontractors, Crowe argues that Brasfield has no legal basis for its claim that it is immune from Crowe's suit. We have defined a subcontractor as one who has entered into a contract express or implied, for the performance of an act, with a person who has already contracted for its performance. O'Neal Steel Company v. Leon C. Miles, Inc., 187 So.2d 19, 25 (Miss. 1966) (quoting Holt & Bugbee Co. v. City of Melrose, 311 Mass. 424, 41 N.E.2d 562, 563 (1942)). When faced with situations similar to the one presented here, several other jurisdictions have held that employees of a sub-subcontractor are covered within their employer's workers' compensation insurance provisions. See, e.g., Stolte, Inc. v. Eighth Judicial District Court, 89 Nev. 257, 510 P.2d 870, 871 (1973); Palumbo v. Nello L. Teer Co., 240 F. Supp. 226 (D.Md. 1965); Kieffer v. Walsh Construction Co., 140 F. Supp. 318 (D.Pa. 1956); Baker & Conrad Inc. v. Chicago Heights Constr. Co., 364 Ill. 386, 4 N.E.2d 953 (1936). The Illinois court in Baker & Conrad, supra, stated: The term subcontractor is not spoken in a technical sense, but includes not only those contracting directly with the original contractor, but also those who have contracted with one whose contract is subordinate to a previous agreement, regardless of whether it is the original or general contract. Such persons are all subcontractors, although they may be removed in different degrees from the original contract. No distinctions are recognized in the applicability of the act as to contractors or to subcontractors, as those terms are customarily recognized, or even those still further removed in the chain of contracts descending from the original contract. The act was intended to embrace all laborers rendering services in the advancement of their employer's business... . 4 N.E.2d at 958. Model, Crowe's employer, contracted with FaBarc to complete portions of the steel work on the Turtle Creek Mall. FaBarc had previously contracted with Brasfield to do the structural steel work on the mall. Model entered into an express contract with FaBarc for the performance of an act (the completion of portions of the steel work) which FaBarc had already contracted to complete. Thus, under our case law, Model satisfied the definition of a subcontractor. Accordingly, it is the opinion of this Court that both Brasfield and FaBarc are protected by the exclusive remedy provision of the Workers' Compensation Act found at Miss. Code Ann. § 71-3-9 (1972). In regard to our workers' compensation law, we have held that any construction given to the workmen's compensation act must be sensible as well as liberal, and the intent of the legislature must be determined by the total language of the statute and not from a segment considered apart from the remainder. Doubleday v. Boyd Constr. Co., 418 So.2d 823, 826 (Miss. 1982) (quoting McCluskey v. Thompson, 363 So.2d 256, 259 (Miss. 1978)). In Doubleday we looked to Florida case law for guidance when deciding whether the injured employee of a subcontractor could sue the general contractor for negligence. We held that the injured employee could not sue the general contractor where his injuries were compensated through the subcontractor's workers' compensation policy and stated: We agree with this decision even though Fla. Stat. Ann. § 440.10 [1] (West 1981) differs somewhat from Miss. Code Ann. § 71-3-7 (1972). It is our opinion [that] the legislature did not intend to subject a general contractor to common law liability if he complied with § 71-3-7 by requiring the subcontractor to have workmen's compensation insurance. It would defeat the purpose of the statute, we think, if such an improbable result followed. Mosley, supra, reaches the same result. In it Mosley protected itself from common law tort liability by procuring workmen's compensation insurance for the employees of its subcontractor. Boyd accomplished the same end by contractually requiring Ratliff to secure a policy of insurance on its employees. In doing so, we are of the opinion that the appellee secured compensation insurance for the benefit of Doubleday within the meaning and purpose of the statute. Therefore, appellee is not, under the circumstances of this case, any other party as designated by § 71-3-71, and thus is immune from a common law negligence action. Doubleday, 418 So.2d at 826-27 (citing Mosley v. Jones., 224 Miss. 725, 80 So.2d 819 (1955)) (footnote supplied). The Florida Court of Appeals recently decided a case analogous to the one we face today. In Fred G. Wright, Inc. v. Edwards, 642 So.2d 808 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1994), the appellant, Wright, was the general contractor on a building project. Wright subcontracted the erection of the structural steel portion to Suncoast Steel & Pipe. Thereafter, Suncoast Steel & Pipe subcontracted a portion of its work to Suncoast Fabricators, Inc. Edwards, an employee of Suncoast Fabricators, Inc. (the sub-subcontractor), was seriously injured while on the job. Wright, 642 So.2d at 808. Edwards, like Crowe, filed a workers' compensation claim against his employer (Suncoast Fabricators, Inc.). Edwards, like Crowe, received full workers' compensation benefits for his injuries from his employer. Edwards, like Crowe, then filed a common law negligence action against the general contractor (Wright) and the subcontractor (Suncoast Steel & Pipe). [2] The general contractor and subcontractor filed motions for summary judgment, alleging that they were entitled to immunity from Edwards' negligence suit under Fla. Stat. Ann. Sections 440.10 and 440.11. [3] The trial court granted the subcontractor's motion for summary judgment but did not grant the contractor's motion. The general contractor appealed the denial of its motion for summary judgment, and the Florida Court of Appeals reversed the trial court and granted summary judgment for the general contractor. The court reasoned: If a subcontractor provides workers' compensation benefits to its injured employee, workers' compensation immunity would not only apply to the subcontractor, but to the general contractor as well. § 440.11(1)(b), Fla. Stat. (1987); Dodge v. William E. Arnold Co., 373 So.2d 98 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979). Since Edwards' employer, Suncoast Fabricators, had workers' compensation coverage, Wright, as general contractor, was a statutory employer pursuant to section 440.10 entitled to the same immunity as Suncoast Fabricators. See Powell v. Independent Constr. Co., 396 So.2d 725 (Fla. 5th DCA), review denied, 402 So.2d 612 (Fla. 1981). Wright, 642 So.2d at 809. Louisiana has also addressed this issue and held that the general contractor was the statutory employer of a sub-subcontractor and thus was immune from negligence suits brought by the sub-subcontractor's injured employee. Albin v. Red Stick Constr. Co., Inc., 509 So.2d 110 (La. Ct. App. 1987). Albin was the employee of a sub-subcontractor and was injured while on the job. Albin received workers' compensation payments from the sub-subcontractor and brought a negligence action against the general contractor. Id. at 111. The Louisiana Court of Appeals held that the general contractor was a statutory employer and thus immune from Albin's negligence action. It is granted that Albin was decided upon the language of Louisiana's workers' compensation statutes, which are different from Mississippi's statute. However, Louisiana's statute does not contain specific language addressing sub-subcontractors and their responsibilities under the law. See also Mathew v. Aetna Cas. and Sur. Co., 578 So.2d 242, 244 (La. Ct. App. 1991). Crowe argues that our Doubleday decision requires the general contractor to either secure the workers' compensation insurance for the employee or contractually require that the subcontractor purchase workers' compensation insurance before the general contractor can take advantage of the statutory immunity afforded general contractors. Crowe suggests that because Brasfield did not purchase workers' compensation insurance for him or contractually require Model to purchase workers' compensation insurance for its employees, they are not immune from his negligence suit. Doubleday does not stand for the narrow proposition advanced by Crowe. The two methods of obtaining workers' compensation coverage and thus statutory immunity discussed in Doubleday are not exclusive. This Court did not hold that the only way a general contractor could fulfill this obligation was either to purchase the insurance itself or to specifically contract with the subcontractor requiring such coverage. In fact, we stated that [i]t is our opinion [that] the legislature did not intend to subject a general contractor to common law liability if he complied with § 71-3-7 by requiring the subcontractor to have workmen's compensation insurance. Doubleday, 418 So.2d at 826. Crowe argues that Estate of Morris v. W.E. Blain & Sons, Inc., 511 So.2d 945 (Miss. 1987), limits our holding in Doubleday. Crowe is correct. However, Morris does not speak to the issue before the Court today. In Morris the decedent died as a result of injuries he sustained when he was hit by a car while working on a highway construction project. W.E. Blain & Sons was the general contractor on the project, and Traffic Control Products was a subcontractor whose responsibility included the provision of traffic and warning signs. Morris was employed by A & B Paint Striping Co., another subcontractor on the project. Morris, 511 So.2d at 946. As a result of Morris' death on the job, his beneficiaries brought a wrongful death suit against W.E. Blain & Sons and Traffic Control Products. The trial court granted summary judgment for W.E. Blain & Sons and for Traffic Control Products. The estate appealed and we affirmed the grant of summary judgment for W.E. Blain & Sons, finding that the general contractor was a statutory employer for purposes of our workers' compensation law. However, we reversed the award of summary judgment to Traffic Control Products and stated: Traffic Control is not in the same position as a Doubleday -type statutory employer. It secured coverage for its own employees, but it had no statutory obligation to secure compensation coverage for another subcontractor's employees. There is no quid pro quo here. Morris, 511 So.2d at 949. In Morris, the subcontractor seeking to invoke the exclusive remedy provision of the workers' compensation act had not subcontracted with Morris' employer. Traffic Control was hired by the general contractor to complete one portion of the highway project, and A & B Paint Striping was hired by the general contractor to complete yet another portion of the highway project. These two subcontractors were separate and distinct. In fact, Traffic Control was not obligated to insure A & B Paint Striping's employees nor was A & B Paint Striping obligated to provide workers' compensation coverage for Traffic Control's employees. In the case sub judice we have a type of vertical hierarchy not present in Morris. Brasfield and FaBarc secured workers' compensation insurance for Crowe in keeping with the intent of Miss. Code Ann. § 71-3-7 (1972) and our holding in Doubleday. It cannot be seriously contested that if Model had not provided workers' compensation coverage, FaBarc or Brasfield would not have been liable for Crowe's workers' compensation benefits. Therefore, Morris is distinguishable and merits Crowe no relief.