Opinion ID: 1843488
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: borrowed servant

Text: Defoor asserts that the summary judgment was improper as to USX because, he argues, Evesque was a borrowed servant of USX, and USX was therefore liable for his negligent acts. A corporation is subject to liability for the actions of its servants, agents, or employees only when such acts are done in or about the duties assigned them or are accomplished within the scope of their duties. See Martin v. Anniston Foundry Co., 259 Ala. 633, 68 So.2d 323 (1953). An employee may, however, be transferred from his general employer to a borrower with respect to particular work to be done for that borrower and thus can subject the borrower to liability for certain of the employee's acts. Id. at 637, 68 So.2d at 327. To determine if a master-servant, or employer-employee, relationship exists, we analyze: (1) the character of service, duration of employment, and who is paying the employee; (2) whether the employee consented to becoming the borrowed servant of the alleged borrower and suspended his employment with his general employer; and (3) whether the general employer retained the ultimate right to control the employee's work. See State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Vails, 278 Ala. 266, 270-71, 177 So.2d 821, 824-25 (1965); United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Russo Corp., 628 So.2d 486, 488-89 (Ala.1993) [2] ( USF & G ) In determining whether the requisite degree of control exists, this Court recognizes that it is the entity's right to control the manner and means of the employee's work that establishes the employer-employee relationship, not the mere right to set general guidelines. See Gossett v. Twin County Cable T.V., Inc., 594 So.2d 635, 639 (Ala.1992) (Where the alleged master retains merely the right to inspect the work as it progresses, in order to ascertain if it is completed according to plans or specifications, and the right to stop work improperly done, the master and servant relationship is not created.); Pugh v. Butler Tel. Co., 512 So.2d 1317, 1318 (Ala.1987) (stating that no master-servant relationship exists between an entity and a worker if the entity has not reserved the right to control the means by which the work is performed). The facts that Evesque was hired by Bessemer Tech, that he was paid by Bessemer Tech, and that he worked exclusively on Bessemer Tech's premises indicate that Evesque was not USX's borrowed servant. See USF & G, 628 So.2d at 488-89. The lack of evidence that either Evesque or Bessemer Tech ever consented to Evesque's becoming an employee of USX, or that he ever suspended his work for Bessemer Tech, also indicates that Evesque was not USX's borrowed servant. See Vails, 278 Ala. at 270, 177 So.2d at 824; Alabama Power Co. v. Smith, 273 Ala. 509, 520, 142 So.2d 228, 239 (1962). We are not persuaded that USX's assisting in developing the test, providing guidelines for administering the test, and determining which applicants passed the test are sufficient to create an employer-employee relationship between USX and Evesque. [3] Here, Bessemer Tech and USX entered into an arm's-length contract under which Bessemer Tech conducted certain testing on Bessemer Tech's premises with Bessemer Tech's employee, Evesque, administering the test. Although USX provided certain guidelines for the testing, Bessemer Tech retained the right to control the manner and means by which Evesque administered the tests within the structure provided by the guidelines, and thus it retained Evesque as its employee. See Gossett, 594 So.2d at 639 (stating that the right to ascertain whether work is completed according to plans or specifications is insufficient to create an employer-employee relationship); Pugh, 512 So.2d at 1318 (same). Accordingly, the summary judgment was proper as to USX.