Court Opinion

ID: 9639133
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 16:05:38.371603+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:10:12.853697
License: Public Domain

Brian S. Miller, Judge, concurring. I concur with the decision to reverse and remand this case for an award of benefits; and I write separately to reconcile this view with my position in Economy Inn & Suites v. Jivan, 97 Ark. App. 115, 253 S.W.3d 4 (2007). In Jivan, I voted with this court’s majority to deny benefits based on my view that the claimant was not advancing the interests of her employer while changing clothes to attend a work-out session. The supreme court, however, reversed us in Jivan v. Economy Inn & Suites, 370 Ark. 414, 260 S.W.3d 281 (2007). The majority opinion clearly articulates the similarities between Jivan and the present case. Although it is arguable that the claimant, Leslie Toia, was not advancing the interests of his employer at the time of his injury, we are bound by the precedent of our supreme court. See Sanderson v. McCollum, 82 Ark. App. 111, 112 S.W.3d 363 (2003); Gause v. Shelter Gen. Ins., 81 Ark. App. 133, 98 S.W.3d 854 (2003). Therefore, I join the majority.