Court Opinion

ID: 9604828
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 02:27:04.821361+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:02:24.168070
License: Public Domain

Beasley, Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I concur in Divisions 1 and 4 and in the judgment reversing the summary judgments to the three defendants.
As to Division 3, I agree that Lenker is not entitled to summary judgment on the theory that the Workers’ Compensation Act provides the exclusive remedy. There are at least questions of fact regarding whether “employee [Moon’s] participation [was] required either expressly or by implication,” and whether “the employer derive[d] a substantial benefit from the event beyond the improvement in employee health and morale that is common to all kinds of recreational or social activities.” Pizza Hut of America v. Hood, 198 Ga. App. 112 (1) (400 SE2d 657) (1990). Included in evidence supporting this defense is that the purpose of the event was to honor a new company executive and to ease the transition of business operations under his direction. There was evidence that the invited employees, who were all upper level management employees, were urged to attend and that plaintiff felt compelled to attend. However, there was also evidence that attendance was optional and that the benefits to the employer were merely the building of morale.
I agree with Division 2 except with respect to the caveated overruling of Bunch v. Stanton, 174 Ga. App. 233 (329 SE2d 538) (1985). The legal principles upon which it was based are sound and extant. The facts are distinguishable from the undisputed facts in Moon’s case, and the opinion carefully limited the holding to “the undisputed facts of [Bunch’s] case.” Id. at 235. Here there was evidence that Lenker participated in, and even instigated, the forcing of people including Moon into the pool. There was evidence that Moon was not at the pool but was dragged there earnestly protesting, after Lenker pointed him out as the person next to be thrown in. Bunch does not “suggest that there is no duty [for hosts] to undertake to protect a social guest from an injury caused by the reasonably anticipated misconduct of another social guest,” as the majority characterizes it. Quite different from the circumstances in Bunch, there is evidence that the host in this case not only was aware of the misconduct towards Moon in particular but was involved in it. Licensee Bunch’s host was not even on the scene.
I am authorized to state that Chief Judge Sognier and Judge Andrews join in this opinion.
*826Decided January 28, 1992
Reconsideration denied February 13, 1992
Hart & McIntyre, George W. Hart, John C. McIntyre, Jr., for appellants.
Drew, Eckl & Farnham, B. Holland Pritchard, Alston & Bird, T. Michael Tennant, Lokey & Bowden, Malcolm Smith, Saveli & Williams, John C. Parker, Jennifer H. Chapin, for appellees.