Court Opinion

ID: 9651224
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 16:10:39.068053+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:25:36.342732
License: Public Domain

PHILLIPS, Circuit Judge
(concurring).
Rule 52 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C.A. following section 723c, provides that “Findings of fact shall not be set aside unless clearly erroneous, * * * ” On appeal, a finding of fact made by the trial court, if supported by substantial evidence, is binding on this court.1
The credibility of witnesses, the weight to he given to their evidence,2 and the inferences which may be reasonably drawn from the evidence are matters within the province of the trial court.3
Here, the trial court found that in 1942 the United States government began purchasing large quantities of beef boned to Army specifications; that the George Kaiser Packing Company4 had never'done any such boning; that Kaiser made inquiries respecting boners which came to the attention of Jim Reed, an experienced boner, who had previously boned beef under independent contractors who employed boners and did the work on a hundredweight basis; that Reed proposed to bone beef for Kaiser on the same basis; that, thereupon, Kaiser entered into a contract with Reed for the boning of all meat ordered from Kaiser for canning; that in such contract, it was agreed that Reed would furnish all labor and equipment and bone the meat; that Reed should receive 40 cents per hundred pounds of boned meat; that Kaiser would furnish the tables on which the boners were to work and provide barrels, properly cleansed from time to time, into which the various types of boned meat, bones, and other portions of the carcasses were to be placed; that Kaiser would deliver to Reed, for boning, all carcasses of beef ordered from it by the United States government, or by canners working on government contracts; that Reed would complete, each day, the boning of all carcasses delivered to him by Kaiser; that Reed should perform the work “as an independent contractor in the vestibule of the Kaiser Packing Plant”; that Kaiser would deliver the *518carcasses to Reed on the overhead rail in the vestibule and pick up the boned meat and waste after it had been placed in the barrels by Reed; that Reed would perform the work in compliance with government specifications and regulations, and in accordance with the directions of government inspectors; that Reed would employ, compensate, and be responsible for all, of his employees; that such employees should be under and subject to the sole direction and control of Reed, and that Kaiser would have no right to supervise or direct the work of Reed or any of his employees; that Reed would carry workmen’s compensation and employer’s liability insurance and protect, indemnify, and defend Kaiser from and against any injuries to persons or property caused by Reed or any of his employees; that the beef, when boned, would be packed in separate boxes, each containing one hundred pounds of boned beef; that Kaiser would keep a record of the weights, subject to Reed’s inspection, and furnish Reed with a daily copy thereof; that settlements at the’contract price would be made on a weekly basis running from Thursday of each week through Wednesday of the following week; that the contract would continue in force from October IS, 1942, through the duration of the war, subject to the right of either party to terminate it on two weeks’ notice.
The court further found that Reed assembled a crew of boners' and carried on the work under the contract until February, 1943, at which time Reed ceased performance of the contract; that Schindel, an experienced boner then working for Reed, orally agreed to continue the work under the terms of the Reed contract; that Schindel assembled a crew of boners and carried on the work for one year and.three months; that in May, 1944, Schindel ceased performance of the contract and Hooper and Deere, who were then working for Schindel as boners, took over the contract; that Hooper executed a, written contract with Kaiser on October 28, 1944, which is still in force; that the Hooper contract is substantially the same as the Reed contract, except that the former provides that Hooper shall pay $100 monthly rental for the vestibule; that the maximum quantity of beef that may be required to be boned shall be 40,000 pounds per day, and the price shall be 45 cents per hundredweight; that Reed and his successors used different methods for compensating the boners, sometimes paying them on an hourly basis, but that sharing has been the predominant method; that from May, 1944, to October, 1944, the money paid for the boning was divided equally between Hooper and Deere, and they paid their boners on an hourly basis; that since November, 1944, the money paid to Hooper has been equally divided among the boners, including Hooper; that Kaiser has paid for the boning by weekly checks issued to the contractor; that all the boners were engaged by Reed or his successors; that at no time has Kaiser exercised any direction or control over the boners, hired any boners, or made any arrangements or agreements with respect to the compensation of any boner; that Kaiser has had nothing to ’do with the wages, rate of pay or amount received by any individual boner and has never exercised any direction or control over the sharing or division of the boning money; that the boners determined their own hours of work and Kaiser has not controlled and has not had the right to control their hours of work; that the boners sometimes worked only three or four hours a day, on other days worked eight hours, and, in rare instances, worked in excess of eight hours; that they sometimes worked six days a week, aggregating 42 to 45 hours; that the boners furnished their own tools and determined among themselves the division 'of the steps in the boning process; that boning is a special art, requiring training and experience; that Kaiser has never treated or classified the boners as its employees, has not included them in its workmen’s compensation policy, and has not made deductions for withholding taxes; that the plan under which the boners worked is one commonly used in other packing plants; that the contracts with Reed and his successors were not sham and deceptive arrangements, but were necessitated by the exigencies of the situation confronting Kaiser when it entered into the contract with Reed.
The trial court found the same facts with respect to the Rutherford Food Corporation*5195 during the period it operated the plant.
The findings of fact made by the trial court and the inferences drawn by the trial court from the evidence find substantial support in the evidence.
Whatever might be our conclusion, if we were free to determine the issues of fact and the inferences to be drawn from the evidence, I do not think we are warranted, in the light of the facts found by the trial court, to draw the conclusion that the boners were employees of either Kaiser or Rutherford.
It is my opinion, however, that the evidence disclosed other violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act by Kaiser and Rutherford with respect to persons directly in their employ and that an injunction should have been granted in respect to such violations. See Walling v. Mid-Continent Pipe Line Co., 10 Cir., 143 F.2d 308, and Bowles v. Nu Way Laundry Co., 10 Cir., 144 F.2d 741.

 United States v. Linde, 10 Cir., 71 F.2d 925; Board of Com’rs of Caddo County, Okl. v. United States, 10 Cir., 87 F.2d 55, 57; Nielsen v. General American Life Ins. Co., 10 Cir., 89 F.2d 90, 93, 110 A.L.R. 1133; McCarthy v. Wynne, 10 Cir., 126 F.2d 620, 623; Viles v. Prudential Ins. Co. of America, 10 Cir., 107 F.2d 696, 698, 699; Ryan v. Denver Union Terminal Ry. Co., 10 Cir., 126 F.2d 782, 784.

 National Mut. Casualty Co. v. Eisenhower, 10 Cir., 116 F.2d 891, 895; Camden Woolen Co. v. Eastern S. S. Lines. 1 Cir., 12 F.2d 917, 919; Flack v. Holtegel, 7 Cir., 93 F.2d 512, 515; Kincade v. Mikles, 8 Cir., 144 F.2d 784, 787; Columbus Outdoor Advertising Co. v. Harris, 6 Cir., 127 F.2d 38, 42.

 Limbach v. Yellow Cab Co., 7 Cir., 45 F.2d 386, 387; United States v. Gamble-Skogmo, 8 Cir., 91 F.2d 372, 374; Continental Petroleum Co. v. United States, 10 Cir., 87 F.2d 91, 95; Grip Nut Co. v. Sharp, 7 Cir., 150 F.2d 192, 196; Bradley v. Smith, 7 Cir., 114 F.2d 161, 165; Kincade v. Mikles, 8 Cir., 144 F.2d 784, 787.

 Hereinafter called Kaiser.

 Hereinafter called Rutherford.