Court Opinion

ID: 9586183
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 23:08:05.779679+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:24:00.592712
License: Public Domain

Justice Orr
dissenting.
The dispositive issue in this case, as noted in the Court of Appeals’ majority opinion, is whether the Industrial Commission correctly concluded that Roman’s fatal injury “arose out of his employment.” Here, the uncontradicted facts show that Roman was killed while trying to apprehend the individual who had just robbed the Flying J Truck Stop where Roman had stopped to refuel while on a long-distance delivery run for his employer, Southland Transportation Company (Southland).
As indicated by the majority, for a claim to arise out of the employment and be compensable, the employee must “act[] for the benefit of his employer to an appreciable extent,” but the claim will not be compensable “if the employee acts solely for his own benefit or purpose or if he acts solely for a third person.” (Emphasis added.) Here, the Industrial Commission concluded that based upon the facts, Roman sustained a compensable injury by accident.
The responsibility of a reviewing appellate court is to determine if there is evidence of record to support the findings of fact and whether those findings of fact support the applicable conclusions of law and, ultimately, the award. Here, there was sufficient evidence, in my opinion, to support the following findings of fact:
6. On or about April 8, 1994, at 12:00 a.m., Mr. Roman was located inside the Flying J convenience store-restaurant when Robert Bankston stole seventy dollars from an open cash register operated by Kathy Adams. Ms. Adams screamed for help. The fuel desk cashier, Dona Becker, was at the fuel desk counter inside *556the store when the robbery by Mr. Bankston took place. Ms. Becker “yelled, ‘stop him.’ ”... Ms. Becker ran out of the store at that time.
7. Pursuant to the screams of both Ms. Adams and Ms. Becker, Luis Roman and another truck driver chased Mr. Bankston out of the store. Bankston entered a Ford Escort and attempted to drive away. Mr. Roman grabbed the steering wheel of the Ford Escort and forced Bankston to drive in circles in the Flying J Truck Stop parking lot. At some point, Mr. Roman was able to position himself through the window of the Ford Escort on the driver’s side.
9. Mr. Roman was shot and killed by one of the security guards while he was positioned inside the window of the Ford Escort.
11. Plaintiff’s job duties included performing activities that will help the public like truck drivers better. The defendant-employer provided a driver’s handbook and safety manual that expressly informed its employees that their jobs as truck drivers as well as the future of the company and the trucking industry depended upon good public relations.
12. Mr. Roman’s attempt to apprehend Bankston is an activity that would improve the public perception of truck drivers. His actions were not for the benefit of a third party only, but, rather, were beneficial to his employer and to himself as his employer’s employee.
While a different finder of fact might determine otherwise (as the Court of Appeals and this Court’s majority appear to do), we have repeatedly stated that the Commission is the ultimate finder of fact and that if there is any credible evidence to support the findings, the reviewing court is bound by it. See Adams v. AVX Corp., 349 N.C. 676, 509 S.E.2d 411 (1998). This includes determining the credibility of witnesses and reaching inferences from the evidence. See id.
The above-cited findings of fact sufficiently support the Commission’s conclusion that Roman sustained a compensable injury arising out of and in the course of his employment. The employer has contended that Roman’s acts were gratuitous gestures *557unrelated to his employment that benefitted only the third party, Flying J. While Southland and the majority might well in good faith so find, that simply is not their prerogative. The Industrial Commission, the ultimate fact-finder, found, with some credible evidence to support it, that Roman’s acts also benefitted his employer and himself as an employee of the employer. Thus, I would vote to reverse the Court of Appeals and affirm the Industrial Commission.
While this case has generated much discussion over whether Guest or Roberts controls, a straightforward application of workers’ compensation law simply mandates that we affirm the Industrial Commission’s decision. Roberts v. Burlington Indus., 321 N.C. 350, 364 S.E.2d 417 (1988); Guest v. Brenner Iron & Metal Co., 241 N.C. 448, 85 S.E.2d 596 (1955). In both Roberts and Guest, this Court ultimately affirmed the decision of the Industrial Commission, the fact-finding body charged with the administration of the Workers’ Compensation Act. It is not at all clear, on the close facts of this case, that the Industrial Commission committed a “patent legal error” in concluding that Roman’s death arose out of his employment. Accordingly, I would reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals, thus affirming the decision of the Industrial Commission.
Justices Frye and Parker join in this dissenting opinion.