Court Opinion

ID: 9545688
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 17:17:41.050174+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:15:21.135853
License: Public Domain

SLOAN, J.,
specially concurring.
The only issue presented to the trial court and this by the pleadings in the case was the employment status of plaintiff. Was she an employe of defendant? The trial court properly allowed the motion to strike the first supplemental answer. That pleading is allowed only by statute for a precise limited purpose. We should not license its use as a general pleading. Worship of the form of pleading is not to be desired. But a party should not be called upon, in this court, to meet a defense resurrected from a pleading properly stricken by the trial court. The supplemental answer is not available to challenge the right of a person who sues her employer only on allegations of the negligence of the employer. The allegations in the supplemental answer, if a defense, could have been alleged by defendant’s answer.
However, the defendant was denied the right to present all the evidence directed to the plaintiff’s employment status. The defendant’s denial, by answer, that plaintiff was its employe entitled the defendant to present all the evidence involving that question. By proper assignments of error the defendant presents the refusal of the trial court to permit defendant to prove that plaintiff had fully prosecuted her claim for compensation to the commission, had appealed the amount of the award to the circuit court and, at that time, was accepting the benefits of the award by the *26commission. The trial court also refused to admit the communication of her attorney to the commission, forwarding the claim for compensation (Exhibit 39) and the entire claim form as it was submitted to the commission. All this evidence was very material. The jury was entitled to know not only that plaintiff had made a claim to the commission, but had received the benefits of an award and had appealed the amount thereof to the circuit court, claiming as an employe of the Eose White Estate. The jury only knew the claim had been filed. However, for all the jury knew the claim had been denied The refusal to receive this evidence was highly prejudicial. It certainly • could be considered most probable that had the jury been fully informed it would have concluded that plaintiff was not defendant’s employe. The case should be reversed for this reason.
The other issues discussed by the majority and dissenting opinions and the specially concurring opinion of Lusk, J., are not properly before us. There was no pleading or evidence to indicate upon what basis the I.A.C. allowed an award. Hntil we are advised by pleading and evidence our opinion is advisory only. We have nothing before us to require our present determination of the issue.
I would remand the case for new trial and permit the parties to make such amendment as they deem necessary to present their respective theories of the case.