Court Opinion

ID: 9898822
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-11-15 14:22:19.140481+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:18:25.060857
License: Public Domain

FILED
                                                                                   Nov 15, 2023
                                                                                   07:55 AM(CT)
                                                                                    TENNESSEE
                                                                               WORKERS' COMPENSATION
                                                                                  APPEALS BOARD

            TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
               WORKERS’ COMPENSATION APPEALS BOARD

Timothy Burke                                  )   Docket No.     2022-06-0311
                                               )
v.                                             )   State File No. 55612-2021
                                               )
Steve Towers Enterprises, LLC, a/k/a           )
Steve Towers Holding, LLC, et al.              )
                                               )
                                               )
Appeal from the Court of Workers’              )   Heard October 19, 2023
Compensation Claims                            )   via Microsoft Teams
Kenneth M. Switzer, Chief Judge                )

                                 Reversed and Remanded

In this appeal of a compensation order granting summary judgment to the employer, the
employee argues there are multiple disputed questions of material fact regarding whether
the injury arose primarily out of his employment. The employee was working as a
manager of an automobile repair store in July 2021 when he and a co-worker began
discussing the possible sale of a gun. Subsequently, the co-worker accidentally shot the
employee, causing extensive injuries. The employee sought workers’ compensation
benefits, and the employer filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the injury
did not arise primarily out of the employment as purchasing a personal weapon and the
presence of a gun were not risks inherent to managing an automobile repair shop. The
employee argued there were questions of material fact regarding, among other things,
whether the injured employee asked to see the gun, whether the employer knew that its
employees regularly brought guns to work, and whether the employee handled the gun in
an effort to disarm it for the safety of the store and general public. The trial court granted
the employer’s motion for summary judgment, and the employee has appealed.
Following careful review of the record and the arguments of counsel, we reverse the
grant of summary judgment and remand the case for additional proceedings.

Judge Meredith B. Weaver delivered the opinion of the Appeals Board in which
Presiding Judge Timothy W. Conner and Judge Pele I. Godkin joined.

Jason Denton, Lebanon, Tennessee, for the employee-appellant, Timothy Burke

L. Blair Cannon, Alpharetta, GA, for the employer-appellee, Steve Towers Enterprises,
LLC, a/k/a Steve Towers Holding, LLC

                                              1
                         Factual and Procedural Background

       Timothy Burke (“Employee”) was working as a manager of an automobile repair
shop owned by Steve Towers Enterprises, LLC, a/k/a Steve Towers Holding, LLC
(“Employer”), when a co-worker accidentally shot him. On July 19, 2021, just before
closing the store for the day, a co-worker, John Graves (“Graves”), was sweeping the
floor when he told Employee he had recently sold a gun and regretted the transaction.
Employee mentioned he had been looking for a gun and would have considered
purchasing it if he had known it was for sale. Upon hearing this, another worker, Joshua
Daniels (“Daniels”), advised Employee that he had a handgun that he would sell to
Employee. At that point, all three men went to Daniels’s truck to look at the gun.

        There is conflicting evidence in the record as to the events that followed.
Employee contends that Daniels could not find the weapon in his truck initially, and that
while he was looking, the phone began to ring inside the shop. Employee went to answer
it and says he indicated to Daniels and Graves that he would return outside once Daniels
found the firearm. It is undisputed that Employee went inside to answer the phone and
that Daniels followed him inside carrying the weapon. Although it is disputed when
exactly Employee saw the weapon inside the store, both parties agree that Employee
handled the gun inside the store. At some point, Daniels picked up the gun and
accidentally shot Employee. The bullet went through both of Employee’s legs.
Employee was transported by ambulance to the Rutherford County emergency
department, and he was then transferred to Vanderbilt Medical Center due to
uncontrolled bleeding. Thereafter, he underwent surgery to repair his left superficial
femoral artery with a saphenous vein graft.

        Employer investigated the incident immediately and sent Tanya Graham (“Ms.
Graham”) from Employer’s main office to speak with Employee. She visited him at
Vanderbilt Medical Center and obtained his statement, which she later transcribed. She
also obtained a statement from Graves. Employee was moved into a rehabilitation
facility following surgery and also began treatment with Katherine Gorman, Ph.D., for an
alleged mental injury. Employer terminated Employee for failure to “maintain a safe and
secure work environment.” A notice of denial of the workers’ compensation claim was
issued on August 6, 2021, stating the incident was due to Employee’s efforts to buy a gun
and “was not in the course and scope of his employment.”

       Employee filed a petition for benefit determination on March 3, 2022, and a
dispute certification notice was issued in June 2022. During discovery, the parties
deposed Employee; Graves; Ms. Graham; Employee’s supervisor, Kenneth Graham

                                           2
(“Mr. Graham”); the owner of the company, Steven Towers (“Towers”); and the
insurance adjuster initially assigned to the claim. They were unable to locate Daniels. 1

        During his deposition, Employee testified that although he went out to Daniels’s
truck to look at the gun, he was not actually interested in buying it and was instead
merely trying to “humor” Daniels. He stated Daniels was unable to locate the gun in his
truck initially because it was “cluttered,” and he had to return to the store to answer the
phone, telling Daniels he would come back out when he found the gun. According to
Employee’s testimony, he was still on the phone when Daniels walked into the store with
the gun, although he did not see him enter the store. Once Employee was off the phone
and realized Daniels had brought a loaded gun into the store, he testified he removed the
“clip” and placed it on the opposite side of the desk, then walked around the desk and
placed the weapon in the holster. He believed the gun to be “clear” at that time. He then
told Daniels to take the gun back out to his vehicle. At that time, he answered another
call, and he was still on the phone when he realized he had been shot. According to his
testimony, he believed Daniels put the “clip” back in the gun prior to shooting him. In
his written statement, which Ms. Graham prepared after meeting with him in the hospital,
Employee stated that upon removing the “clip” from the gun, he told Daniels he was no
longer interested in the gun as the price was much too high before turning to answer the
phone again.

        Graves’s account is markedly different than that of Employee. Graves testified
that after they walked out to the truck, Daniels immediately found the gun in the door of
his truck, and all three men looked at the gun in the parking lot. At that time, the phone
rang, and Employee went to the office to answer it, with Daniels and Graves following.
Graves testified that Daniels was carrying the gun and placed it on the desk, removing the
“magazine.” After the phone call, according to Graves’s testimony, Employee picked up
the gun, looked at it, and placed the “magazine” back in the gun. At some point, Daniels
picked up the gun again, and Employee turned to face the service desk computers.
Graves testified that, at that point, he began looking at his phone before hearing the
gunshot, so he did not witness the incident itself. 2

       Regarding guns in the workplace, Graves testified he and others often had guns in
the shop in their toolboxes and that both Employer and Mr. Graham, in his role as
Regional Manager, were aware of that practice. He further testified that, in
approximately April 2021, Mr. Graham told employees they could no longer have guns in
the shop. Graves believed the change in policy was due to a manager at a different
location shooting a dumpster with a .357 Magnum “all the . . . time” but admitted that the
story was a rumor he could not verify. Graves had previously submitted a written
1
 According to Ms. Graham, she obtained a statement from Daniels at the time of the accident. However,
that statement is not in the record.
2
    The use of “clip” and “magazine” in this opinion are direct quotes from the testifying witnesses.

                                                       3
statement about the incident and spoke with the police. In the police report, Graves
indicated he was watching his phone the entire time he was in the office, and in his
written statement for Employer, he stated Employee “look[ed] the gun over” following
three phone calls, at which time Graves began to “play on [his] phone” until he heard the
gunshot.

        At the time of his deposition, Mr. Graham, Employee’s supervisor, was no longer
with Employer. He also reported suffering two strokes in October 2020, which affected
his memory. He testified he can generally remember everything that happened prior to
the strokes, but he may or may not remember things that occurred since that time. He
testified he recalled working with someone named “Tim” and that this person was shot,
but he had limited memory as to who hired Employee, how he was trained, and whether
Employer had a firearm policy. Mr. Graham ultimately terminated Employee at the
request of Towers but could not remember the exact reason.

       Ms. Graham, wife of Mr. Graham, was also no longer with the company at the
time of her deposition. She had not reviewed any documents prior to her deposition, but,
to the best of her recollection from taking various witness statements, she believed one or
more witnesses stated that Employee had placed the “clip” back into the gun before the
shooting occurred.

       Towers, owner of the company at the time of the accident, testified Employee was
terminated for “entertaining purchasing a firearm on the company premises within
company work hours” as it did “not promote a safe work environment.” He testified he
did not carry a firearm and did not know Mr. Graham to carry one. He further stated he
was unaware of any guns being stored inside any of his stores, and he did not know of
any directive to employees to remove their firearms from their toolboxes. It was his
understanding that Employee loaded the gun and that Daniels then accidentally shot
Employee. 3

       Following discovery, Employer filed a motion for summary judgment on April 30,
2023. Employer argued Employee did not sustain an injury arising primarily out of his
employment, as the injury was in no way related to his job duties as a manager of an
automobile repair shop, and guns were not “a risk inherent in the nature of” Employee’s
work. Employee responded, arguing that there were numerous disputed material facts,
including but not limited to whether Employee was on the phone at the time of the
shooting; whether he was attempting to maintain a safe environment and disarm the gun
prior to the shooting; and whether guns were typically present in the shop. The trial
court, following a hearing, granted the motion for summary judgment and dismissed the
case. In doing so, the court stated, “One employee attempting to sell a gun to a coworker

3
 Although Employee requested it in formal discovery, Employer was unable to provide a complete copy
of any employee handbook in effect at the time of the shooting.

                                                4
bears no relation to that business purpose. Being accidentally shot by a coworker is not a
risk inherent to employment in a vehicle repair shop. Nor would the presence of a
handgun for sale by a coworker naturally or normally be expected.” Relying on Harris v.
Nashville Center for Healing and Rehabilitation, No. 2019-06-1008, 2021 TN Wrk.
Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 9 (Tenn. Workers’ Comp. App. Bd. Jan. 28, 2021), the trial court
determined Employee’s injury did not arise out of the employment, as there was not
“apparent to the rational mind, upon consideration of all of the circumstances, a causal
connection between the conditions under which the work is required to be performed and
the resulting injury.” Id. at *8. Although acknowledging Employee had asserted several
facts he believed to be both material and disputed, the court stated it did not need to list
every disputed fact and why it was not material, as it found “no genuine fact issue for
trial” among “the undisputed material facts.” (Emphasis in original.) Thus, the court
determined summary judgment to be appropriate as a matter of law, and Employee has
appealed. Upon careful consideration of the record and the arguments of counsel, we
reverse the trial court’s decision and remand the case.

                                   Standard of Review

        The standard we apply in reviewing a trial court’s decision presumes that the
court’s factual findings are correct unless the preponderance of the evidence is otherwise.
See Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-239(c)(7) (2022). However, “[n]o similar deference need be
afforded the trial court’s findings based upon documentary evidence.” Goodman v.
Schwarz Paper Co., No. W2016-02594-SC-R3-WC, 2018 Tenn. LEXIS 8, at *6 (Tenn.
Workers’ Comp. Panel Jan. 18, 2018). Similarly, the interpretation and application of
statutes and regulations are questions of law that are reviewed de novo with no
presumption of correctness afforded the trial court’s conclusions. See Mansell v.
Bridgestone Firestone N. Am. Tire, LLC, 417 S.W.3d 393, 399 (Tenn. 2013). Moreover,
a trial court’s ruling on a motion for summary judgment is reviewed de novo with no
presumption of correctness. Wallis v. Brainerd Baptist Church, 509 S.W.3d 886, 895
(Tenn. 2016). We are also mindful of our obligation to construe the workers’
compensation statutes “fairly, impartially, and in accordance with basic principles of
statutory construction” and in a way that does not favor either the employee or the
employer. Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-116 (2022).

                                         Analysis

       Employee contends the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to
Employer. A motion for summary judgment should be granted when “the pleadings,
depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the
affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the
moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Tenn. R. Civ. P. 56.04. The
burden is on the party pursuing summary judgment to demonstrate both that no genuine
issue of material fact exists and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter

                                             5
of law. Martin v. Norfolk S. Ry. Co., 271 S.W.3d 76, 83 (Tenn. 2008). If the moving
party makes a properly-supported motion, the burden of production then shifts to the
nonmoving party to demonstrate the existence of one or more genuine issues of material
fact at the summary judgment stage. Rye v. Women’s Care Ctr. of Memphis, MPLLC,
477 S.W.3d 235, 265 (Tenn. 2015). Courts must view the evidence in the light most
favorable to the nonmoving party and must also draw all reasonable inferences in the
nonmoving party’s favor. Byrd v. Hall, 847 S.W.2d 208, 210 (Tenn. 1993).
Furthermore, “[a] fact is material ‘if it must be decided in order to resolve the substantive
claim or defense at which the motion is directed.’” Akers v. Heritage Med. Assocs., P.C.,
No. M2017-02470-COA-R3-CV, 2019 Tenn. App. LEXIS 5, at *14 (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan.
4, 2019) (quoting Byrd, 847 S.W.2d at 215). “A ‘genuine issue’ exists if ‘a reasonable
[factfinder] could legitimately resolve that fact in favor of one side or the other.’” Akers,
2019 Tenn. App. LEXIS 5, at *15 (quoting Byrd, 847 S.W.2d at 215). Finally,
Tennessee’s appellate courts have concluded that summary judgment should rarely be
granted in workers’ compensation cases because it is “inappropriate when there is a
dispute as to facts, or where there is an uncertainty as to whether there may be such a
dispute.” Berry v. Consolidated Systems, Inc., 804 S.W.2d 445, 446 (Tenn. 1991). Even
when it appears the employee “may have incredible difficulty” convincing the trier of
fact of a compensable claim, summary judgment is inappropriate if granting the motion
would “involve fact-finding or the weighing of evidence.” Id. at 445-46.

       In this case, Employer’s central assertion in its motion for summary judgment is
that the gun was present in the store due to Employee’s personal interest in possibly
purchasing the gun, which it argues was in no way related to his job duties as the
manager of the store. In Employer’s view, the injury, although unfortunate, did not arise
out of the employment as a matter of law. In support of its motion for summary
judgment, Employer filed a statement of undisputed material facts that included the
following statements, taken verbatim from Employer’s filing:

       • Employee did not believe it was necessary to have a firearm for him to
         perform his job with Employer.

       • Upon learning that John Graves had recently sold his gun, Employee
         told Graves that he might have been interested in purchasing Graves’[s]
         gun.

       • Employee told Daniels he would be glad to look at the gun.

       • Employee [] walked into the lobby of the store holding the gun.

       These specific facts were all disputed by Employee in his response to the summary
judgment motion. Employee also raised several issues which he contended were disputed
material facts, including, as stated in Employee’s filing:
                                             6
       • It was safe for [Employee] to unload the loaded gun that Mr. Daniels
         brought into the store.

       • The termination letter references an Employer policy that Employee did
         not get training for from . . . Employer.

       In a reply brief, Employer disputed these statements but also averred they were not
material to the legal issue underlying its dispositive motion. Employer also disputed
other additional facts such as whether Employee was on the phone at the time of the
shooting; whether Employee’s supervisor carried a gun; whether Employee had been told
making deposits at night was unsafe; whether Employee intended to buy a gun; whether
Employee had knowledge Daniels was bringing the gun into the store; when Employee
realized the gun was in the store; whether it was appropriate for Employee to handle the
gun in the store; and whether Employee handled the gun for purposes of potentially
purchasing it rather than to unload it. Employer contended that, although these facts were
disputed, none of them were material to the legal issue and, regardless of how such
factual issues might be resolved, the injury did not arise primarily out of the employment.

        A fact is material “if it must be decided in order to resolve the substantive claim or
defense at which the motion is directed.” Byrd, 847 S.W.2d at 215. Employer admits
and the trial court agreed that the injuries occurred in the course and scope of Employee’s
work, but Employer maintains the injuries did not arise from his employment regardless
of any factual disputes. Therefore, to assess whether summary judgment was
appropriate, we must consider the disputed facts, of which there are many, and determine
whether any of them must be resolved by the factfinder to address the compensability of
the claim.

       “[A]n injury arises out of the employment when there is apparent to the rational
mind, upon consideration of all the circumstances, a causal connection between the
conditions under which the work is required to be performed and the resulting injury.”
Carmichael v. J. C. Mahon Motor Co., 11 S.W.2d 672, 673 (Tenn. 1928). Further, “an
employee cannot merely assert that her injury occurred at work; she has to allege that her
injury resulted from a danger or hazard peculiar to the work or be caused by a risk
inherent in the nature of the work.” Chaney v. Team Technologies, Inc., 568 S.W.3d 576,
579 (Tenn. 2019). In Carmichael, an employee was shot with an air gun by a customer’s
son while working as a porter in the employer’s automobile repair shop, causing an injury
to his eye. Id. at 614-615. The trial court dismissed the complaint, determining the
injury did not arise out of his employment. Id. at 614. On appeal, the Supreme Court
determined the case should have been heard on the merits, stating the employee “was
injured because he was in the garage engaged in the duty that was assigned to him under
his contract of employment, and the injury was the result of conditions inseparably
connected with the public service given by the petitioner’s employer to its patrons.

                                              7
Under such conditions, the injury may be fairly traced to the employment as the
contributing proximate cause.” Id. at 617.

       Although the standard applied by the Court in Carmichael, “contributing
proximate cause,” is not the standard to be applied in the present case, whether an act was
“outside” the scope of employment is still a question of fact. Taylor v. Linville, 656
S.W.2d 368, 370 (Tenn. 1983). In Taylor, the plaintiff, a waitress, was shot by her
manager who mistakenly believed his gun to be loaded with blank cartridges. Id. at 369.
The plaintiff received workers’ compensation benefits but also filed a common law tort
action against the manager individually. Id. at 368. The manager contended the
employee’s exclusive remedy was workers’ compensation, and the trial court agreed,
dismissing the case on summary judgment. Id. at 369. On appeal, the Court of Appeals
reversed, concluding that, because the manager was outside the course of his employment
when he accidentally shot the employee, he was not immune from suit. Id. The Supreme
Court did not take issue with the appellate court’s conclusion that a co-worker who acts
outside the course of his employment can be held liable for injuries he caused another
person. However, the Supreme Court concluded the Court of Appeals erred in addressing
whether the manager was acting outside of his employment in the first instance. Id. at
370. It remanded the case for a hearing on the merits, stating, “[w]hether the act was
outside the course of the Defendant’s employment is a question of fact. . . . An appellate
court should be slow to make factual determinations in the absence of a full hearing.” Id.

        Here, the trial court’s order did not fully explain why the factual issues in dispute
were immaterial to the legal question at hand. As stated previously, in reviewing
summary judgment orders, appellate courts must “make a fresh determination of whether
the requirements of Rule 56 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure have been
satisfied.” Wallis, 509 S.W.3d at 895. In this instance, when the evidence is viewed in a
light favorable to the nonmoving party, we are unable to conclude that the disputed facts
are immaterial to the question of whether the hazard that caused Employee’s injury was
“connected with the nature of [the] employment.” Wait v. Travelers Indem. Co. of Ill.,
240 S.W.3d 220, 230 (Tenn. 2007). Among other things, the parties dispute exactly what
sequence of events led to the gun’s being inside the store; why Employee handled the gun
once it was in the store; and what actions took place causing the gun to be fired. It is
further disputed what was required of Employee as a manager to ensure the safety and
security of the store and general public and what policies, if any, Employer had regarding
the presence of guns in the workplace. In short, we hold that Employee met his burden of
demonstrating genuine issues of material fact impacting the question of whether this
injury arose primarily out of his employment, making summary judgment inappropriate.

                                        Conclusion

       For the foregoing reasons, we reverse the trial court’s order and remand the case.
Costs on appeal are taxed to Employer.

                                             8
                   TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
                     WORKERS’ COMPENSATION APPEALS BOARD

Timothy Burke                                         )      Docket No. 2022-06-0311
                                                      )
v.                                                    )      State File No. 55612-2021
                                                      )
Steve Towers Enterprises, LLC, a/k/a                  )
Steve Towers Holding, LLC, et al.                     )
                                                      )
                                                      )
Appeal from the Court of Workers’                     )      Heard October 19, 2023
Compensation Claims                                   )      via Microsoft Teams
Kenneth M. Switzer, Chief Judge                       )

                                   CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the Appeals Board’s decision in the referenced
case was sent to the following recipients by the following methods of service on this the 15th day
of November, 2023.

 Name                              Certified   First Class   Via   Via     Sent to:
                                   Mail        Mail          Fax   Email
 Jason G. Denton                                                     X     jdenton@rma-law.com
                                                                           mhickman@rma-law.com
 L. Blair Cannon                                                     X     l.blair.cannon@thehartford.com
 Kenneth M. Switzer, Chief Judge                                     X     Via Electronic Mail
 Penny Shrum, Clerk, Court of                                        X     penny.patterson-shrum@tn.gov
 Workers’ Compensation Claims

Olivia Yearwood
Clerk, Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board
220 French Landing Dr., Ste. 1-B
Nashville, TN 37243
Telephone: 615-253-1606
Electronic Mail: WCAppeals.Clerk@tn.gov