1997 -NMCA- 22, Eldridge v. Circle K Corp.

• Decision Date: 09 January 1997
• Docket Number: No. 16987,16987
• Citation: 123 N.M. 145,934 P.2d 1074,1997 NMCA 22
• Court: Court of Appeals of New Mexico
• Parties: , 1997 -NMCA- 22 Tracey ELDRIDGE, as Parent and Guardian of Amelia Sedillo and as Representative of the Estate of Paul Sedillo, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CIRCLE K CORPORATION, Self-Insured, Defendant-Appellee.

Page 1074

934 P.2d 1074

123 N.M. 145, 1997 -NMCA- 22

Tracey ELDRIDGE, as Parent and Guardian of Amelia Sedillo and as Representative of the Estate of Paul Sedillo, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CIRCLE K CORPORATION, Self-Insured, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 16987.

Court of Appeals of New Mexico.

Jan. 9, 1997.

Certiorari Denied Feb. 19, 1997.

Randi McGinn, McGinn & Associates, P.A., Albuquerque, for Appellant.

Carlos G. Martinez, Jeanne M. Bates, Butt, Thornton & Baehr, P.C., Albuquerque, for Appellee.

OPINION

BOSSON, Judge.

¶1 Tracey Eldridge, as personal representative of the estate of Paul Sedillo (the Estate), challenges both the jurisdiction of the workers' compensation judge (WCJ) to hear this case and the standing of Circle K, the employer, to initiate a workers' compensation case for death benefits. The jurisdiction of the WCJ depends on whether Paul Sedillo's death was an accident which would be compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act (the Act), or whether his death was caused by the deliberate act of his employer, which may be compensable by a common law action in district court for intentional tort. The fundamental question is which forum, the district court or the WCJ, should make the initial determination of jurisdiction. We conclude as a matter of first impression that the district court is the proper forum and reverse the compensation order of the WCJ.

FACTUAL AND LEGAL BACKGROUND

¶2 On August 29, 1993, Paul Sedillo was working alone on the late night shift for Circle K when he was shot and killed by a customer. The customer attempted to pay for merchandise with a stolen credit card. While Sedillo was trying to verify the credit card by telephone, the customer left the store. When Sedillo followed the customer into the parking lot, apparently to obtain the license number of his car, Sedillo was shot in the chest and died soon thereafter.

¶3 In September 1993, Circle K sent a check for funeral expenses to Sedillo's brother, Lawrence. The Estate responded that it was not seeking workers' compensation benefits because the Estate intended to pursue a common law action against Circle K for intentional tort. The Estate made clear that it would accept the check only with the understanding that there was no waiver of its rights to file a subsequent lawsuit in tort. The Estate did not file a claim for workers' compensation benefits.

¶4 On November 19, 1993, Circle K filed its own action with the Workers' Compensation Administration (WCA) requesting a determination of benefits due to Sedillo's dependents. Sedillo's only dependent was his minor child, Amelia Sedillo. Tracey Eldridge, the child's mother, was appointed personal representative for the Estate with regard to the workers' compensation action. In response to Circle K's workers' compensation complaint, Eldridge filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction arguing that Circle K, as employer, had no standing to invoke jurisdiction of the Act and force the Estate into the WCA. Eldridge also maintained that the WCJ had no jurisdiction to hear the complaint.

¶5 On March 10, 1994, Eldridge and Lawrence Sedillo filed a tort action in district court seeking damages on behalf of the Estate against Circle K for intentional wrongful acts, including wrongful death, intentional tort, breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and loss of consortium. Specifically, the Estate claimed that Circle K's corporate policy required store clerks to confront and follow shoplifters and to work alone on the late night shift. Allegedly, these policies were a deliberate policy of management calculated to save money at the expense of employee safety. The tort suit is still pending in district court, and we intimate no opinion on the merits of those allegations against Circle K.

¶6 On June 2, 1994, the WCJ denied Eldridge's motion to dismiss and permitted the parties to begin discovery. A formal hearing was held on November 21, 1995, and the WCJ issued an order awarding the Estate compensation for accidental death under the Act. In the compensation order, the WCJ made numerous findings, including a determination that the WCJ had jurisdiction to decide the question of whether Circle K's acts were intentional or whether Sedillo's death was caused by accident. The WCJ determined that the Estate failed to establish that Circle K had committed an intentional wrong against Sedillo which would fall outside the Act, and therefore, the Act was the exclusive remedy for the Estate. Eldridge appeals from that order on behalf of the Estate.

DISCUSSION

Standard of Review

¶7 Our Supreme Court has recently addressed the standard of review when an appellate court reviews an administrative agency's determination of its jurisdiction. See Morningstar Water Users Ass'n v. New Mexico Pub. Util. Comm'n, 120 N.M. 579, 582-83, 904 P.2d 28, 31-32 (1995). Agency jurisdiction is defined by statute and the determination of whether agency jurisdiction exists in a case is a question of law. Id. at 583, 904 P.2d at 32. Although a reviewing court may accord deference to an agency's determination on factual matters involving agency expertise, the court is not bound by the agency's interpretation of its jurisdiction. Id.

Standing of Employer

¶8 Initially, the Estate challenges the standing of Circle K, as employer, to bring a workers' compensation action before the WCA. Circle K responds that under NMSA 1978, Section 52-5-5(A) (Cum.Supp.1996) "any party may file a claim with the director" including employers and insurers. However, the Estate argues that Section 52-5-5(A) does not apply because this is a death case. The Estate asserts that NMSA 1978, Section 52-1-31(B) (Repl.Pamp.1991) controls in death cases and does not permit an action to be brought by the employer. Section 52-1-31(B) states, in part:

In the case of the death of a worker who would have been entitled to receive compensation if death had not occurred, claim for compensation may be filed on behalf of his eligible dependents to recover compensation from the employer or his insurer. Payment may be received or claim filed by any person whom the director or the court may authorize or permit on behalf of the eligible beneficiaries. (Emphasis added.)

¶9 The Estate maintains that only Eldridge, as the person authorized by the director, is permitted to file a claim on behalf of the eligible dependent, her daughter. Circle K characterizes Section 52-1-31(B) as defining the statute of limitations for filing compensation claims and authorizing who may act in the place of a deceased worker. Circle K points out correctly that nothing in Section 52-1-31(B) restricts the employer from filing its own action as authorized in Section 52-5-5(A). Finally, Circle K suggests that if the legislature had intended a substantively different process for death claims, it would likely have included such a distinction in Section 52-5-5(A), which is the principal provision of the Act for initiating claims. We agree with Circle K's analysis.

¶10 In construing the language of a statute, an appellate court's primary concern is to determine and give effect to legislative intent. Douglass v. State, Regulation & Licensing Dep't, 112 N.M. 183, 186, 812 P.2d 1331, 1333 (Ct.App.1991). When a statute has been amended, the amendments must be read in conjunction with the other parts of the statute to give effect to each part and implement legislative intent. Id.

¶11 The New Mexico legislature significantly amended the Act in 1986, and again in 1987 and 1990. See Wylie Corp. v. Mowrer, 104 N.M. 751, 726 P.2d 1381 (1986); Gallegos v. City of Albuquerque, 115 N.M. 461, 462-64, 853 P.2d 163, 164-66 (Ct.App.1993); see also Kelly Brooks et al., Survey, Workers' Compensation, 22 N.M.L.Rev. 845 (1992). With the enactment of Section 52-5-5(A) in 1986, the legislature changed New Mexico workers' compensation law to permit either the employer or the worker to initiate a workers' compensation claim. This provision is unlike previous statutes which left it to the worker alone. See Gallegos, 115 N.M. at 463, 853 P.2d at 166. Section 52-1-31(B), upon which the Estate relies, was not changed when the legislature amended the Act to permit employers to initiate claims.

¶12 We believe the legislative intent behind Section 52-5-5(A) is clear: to create a new right in employers and insurance carriers to file claims, marking a distinct departure from previous practice. To adopt Eldridge's position on Section 52-1-31(B) would place a significant restriction on a right which is expressly granted employers for the first time under Section 52-5-5(A). The Eldridge position would have us read this exception into Section 52-5-5(A) by a process of inference. In our view, we would be restricting a choice the legislature has clearly granted the employer based upon a strained reading of the statute. Instead we interpret the two sections in a way that makes them consistent with each other in achieving a common legislative purpose. See State ex rel. Klineline v. Blackhurst, 106 N.M. 732, 735, 749 P.2d 1111, 1114 (1988). We hold that Section 52-5-5(A) applies to death cases as well.

Exclusivity of WCJ Jurisdiction

¶13 The parties stipulated that Sedillo's death arose out of and in the course of his employment with Circle K. See NMSA 1978, § 52-1-2 (Repl.Pamp.1991) (employer liable to worker injured by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment); NMSA 1978, § 52-1-9 (Repl.Pamp.1991) (remedies provided by the Act are the sole and exclusive remedies available to employee for accidental personal injury or death arising out of and in the course of employment). The Estate maintains that Sedillo's death falls outside the Act because it was not accidental, but rather resulted from intentional wrongs committed by Circle K against Sedillo. Therefore, according to the Estate, the WCJ did not have jurisdiction to hear the claims, and the district court is the...