Beatty v. Lafountaine

• Decision Date: 31 October 2008
• Docket Number: No. 34A02-0805-CV-438.,34A02-0805-CV-438.
• Citation: 896 N.E.2d 16
• Parties: Rita BEATTY, Custodial Parent of Nora K. Beatty, Deceased, and Estate of Rodger Beatty, Deceased, Appellants-Plaintiffs, v. Timothy LaFOUNTAINE, d/b/a Lafountaine Logging a/k/a Lafountaine Trucking, James Thad Martin, d/b/a JTM Express, and G.R. Wood, Inc., a/k/a American Timbex, Inc., and Wesley Lafountaine d/b/a Lafountaine Logging a/k/a Lafountaine Trucking and Rodger Beatty, Appellees-Defendants.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

896 N.E.2d 16

Rita BEATTY, Custodial Parent of Nora K. Beatty, Deceased, and Estate of Rodger Beatty, Deceased, Appellants-Plaintiffs, v. Timothy LaFOUNTAINE, d/b/a Lafountaine Logging a/k/a Lafountaine Trucking, James Thad Martin, d/b/a JTM Express, and G.R. Wood, Inc., a/k/a American Timbex, Inc., and Wesley Lafountaine d/b/a Lafountaine Logging a/k/a Lafountaine Trucking and Rodger Beatty, Appellees-Defendants.

No. 34A02-0805-CV-438.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

October 31, 2008.

Daniel J. Harrigan, Bayliff, Harrigan, Cord, Maugans & Cox, Kokomo, IN, Attorney for Appellants.

Mark A. Metzger, Theodore G. Hammond, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellees.

OPINION

BAKER, Chief Judge.

Appellants-plaintiffs Rita Beatty, as custodial parent of Nora K. Beatty, deceased, and the estate of Rodger Beatty (the Estate), deceased (collectively, the Beattys), appeal the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of appellee-defendant Timothy LaFountaine, d/b/a LaFountaine Logging (LaFountaine), in a wrongful death action that was initiated against LaFountaine and others following a vehicle collision that resulted in Nora's death.

The Beattys argue that summary judgment was improper because a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether the defendant truck driver — James Martin — was an independent contractor or LaFountaine's employee when the accident occurred. The Beattys also contend that LaFountaine is liable because it assumed a nondelegable contractual duty to place Martin under its exclusive control and to ensure that the driver "took all necessary precautions for the safety of all persons affected by the work." Appellants' Br. p. 20. Thus, the Beattys maintain that the trial court erred in denying their motion for summary judgment. Concluding that the trial court properly determined that LaFountaine was an independent contractor and finding no other error, we affirm the grant of summary judgment in LaFountaine's favor.

FACTS

Today we are again confronted with the circumstances that have come before us in three prior appeals. The facts, as reported in the most recent appeal, Walker v. Martin, 887 N.E.2d 125 (Ind.Ct.App.2008), are as follows:

On December 9, 2003, Martin was driving a tractor-trailer southbound on U.S. Highway 31 at the intersection with State Road 26 in Howard County when he disregarded a red traffic signal. This caused the tractor-trailer to collide with the car in which Christopher [Moore] was a passenger and resulted in his death. At the time of the collision, Martin was hauling logs, which had been purchased by G.R. Wood, Inc., a/k/a American Timbex ("Wood") from LaFountaine, to Wood's plant in Mooresville, Indiana.

At the time of the collision, LaFountaine was a company that was in the business of procuring and selling timber logs. Wood was in the business of producing veneer wood, which it sold to manufacturers of furniture and other products. Martin was a truck driver who had operated under the business name of JTM Express since 1994. On September 16, 2003, LaFountaine and Wood entered into an agreement in which Wood agreed to purchase forty-eight walnut logs and eight oak logs from LaFountaine for $31,500.00. On December 9, 2003, Martin loaded the logs onto his trailer at LaFountaine's site in Silver Lake, Indiana.

Starting in 1999 or 2000, Martin hauled logs for LaFountaine "on and off for three, three-and-a-half years," but began to work more frequently for him in March 2003, and Martin was LaFountaine's primary log hauler in 2003. During 2003, Martin also had hauled logs for Wood and other parties. Although Martin considered himself to be an independent contractor, he had painted LaFountaine's company logo on the side of his truck cab. Martin owned both the semi-tractor and trailer used to haul the logs, as well as the straps used to secure the logs and all of the tools on the truck. Additionally, he paid for his own fuel, insurance, and maintenance. Martin determined the route taken to transport the logs and the manner in which the logs were loaded and secured on the trailer.

At the time of the accident, Martin had a commercial driver's license and had procured a log farm exemption license plate for his semi-tractor and trailer. This license plate did not require that he purchase the $750,000.00 minimum interstate trucking insurance that the federal government required. Martin set his own rate for hauling logs and was paid by the load rather than by the hour. When he hauled logs previously for Wood, he was either paid directly by Wood or by LaFountaine.

As a result of the accident, the Moores filed a wrongful death suit against Martin, LaFountaine, and Wood on September 9, 2004. On January 9, 2007, LaFountaine filed a motion for summary judgment, claiming that it was not an employer of Martin or involved in a joint venture with him. Additionally, it contended that Martin was an independent contractor and that LaFountaine could not be held liable for his acts. The trial court granted LaFountaine's summary judgment motion on July 30, 2007.

Id. at 129-30. The Moores appealed, claiming that the trial court erred in determining as a matter of law that Martin was an independent contractor rather than an employee of LaFountaine. The Moores also raised the issue of whether LaFountaine owed a nondelegable duty to Christopher and was, therefore, vicariously liable under one of the exceptions to the general rule that a principal is not liable for the negligence of an independent contractor.

In applying the ten-factor analysis set forth by our Supreme Court in Moberly v. Day, 757 N.E.2d 1007 (Ind.2001), to determine whether an individual should be treated as an independent contractor or an employee, we concluded that the trial court properly determined that Martin was operating the truck as an independent contractor. Walker, 887 N.E.2d at 134. We further determined that there was no evidence demonstrating that LaFountaine's contract with Wood imposed a special duty of care. Thus, the Moores failed to show that the exception to the general rule of independent contractor nonliability applied. Id. at 136.

In this case, the record established that Nora Beatty, who also died in the accident, was driving the vehicle that collided with Martin. The Beattys filed a wrongful death action against LaFountaine and the others. Thereafter, LaFountaine moved for summary judgment on January 8, 2007, claiming that it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law because the designated evidence established that Martin was not its employee or agent when the accident occurred. LaFountaine also claimed that the defendants were not engaged in a joint venture and that none of the independent contractor nonliability exceptions applied. Thereafter, the Beattys moved for partial summary judgment, claiming that LaFountaine was liable under the theory of a nondelegable contractual duty to supply the truck and driver to deliver the shipment to Wood.

Following a hearing on the motions for summary judgment on February 20, 2008, the trial court granted LaFountaine's motion and denied the Beattys' motion for partial summary judgment. The Beattys now appeal.¹

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I. Standard of Review

When reviewing a trial court's grant of summary judgment, we apply the same standard as that of the trial court. Summary judgment is appropriate if the pleadings and evidence submitted demonstrate that there are no genuine issues of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Ind. Trial Rule 56(C); Jacobs v. Hilliard, 829 N.E.2d 629, 632 (Ind.Ct.App.2005). We construe the pleadings, affidavits, and designated evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, and the moving party has the burden of demonstrating the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Wilson v. Royal Motor Sales, Inc., 812 N.E.2d 133, 135 (Ind.Ct. App.2004). Because a trial court's grant of summary judgment comes to us clothed with a presumption of validity, the appellant must persuade us that error occurred. Id. If the trial court's entry of summary judgment can be sustained on any theory or basis in the record, we must affirm. Irwin Mortgage Corp. v. Marion County Treasurer, 816 N.E.2d 439, 442 (Ind.Ct. App.2004).

Finally, we note that mere speculation cannot create questions of fact. Briggs v. Finley, 631 N.E.2d 959, 964-65 (Ind.Ct.App.1994). Opinions expressing a mere possibility with regard to a hypothetical situation are insufficient to establish a genuine issue of material fact. Id. Put another way, "guesses, supposition and conjecture are not sufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact to defeat summary judgment." Midwestern Indem. Co. v. Sys. Builders, Inc., 801 N.E.2d 661, 666 (Ind.Ct.App.2004).

II. The Beattys' Claims

A. Independent Contractor

The Beattys argue that the trial court erred in determining as a matter of law that Martin was an independent contractor and not an employee of LaFountaine when the accident occurred. More specifically, the Beattys maintain that "there is an abundance of evidence, and inferences to be drawn from evidence, establishing a genuine issue of material fact on the issue of Martin's employee status." Appellants' Br. p. 24.

As we observed in Walker, Martin's employment status is the focal point of our analysis because of "`Indiana's long-standing general rule ... that a principal is not liable for the negligence of an independent contractor.'" 887 N.E.2d at 131 (quoting Bagley v. Insight Commc'n Co., L.P., 658 N.E.2d 584, 586 (Ind.1995)). Whether one acts as an employee or an independent contractor is generally a question for the finder of fact. Mortgage Consultants, Inc. v. Mahaney, 655 N.E.2d 493, 496 (Ind.1995). However, if the significant underlying facts are disputed, the court may properly determine a worker's classification as a matter of law. Moberly, 757 N.E.2d at 1009.

As discussed above, our Supreme Court...