Car & Gen. Ins. Corp. v. Indus. Comm'n

• Decision Date: 06 April 1937
• Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court
• Parties: CAR & GENERAL INS. CORPORATION, Limited, et al. v. INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION et al.

224 Wis. 543

272 N.W. 351

CAR & GENERAL INS. CORPORATION, Limited, et al.

v.INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION et al.

Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

April 6, 1937.

Appeal from a judgment of the Circuit Court for Dane County; August C. Hoppmann, Judge.

Affirmed.

The Car & General Insurance Corporation and the Hartford Theatre Company brought this action to set aside an order of the Industrial Commission dated July 29, 1935, ordering the plaintiffs to pay certain sums as compensation and medical and hospital expense for personal injuries sustained by Charles Braun, an employee of the Hartford Theatre Company, the other plaintiff being the insurance carrier. Judgment was in favor of Braun, and the plaintiffs appeal.

Hannan, Johnson & Goldschmidt, of Milwaukee (Herbert L. Wible, of Milwaukee, of counsel), for appellants.

Orland S. Loomis, Atty. Gen., and Mortimer Levitan, Asst. Atty. Gen., for respondent Industrial Commission.

Sawyer & Gehl, of Hartford, for respondent Braun.

FAIRCHILD, Justice.

The result below was a confirmation of the findings of the Industrial Commission that at the time of his injury Charles Braun was performing service growing out of and incidental to his employment and that the injury arose out of such employment. The Hartford Theatre Company operated a moving picture theater at Hartford, Wisconsin. Braun had the management of it. His employer engaged his services and stipulated with him that it would furnish him with transportation to and from his home in Milwaukee and required Braun to carry films from Milwaukee to Hartford and after use there to return them to the distributor in Milwaukee. The agreement provided in addition to the use of the car by Braun that the company should pay for the gasoline, oil, repairs, and tires. Braun was injured February 23, 1934, on his way to his home in Milwaukee and while transporting films from the theater to the film service agency. The finding and award of the Industrial Commission was that Braun was injured while performing services growing out of and incidental to his employment and ordered payment of compensation. With these facts established, the case is ruled by the law recognized in the cases of Schmiedeke v. Four Wheel Drive Auto Co., 192 Wis. 574, 213 N.W. 292, and Racine County v. Industrial Comm., 210 Wis. 315, 246 N.W. 303. In a discussion of scope of employment with reference to the liability of the principal to a third person in tort, 1 Restatement of the Law of Agency, § 229,...