Copeland v. Leaf, Inc.

• Court: Tennessee Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: DROWOTA; In Epler v. North Am. Rockwell Corp., supra, it was necessary for the employee to cross a public thoroughfare after leaving the work place to get to the employee parking lot. As Epler attempted to cross the road, he was struck and killed by
• Citation: Copeland v. Leaf, Inc., 829 S.W.2d 140 (Tenn. 1992)
• Decision Date: 23 March 1992
• Parties: Cora L. COPELAND, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. LEAF, INC., Defendant-Appellee. 829 S.W.2d 140

Page 140

829 S.W.2d 140

Cora L. COPELAND, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. LEAF, INC., Defendant-Appellee.

829 S.W.2d 140

Supreme Court of Tennessee at Memphis.

March 23, 1992.

Rehearing Denied April 13, 1992.

Ronald Hill, Betty Ann Milligan, Spicer, Ridolphi, Flynn & Rudstrom, Memphis, for plaintiff-appellant.

Robert D. Meyers, The Hardison Law Firm, Memphis, for defendant-appellee.

OPINION

DROWOTA, Justice.

We have been asked to interpret our recent decision in Lollar v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 767 S.W.2d 143 (Tenn.1989), as it applies to the facts of this case, in order to determine whether Plaintiff's injuries are compensable. To be compensable under our workers' compensation statute, an injury must be one "arising out of and in the course of employment." T.C.A. Sec. 50-6-102(a)(5) (1991). In Lollar we evaluated a substantial body of case law and re-examined our holding in Woods v. Warren, 548 S.W.2d 651 (Tenn.1977), regarding the principles governing workers' compensation liability when an employee is injured en route to or from work. We found that our rule in Woods "has not proved a workable one." 767 S.W.2d at 148. We "frankly admit[ted] the inequities that have resulted from Tennessee's unique minority rule." Id. at 150. We adopted a premises liability standard employed by nearly all jurisdictions, see 1 Larson, Workmens' Compensation Law, Sec. 15.11 (1985 ed.), and held "that a worker who is on the employer's premises coming to or going from the actual work place is acting in the course of employment [and] that if the employer has provided a parking area for its employees, that parking area is part of the employer's premises regardless of whether the lot is also available to customers or the general public." 767 S.W.2d at 150.

THE FACTS

In 1970, the Plaintiff-employee, Cora L. Copeland, started working in the plant of the Defendant, Leaf, Inc. in Memphis, Tennessee. On June 13, 1988, Plaintiff clocked out of Defendant's plant at 2:30 p.m., exited the designated employee door, and headed for her car in the parking area. Leaf, Inc.'s plant is located on Kansas Street and Plaintiff's car was parked in a designated employee parking lot directly across Kansas Street from the main plant. Plaintiff testified that after crossing the street an individual got out of a car on Kansas Street to strike another individual with an iron pipe. The second individual, a Leaf employee, ran and knocked Plaintiff under one of Defendant's trucks in the company owned parking lot across the street from the plant. It is unclear whether Plaintiff was initially struck while crossing Kansas Street or whether she had reached the sidewalk. However, whether it was the street or sidewalk matters little because both are public ways and not the premises of the Defendant Leaf, Inc.

FINDINGS OF THE TRIAL COURT

The trial court found "that the Plaintiff had clocked out of her place of employment, left at the exit, and was on the public street or sidewalk which intervened between her place of employment and the parking lot provided for the employees such as Plaintiff, when she was suddenly knocked down by a temporary employee of Defendant who was fleeing for his own safety from a non-employee, who was chasing him because of a romantic disagreement." Citing Lollar v. Wal-Mart, the Court specifically found "that while an employee on the employer's premises, or the employee parking lot provided for its employees, who sustains an injury may claim compensation, it appears that one who is not on the employer's premises after leaving work may not claim compensation, even though he or she may later be intending to enter upon another part of the employer's premises." The trial court's holding is consistent with Lollar; however, we are asked by Plaintiff to extend Lollar in order to avoid the unfairness of the trial court's decision. Plaintiff seeks to have the premises rule broadened to include that area necessary for access to that land actually owned or controlled by the employer.

OUR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

Had this accident occurred on Defendant's plant site or on Defendant's parking lot, liability under Lollar would have been clear because Plaintiff would have been injured on the employer's premises en route from work. In the case before us, the employer's premises, ¹ the work site and the parking lot, are divided by a public way--thus distinguishing this case from Lollar. In Lollar, the parking lot adjoined the work site; the two were not divided by a public street. We were aware when deciding Lollar that the configurations of employers' premises vary greatly. We also recognized that "any attempt to draw a line ... will eventually engender difficult cases...." 767 S.W.2d at 150. This is such a case. Should recovery be denied because an employee is injured while crossing a public street which separates the job site from the employer-owned parking lot? When considering the Lollar decision, we were not unmindful that a fact situation similar to the one we have before us today would soon need to be addressed by this Court. Other states that have adopted the premises liability rule have considered similar factual situations. Professor Larson points out in his treatise that: "One category in which compensation is almost always awarded is that in which the employee travels along or across a public road between two portions of his employer's premises, whether going and coming, or pursuing his active duties." 1 Larson, Workmen's Compensation Law, Sec. 15.14(a) (1990). In section 15.14(b), Professor Larson points out that parking lots owned or maintained by the employer are treated by most courts as part of the premises, and that most courts hold that an injury in a public street between the plant and the parking lot is in the course of employment, being on a necessary route between the two portions of the premises. See Knoop v. Industrial Comm'n., 121 Ariz. 293, 589 P.2d 1325 (1978) (The employee fell and was injured in the street while she was crossing from the parking lot to the employer's building. The employee had been told to park in the lot which was separated from the employer's building by the public street. Employee recovered benefits.); State Compensation Ins. Fund v. Walter, 143 Colo. 549, 354 P.2d 591 (1960) (Public street bisected the employer's premises and separated the parking lot from the main area. Employee was injured while crossing the street and injury was found to be compensable.); West Point Pepperell, Inc. v. McEntire, 150 Ga.App. 728, 258 S.E.2d 530 (1979) (Employee was struck by a car while crossing the street from her place of employment to a company owned parking lot. The court held the journey between two parts of the employer's premises is covered.); Oscar Mayer Foods Corp. v. Illinois Indus. Comm'n., 146 Ill.App.3d 315, 99 Ill.Dec. 822, 496 N.E.2d 515 (1986) (Employee was injured in the road between the employer's parking lot and the plant. Defendant contended injury did not arise out of the employment. The court found employee's injury was compensable.); Gray Hill, Inc. v. Industrial Comm'n., 145 Ill.App.3d 371, 99 Ill.Dec. 295, 495 N.E.2d 1030 (1986) (Employee fell on ice on public sidewalk between the entrance she was instructed to use and her parking lot. The court found this was the only practical access to the factory and allowed recovery.); Proctor-Silex Corp. v. Debrick, 253 Md. 477, 252 A.2d 800 (1969) (Employee parked her car in a parking lot leased by her employer. She proceeded across a public street which divided the lot from the employer's building and while walking on an icy sidewalk which adjoined the building she slipped and was injured. The court found her injury to be compensable.); Smith v. Greenville Prods. Co., 185 Mich.App. 512, 462 N.W.2d 789 (1990) (Employee was struck by a car while crossing a public street on his way from the parking lot, provided by his employer, to the employer's plant. The Court held that plaintiff was sufficiently within "the zone, environments and hazards of his labor" to be under the protection of the Workers' Compensation Act, which act encompassed the premises rule.) Adair v. Metropolitan Bldg. Co., 38 Mich.App. 393, 196 N.W.2d 335 (1972) (While proceeding from employer's premises to a parking lot owned by the employer, employee was injured while walking on a driveway owned by another company. The court found claimant to be within the "zone, environments and hazards" of his labor, and therefore on the premises of his employer.); Lewis v. Walter Scott & Co., 50 N.J.Super. 283, 141 A.2d 807 (1958) (Employee fell on a public sidewalk connecting employer's building with employee's parking lot. The court held the injury compensable.); Gaik v. National Aniline Div., Allied Chem. & Dye Corp., 5 A.D.2d 1039, 173 N.Y.S.2d 409 (1958) (Employee fell on sidewalk outside of the plant and the court held the injury was compensable when the employee was coming from employer-owned parking lot located two blocks away.); Baughman v. Eaton Corp., 62 Ohio St.2d 62, 402 N.E.2d 1201 (1980) (Employee was injured while crossing a public street which was between the parking lot and the plant premises. The Ohio Supreme Court held it would be unreasonable to deny the employee compensation for injuries he sustained on a public street while he was going to work.); Swanson v. General Paint Co., 361 P.2d 842 (Okla.1961) (An injury to employee while crossing a public highway between the work premises and a parking lot furnished by the employer's landlord was found to be compensable.); Epler v. North Am. Rockwell Corp., 482 Pa. 391, 393 A.2d 1163 (1978) (Employee was struck and killed by an automobile while crossing the street to the parking lot after work. The court allowed...