Davis v. Rockwell Intern. Corp.

• Decision Date: 18 October 1984
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. C82-1417.
• Citation: 596 F. Supp. 780
• Parties: Robert B. DAVIS, et al., Plaintiffs, v. ROCKWELL INTERNATIONAL CORP., Rockwell International Corp. Reinforced Plastics Division, S.M.C. Corp., Sheet Molding Compound Machinery Co., Inc., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Ohio

596 F. Supp. 780

Robert B. DAVIS, et al., Plaintiffs, v. ROCKWELL INTERNATIONAL CORP., Rockwell International Corp. Reinforced Plastics Division, S.M.C. Corp., Sheet Molding Compound Machinery Co., Inc., Defendants.

Civ. A. No. C82-1417.

United States District Court, N.D. Ohio, E.D.

October 18, 1984.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Richard Dempsey, Cleveland, Ohio, for plaintiffs.

Roberta Y. Bavry, Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur, Columbus, Ohio, for defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

ANN ALDRICH, District Judge.

This Memorandum and Order sets forth the reasons for this Court's September 25, 1984 Order denying defendant Rockwell International Corporation's ("Rockwell") motion for summary judgment.

Title 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a) provides subject matter jurisdiction in this diversity action.

I.

Robert B. Davis was formerly employed as a mixer machine operator at Rockwell's Reinforced Plastics Division ("the Division") plant located in Ashtabula, Ohio. On May 28, 1980, his hand was partially crushed when it became caught between two power-driven rollers which are parts of a fiberglass molding machine. The injury occurred when, in the normal course of employment, Davis was attempting to clean the machine.

Davis applied for and collected workers' compensation benefits under the Ohio Workers' Compensation Act ("OWCA"), Ohio Rev.Code §§ 4123.01 et seq. Rockwell, a self-insured employer as provided for in Ohio Rev.Code § 4123.35, complied with the law and has paid the administratively-determined amount of benefits to Davis and his doctors. Davis has also filed an "Application for Additional Award for Violation of Specific Requirement" as provided for by the Ohio Constitution.

On May 28, 1982, Davis and his wife Emilie commenced this action against Rockwell, the Division, and eight other defendants.¹ The first three counts of the complaint concern the mixer machine and are not relevant to this motion. The fourth cause of action, however, states that the mixer was provided by Rockwell and the Division "for the use and operation by plaintiff and other employees in a dangerous and/or hazardous condition, thereby proximately causing his injuries." Davis further "states that these defendants had knowledge of the dangerous and hazardous condition of the machine and failed to correct and warn with respect thereto." Providing the mixer in such a condition and failing to correct it and warn employees of it "constituted intentional and malicious conduct and was in willful and wanton disregard of the health and safety of the plaintiff, and which proximately caused his injuries ..." Davis seeks $600,000 in compensatory damages and $1,000,000 in punitive damages.

In the fifth cause of action, Emilie Davis seeks $150,000 in compensatory damages and $300,000 in punitive damages for loss of her husband's services.

II.

Rockwell claims that its participation in the workers' compensation system protects it from suit over an employee's work-related injury. It further contends that Davis' decision to collect workers' compensation benefits constitutes an election of remedies which precludes him from bringing a civil action for intentional tort.

In this diversity action, the Court must follow the substantive law of the State of Ohio even if the Court considers the pertinent law to be unsound in principle or another rule preferable. Erie v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64, 58 S.Ct. 817, 82 L.Ed. 1188 (1938); Tennessee River Pulp & Paper Co. v. Eichleay Corp., 708 F.2d 1055, 1057 (6th Cir.1983). More precisely, only the law as expressed by the highest court of the state, in this case the Ohio Supreme Court, is binding on the Court. Ruth v. Bituminous Casualty Corp., 427 F.2d 290, 292 (6th Cir.1970). If the Ohio Supreme Court has not spoken, the Court is obligated to follow published intermediate Ohio appellate court decisions. Id. Absent any state cases, the Court must express its best judgment, based on available information, as to what the Ohio Supreme Court would hold if faced with the issue presented by this case. Tennessee River Pulp v. Eichleay Corp., 708 F.2d at 1057.

Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c), summary judgment may be granted only if there is "no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." All evidence concerning the existence of a genuine issue of material fact must be viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970); Hasan v. CleveTrust Realty Investors, Inc., 729 F.2d 372 (6th Cir.1984); Malis v. Hills, 588 F.2d 545 (6th Cir.1978).

III.

A. The Constitutional and Statutory Scheme

Workers' compensation statutes, such as the OWCA, generally provide that benefits recoverable under the statute are the exclusive remedy available to an employee injured in the course of employment. See generally Roof v. Velsicol, 380 F.Supp. 1373 (N.D.Ohio 1974); 2A A. Larson, The Law of Workmens' Compensation, § 65-10, at 12-1 (1982 & Supp.1983) ("Larson"). Section 35, Article II of the Ohio Constitution establishes the groundwork for the OWCA. In pertinent part, it provides:

For the purpose of providing compensation to workmen and their dependents, for death, injuries or occupational disease, occasioned in the course of such workmen's employment, laws may be passed establishing a state fund to be created by compulsory contribution thereto by employers, and administered by the state, determining the terms and conditions upon which payment shall be made therefrom. Such compensation shall be in lieu of all other rights to compensation, or damages, for such death, injuries, or occupational disease, and any employer who pays the premium or compensation provided by law, passed in accordance herewith, shall not be liable to respond in damages at common law or by statute for such death, injuries or occupational disease ... (Emphasis added).

Implementing the constitutional mandate, the Ohio legislature passed the OWCA. Ohio Rev.Code § 4123.74 provides:

Employers in compliance with the OCWA shall not be liable to respond in damages at common law or by statute for any injury, or occupational disease, or bodily condition, received or contracted by an employee in the course of or arising out of his employment ... whether or not such injury, occupational disease or bodily condition ... is compensable under Sections 4123.01 to 4123.94, inclusive, of the Revised Code.

For an injury resulting from an employer's violation of a specific safety standard, an employee may be granted an additional award of up to fifty per cent of the maximum award. The award is in the form of a penalty against the employer. Ohio Constitution, Section 35, Article II; State ex rel. Zito v. Industrial Commission, 64 Ohio St.2d 53, 413 N.E.2d 787 (1980); State ex rel. Whitman v. Industrial Commission, 131 Ohio St. 375, 3 N.E.2d 52 (1936).

The Ohio legislature also established a rule of construction, Ohio Rev. Code § 4123.95, which has been termed "clearly of assistance in determining the scope of employer immunity." Blankenship et al. v. Cincinnati Milacron Chemicals, Inc., 69 Ohio St.2d 608, 612, 433 N.E.2d 572, cert. denied, 459 U.S. 857, 103 S.Ct. 127, 74 L.Ed.2d 110 (1982).² The section reads:

Sections 4123.01 to 4123.94, inclusive, of the Revised Code, shall be liberally construed in favor of employees and the dependents of deceased employees.

The constitution and code reflect a legislated compromise between the interest of the employees and the concerns of the employers. On both sides, there is a quid pro quo. In return for a greater assurance of recovery, the employees relinquish their common law remedy and accept lower benefits. Employers sacrifice their common law defenses and, in turn, are protected from unlimited liability. Blankenship, 69 Ohio St.2d at 614, 433 N.E.2d 572; Larson § 65.10 at 12-4.

B. Intentional Tort

Workers' compensation statutes, designed to improve the plight of the injured worker, do not, however, afford an employer immunity for its intentionally tortious behavior. As the Ohio Supreme Court held:

An employee is not precluded by Section 35, Article II of the Ohio Constitution, or by R.C. 4123.74 and 4123.741 from enforcing his common law remedies against his employer for an intentional tort.

Blankenship, 69 Ohio St.2d at 608 (syllabus), 433 N.E.2d 572. While plain reading of the syllabus alone appears to indicate that Rockwell's motion must be denied, the issue is complicated by the need to define an intentional tort and to resolve the election of remedies issues not decided in Blankenship.³

Several reasons have been advanced to explain the intentional tort exception to the exclusive remedy provisions of workers' compensation statutes. The most persuasive is that an employer who commits an intentional wrong should not be permitted to argue that the resulting injury was accidental and within the exclusivity terms of the act. See Larson § 69.10 at 13-41 to 13-42. Following Delamotte v. Midland Ross, 64 Ohio App.2d 159, 161, 411 N.E.2d 814 (Lucas County 1978), Blankenship allowed an intentional tort claim because "the substance of the claim is not an injury ... received or contracted by any employee in the course of or arising out of his employment within the meaning of R.C. 4123.74." Blankenship, 69 Ohio St.2d at 613, 433 N.E.2d 572. The court also stated that one of the avowed purposes of the act, promoting a safe and injury free work environment, would not be fulfilled if an employer could commit an intentional tort with impunity having only to worry about its workers' compensation premiums rising. Id. at 615, 433 N.E.2d 572.

The majority of courts adopting the intentional tort exception have held that even egregious or reckless employer conduct that falls short of demonstrating a deliberate intent to injure will not permit an employee to overcome the exclusivity provision. For example, an employee who...