G.UB.MK Constructors v. Garner, No. 1080818 (Ala. 1/8/2010)
| Decision Date | 08 January 2010 |
| Docket Number | No. 1080818.,1080818. |
| Parties | G.UB.MK Constructors and Eric M. Leslie v. Darlene Garner, as administratrix of the estate of Wendell Garner, deceased. |
| Court | Alabama Supreme Court |
Appeal from Jackson Circuit Court (CV-05-34)
G.UB.MK Constructors ("GUBMK") and its former employee, Eric M. Leslie, appeal from a judgment entered on a jury verdict in favor of Wendell Garner, an employee of the Tennessee Valley Authority ("TVA"), in Garner's action against them for on-the-job injuries Garner received when Leslie inadvertently drove a TVA-owned vehicle over Garner's legs.1 We reverse and remand.
The details of the accident in which Garner was injured are largely immaterial to this appeal. What is material is the nature of the relationship between Leslie and TVA. In particular, this case turns on whether Leslie was a "special employee" of TVA at the time of the accident. If so, then he was Garner's co-employee for purposes of the Alabama Workers' Compensation Act, Ala. Code 1975, § 25-5-1 et seq. ("the Act"), and he is entitled to the limited co-employee immunity provided under the Act.
GUBMK is a joint venture composed of three companies. It was formed in 1991 at the instance of TVA in order — as stated in "Tennessee Valley Authority and G.UB.MK Constructors Agreement No. 99MJ-232187, [June 28, 1999]" ("the contract") — to partner with TVA "for the performance of modifications and supplemental maintenance work at TVA fossil and hydro plants and possibly at other TVA-controlled facilities." According to the contract, GUBMK's "principal work [is to] employ and manage all craft labor necessary for the completion of modification and supplemental maintenance work including construction, rehabilitation, modification, removal, replacement, and construction testing of components and/or systems identified by TVA at Fossil and Hydro generating plants and other sites ... within the TVA region."
The contract also provided, in pertinent part:
(Emphasis added.)
In 2002, Leslie was referred by a labor union to GUBMK for employment at TVA's Widow's Creek Fossil Plant ("the plant"). GUBMK had payroll offices located on the premises of the plant. At that time, Leslie was hoping eventually to be hired by TVA. On April 22, 2002, Leslie accepted employment by GUBMK as a "deck hand (laborer)," that is, to be "staff augmentation" for TVA, pursuant to ¶ GC-15 of the contract. Leslie executed the forms necessary to allow GUBMK to withhold payroll taxes and union dues from his paychecks. GUBMK also gave Leslie a copy of the "G.UB.MK Constructors Orientation Manual for Trades and Labor Employees" ("the manual") . The manual, which consist of 26 pages, sets forth "policies, processes, procedures and requirements applicable to G.UB.MK work," purporting to vest in GUBMK control over such matters as substance abuse, safety regulations, absenteeism, and time-keeping Leslie was paid based on a wage scale set forth in the Project Maintenance and Modifications Agreement and the Construction Project Agreement (hereinafter referred to collectively as "the labor agreements"), to which GUBMK was required by ¶ GC-49 of the contract to become a signatory. He worked exclusively on TVA property, using equipment owned and supplied by TVA. For all the work he performed, Leslie's TVA supervisors kept track of his hours and provided the time sheets to GUBMK, whose employees then calculated his wages. Next, GUBMK would submit those calculations to TVA, which would deposit into GUBMK's bank account the appropriate amount to cover the paycheck. Leslie's paychecks would then be drawn on GUBMK's bank account. TVA provided workers' compensation insurance for Leslie and all such staff-augmentation personnel supplied by GUBMK.
On the night of March 16, 2003, Leslie was working with Garner, a regular TVA employee. In the course of performing their assigned duties, Garner was injured. Garner received payments for lost wages and medical expenses from the United States Department of Labor Office of Workers' Compensation Programs.
On February 7, 2005, Garner sued GUBMK and Leslie. His complaint as last amended asserted negligence as the single claim for relief. GUBMK and Leslie answered the complaint and asserted as an affirmative defense that Garner's claims were "barred by the provisions of the Alabama Workers' Compensation Act ... in that [Garner] and the defendant Eric...
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