Gray v. Club Group, Ltd.

Decision Date22 February 2000
Docket NumberNo. 3119.,3119.
Citation528 S.E.2d 435,339 S.C. 173
CourtSouth Carolina Court of Appeals
PartiesLisa Ricks GRAY, Respondent, v. The CLUB GROUP, LTD. d/b/a Harbour Town Resort and National Liability & Fire Ins. Co., Appellants, v. CGL of Savannah and Granite State Ins. Co., Respondents.

Kay G. Crowe and Andrea C. Pope, both of Barnes, Alford, Stork & Johnson, of Columbia, for Appellants.

Edward K. Pritchard, III and J. Hubert Wood, III, both of Sinkler & Boyd, of Charleston; and Cory H. Fleming, of Moss & Kuhn, of Beaufort, for Respondents.

ANDERSON, Judge:

The Club Group, Ltd. (Club Group) appeals the Circuit Court's decision affirming the Workers' Compensation Commission's order awarding benefits to Lisa Ricks Gray (Mrs. Gray) for the death of her husband, James Gray (Gray), and holding he was acting in the course and scope of his employment with Club Group at the time of his accident.1 We affirm.

FACTS/PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Gray was employed as a bellman on Hilton Head Island at Harbour Town, which is managed by Club Group. His duties with Club Group included greeting guests, delivering documents, courier work, running errands, and transporting guests. His normal working schedule was Monday through Thursday and one day on the weekend, with Fridays off.

In January 1996, the part owner and president of Club Group, Mark King, asked Gray if, for $35 including mileage, he would transport payroll information and other items between Harbour Town and the Henderson Golf Club (Henderson) in Savannah. Gray was to use his own automobile, and King calculated the mileage from Gray's home in Savannah to Henderson, then to Harbour Town, back to Henderson, and then to Gray's home.

Henderson is managed by CGL of Savannah (CGL). King is one of the three owners of CGL. Club Group provides "general administrative services" for CGL in its management of Henderson. While a CGL check paid Gray for his services and mileage, King admitted he alone had the right to fire Gray from his Friday courier duties.

Gray lived near Henderson and, before he started delivering payroll information between Harbour Town and Henderson, would come over to Harbour Town on Fridays to pick up his paycheck. When he started running deliveries between the companies, his normal routine was to arrive at Henderson on Fridays between 8:00 a.m. and noon, pick up Henderson's payroll data and anything else which needed to go, drive from Savannah to Hilton Head, drop off the information, pick up anything to go to Henderson, and return with Henderson's payroll checks. He was required to arrive back at Henderson before 2:00 p.m.

Henderson is located off Highway 204 in the outer perimeter of Savannah near 1-95. Highway 204 is a four-lane divided highway characterized by fast-moving traffic. Henderson is equally accessible from Highway 204 by two separate routes. Gray would travel west on Highway 204 to get from his home to Henderson. Before his first trip to Henderson, Gray asked a manager at Henderson, Peter Rouillard, for the best directions to where he needed to go. He was told to take Highway 17 to Littleneck Road to a frontage road into the golf course.

On Friday, May 10, 1996, at about the time he would normally be expected at Henderson, Gray was involved in a serious car accident near Henderson on Highway 204. This was off the path given to Gray by Rouillard, but still only a half mile from an entrance to Henderson. Gray died as a result of the injuries from this accident.

A witness testified he saw Gray and another car swerving in and out of traffic going an estimated 85 miles per hour. Scott Simpkins, a Chatham County policeman, did not witness the accident, but stated that according to his calculations, Gray was traveling in excess of 120 mph. Simpkins explicated that eyewitness estimates may not be accurate, and his calculations of speed, taken from skid marks and damage of the vehicles, had never been proven wrong.

The Single Commissioner found Gray was employed by Club Group at the time of the accident and the accident was within the course and scope of his employment with Club Group. The Single Commissioner awarded benefits to his survivors. This order was affirmed by the Full Commission. The Circuit Court affirmed the Full Commission's order.

ISSUES

I. Did the Circuit Court err in applying the wrong standard of review?

II. Did the Circuit Court err in failing to find Gray was an Independent Contractor?
III. Did the Circuit Court err in finding substantial evidence to support the decision of the Workers' Compensation Commission?
STANDARD OF REVIEW
I. Jurisdictional Questions

"Judicial review of a Workers' Compensation decision is governed by the substantial evidence rule of the Administrative Procedures Act. However, when the Commission's jurisdiction is at issue, the reviewing court is not bound by the Commission's findings of fact upon which jurisdiction is dependent." Lake v. Reeder Const. Co., 330 S.C. 242, 246, 498 S.E.2d 650, 653 (Ct.App.1998) (citing Wilson v. Georgetown County, 316 S.C. 92, 447 S.E.2d 841 (1994)).

If the factual issue before the Full Commission involves a jurisdictional question, this Court's review is governed by the preponderance of the evidence standard. Vines v. Champion Bldg. Products, 315 S.C. 13, 431 S.E.2d 585 (1993); Lake v. Reeder Construction, at 247, 498 S.E.2d at 653. See also Kirksey v. Assurance Tire Co., 314 S.C. 43, 443 S.E.2d 803 (1994)

(this Court can find facts in accordance with the preponderance of evidence when determining jurisdictional question in Workers' Compensation case); Canady v. Charleston County Sch. Dist., 265 S.C. 21, 216 S.E.2d 755 (1975) (in determining whether Commission had jurisdiction of claim presented, this Court is not bound by the finding of fact by the Commission; this Court, and Circuit Court, has both the power and the duty to review entire record and find therefrom jurisdictional facts, without regard to the conclusion of Commission on such issue, and will decide jurisdictional question in accord with the preponderance of evidence); Sanders v. Litchfield Country Club, 297 S.C. 339, 377 S.E.2d 111 (Ct.App.1989) (where jurisdictional issue is raised, this Court must review record and make its own determination whether the preponderance of evidence supports Commission's factual findings bearing on that issue).

In Lake v. Reeder Const. Co., 330 S.C. 242, 246, 498 S.E.2d 650, 653 (Ct.App.1998), this Court held:

On appeal from the Workers' Compensation Commission, this Court may reverse where the decision is affected by an error of law. Stephen v. Avins Constr. Co., 324 S.C. 334, 478 S.E.2d 74 (Ct.App.1996); S.C.Code Ann. § 1-23-380(A)(6) (Supp.1997). The question of subject matter jurisdiction is a question of law. Bridges v. Wyandotte Worsted Co., 243 S.C. 1, 132 S.E.2d 18 (1963); Bargesser v. Coleman Co., 230 S.C. 562, 96 S.E.2d 825 (1957); Roper Hosp. v. Clemons, 326 S.C. 534, 484 S.E.2d 598 (Ct.App.1997). Furthermore, it is the burden of the appellant to show that the Circuit Court's decision is against the preponderance of the evidence. Chavis v. Watkins, 256 S.C. 30, 180 S.E.2d 648 (1971); Lake, supra; Crim v. Decorator's Supply, 291 S.C. 193, 352 S.E.2d 520 (Ct.App.1987).
II. A.P.A. Standard of Review

For all non-jurisdictional matters, the Administrative Procedures Act establishes the standard of review for decisions by the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission. Lark v. Bi-Lo Inc., 276 S.C. 130, 276 S.E.2d 304 (1981). The appellate court has the power upon review to reverse or modify a decision if the findings and conclusions of the administrative agency are affected by error of law, clearly erroneous in view of the reliable and substantial evidence on the whole record, or arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion. S.C.Code Ann. § 1-23-380(g) (1986 & Supp.1998).

The reviewing court may not substitute its judgment for that of the Full Commission as to the weight of the evidence on questions of fact, but may reverse if the decision is affected by an error of law. S.C.Code Ann. § 1-23-380(A)(6) (1998); Stephen v. Avins Constr. Co., 324 S.C. 334, 478 S.E.2d 74 (Ct.App.1996). A reviewing court should affirm a decision by the Full Commission unless it is clearly erroneous in view of the substantial evidence on the whole record. Lark, supra.

Substantial evidence is evidence that, in viewing the record as a whole, would allow reasonable minds to reach the same conclusion the Full Commission reached. Miller v. State Roofing Co., 312 S.C. 452, 441 S.E.2d 323 (1994). Furthermore, "`substantial evidence' is not a mere scintilla of evidence nor the evidence viewed blindly from one side of the case, but is evidence which, considering the record as a whole, would allow reasonable minds to reach the conclusion that the administrative agency reached or must have reached in order to justify its action." Lark at 135, 276 S.E.2d at 306.

LAW/ANALYSIS
I. Application of the Wrong Standard of Review

Club Group maintains the Circuit Court erred by applying the wrong standard of review in its determination of Gray's employment status with Club Group. We agree.

The existence of the employer-employee relationship is a jurisdictional question. Glass v. Dow Chem. Co., 325 S.C. 198, 482 S.E.2d 49 (1997); South Carolina Workers' Compensation Comm'n v. Ray Covington Realtors, Inc., 318 S.C. 546, 459 S.E.2d 302 (1995); Wilson, supra; Vines, supra; Givens v. Steel Structures, Inc.,

279 S.C. 12, 301 S.E.2d 545 (1983); Canady, supra; Chavis, supra; Lake, supra; Spivey v. D.G. Constr. Co., 321 S.C. 19, 467 S.E.2d 117 (Ct.App.1996). In addition, an injured worker's employment status, as it affects jurisdiction, is a matter of law for decision by the court and includes the findings of fact which relate to jurisdiction. Lake at 247, 498 S.E.2d at...

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