Grundmeyer v. Weyerhaeuser Co., 01-0849.
| Decision Date | 17 July 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 01-0849.,01-0849. |
| Parties | Nancy GRUNDMEYER, Appellee, v. WEYERHAEUSER COMPANY, Appellant. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
Richard C. Garberson and Jennifer E. Rinden of Shuttleworth & Ingersoll, P.L.C., Cedar Rapids, for appellant.
Robert C. Andres of Felton, Martin & Andres, P.C., Waterloo, for appellee.
Weyerhaeuser Company (Weyerhaeuser) appeals from the district court's ruling on judicial review reversing the chief deputy workers' compensation commissioner's (commissioner) decision denying Nancy Grundmeyer's claim for an alleged occupational hearing loss under Iowa Code chapter 85B (1995). We must determine whether the district court erred in its interpretation and application of Iowa Code sections 85B.11 and 85B.8. If we determine the court was in error, we must then determine whether substantial evidence supports the commissioner's finding that Grundmeyer failed to prove Weyerhaeuser is liable for any occupational hearing loss.
We conclude the district court did err in its interpretation of the two Iowa Code sections and that substantial evidence supports the commissioner's finding that Grundmeyer failed to prove Weyerhaeuser is liable for any occupational hearing loss. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for an order affirming the commissioner's decision.
In August 1966, Grundmeyer began working part-time at Mead Container (Mead), a box factory in Waterloo, Iowa. On May 27, 1969, her status changed to full-time. On August 1, 1987, Weyerhaeuser purchased Mead. According to the purchase agreement, Weyerhaeuser purchased Mead's assets with the exception of some stated assets, which included "all rights of Seller in its corporate name." In addition, Weyerhaeuser assumed Mead's liabilities with the exception of some stated liabilities, including workers' compensation liabilities.
At the time of the ownership change, Grundmeyer's duties remained the same. Her job site, rate of pay, and the work rules remained the same. Grundmeyer never received written notice that her employment relationship was terminated. She was unaware that any employee relationship had been terminated.
In August 1987, Grundmeyer filled out an employment application for Weyerhaeuser, as did all other former Mead employees. However, Weyerhaeuser considered May 27, 1969, as her hired date for purposes of seniority and pension benefits. Grundmeyer retired from Weyerhaeuser on August 31, 1996.
When Grundmeyer began working for Mead, she had no hearing problems. She held several different positions throughout her employment at the box factory. She testified that each of these positions involved exposure to high levels of noise. Noise survey reports from 1987 through 1996 support this testimony.
For at least the first fifteen years of her employment at the box factory, Grundmeyer wore no hearing protection. She first became aware of a hearing problem in the mid-1980s. She described the onset of the problem as "gradual," rather than sudden. In 1984, a hearing test showed that Grundmeyer had a hearing loss. At that time, a doctor told her to "stay away from noise and wear hearing protection." She wore a hearing aid for a short period of time in 1989.
Mead began providing hearing protection for its employees in the mid-1980s. From that point on, Grundmeyer wore hearing protection. She began with foam plugs and later switched to molded plugs. She testified she wore the hearing protection "religiously" from the time Mead provided the protection until she retired from Weyerhaeuser. Occasionally, she would loosen the hearing protection in her right ear for brief periods of time so she could hear instructions.
In 1988, Weyerhaeuser had Grundmeyer's hearing tested. The test showed a 15.3 percent hearing loss. In 1995, a few months before her retirement, she had another hearing exam. That exam showed a hearing loss of 42.2 percent. In 1998, another hearing exam indicated her hearing loss had worsened since her retirement. That exam showed a 53.8 percent hearing loss.
Grundmeyer's father had hearing problems beginning at age sixty, and he eventually wore a hearing aid. Her maternal grandfather had hearing problems in his later years, and he wore a hearing aid beginning in his late seventies.
On June 30, 1997, Grundmeyer filed a petition for workers' compensation benefits, alleging that she sustained a hearing loss as a result of exposure to occupational noise. She further alleged that the injury occurred on August 31, 1996, the date of her retirement from Weyerhaeuser.
A deputy workers' compensation commissioner heard the case on September 15, 1999. The deputy heard testimony from Grundmeyer and others, and received reports from three experts.
The second expert for Weyerhaeuser, Joseph Sataloff, M.D., only reviewed Grundmeyer's records for his opinion. He concurred with Dr. Grandon's opinion that "if Ms. Grundmeyer experienced any occupational hearing loss, it was long before 1986." Dr. Sataloff also opined that Grundmeyer's "hearing loss is chiefly of a hereditary, progressive nerve etiology rather than occupational noise exposure."
The deputy issued his decision a week following the hearing. He concluded that Grundmeyer had failed to establish that an occupational hearing loss pursuant to Iowa Code chapter 85B occurred on August 31, 1996. She failed to do so because (1) the contract of acquisition between Mead and Weyerhaeuser "makes it clear that [Weyerhaeuser] is not responsible" for claims for hearing loss incurred prior to August 1, 1987, and (2) Grundmeyer "failed to establish that her hearing loss is causally connected to work for Weyerhaeuser Company from August 1, 1987, through her separation date of August 31, 1996." Grundmeyer appealed to the commissioner.
On June 29, 2000, the commissioner filed an appeal decision affirming the deputy's decision. The commissioner concluded that Grundmeyer proved that she had been exposed to excessive noise levels at work and that the exposure had resulted in a hearing loss. However, interpreting Iowa Code sections 85B.11 and 85B.8, the commissioner concluded that Weyerhaeuser was not liable for any hearing loss incurred before August 1, 1987, when it purchased some of Mead's assets and assumed some of its liabilities.
In addition, the commissioner concluded Grundmeyer failed to show any of her hearing loss after August 1, 1987 was caused by exposure to excessive noise while she was employed by Weyerhaeuser. In reaching this conclusion, the commissioner gave greater weight to the opinions of Weyerhaeuser's two experts. In the course of his decision, the commissioner — contrary to the deputy — concluded that the asset purchase agreement could not operate to deprive Grundmeyer of her rights under the workers' compensation law, citing Iowa Code section 85.18. That provision provides that "[n]o contract, rule, or device whatsoever shall operate to relieve the employer, in whole or in part, from any liability created by this chapter except as herein provided." Iowa Code § 85.18.
On July 19, 2000, Grundmeyer filed a petition for judicial review in the district court. On April 19, 2001, the district court filed a ruling reversing the commissioner's decision.
The district court noted that according to section 85B.11, an employer is liable "for an occupational hearing loss to which the employment has contributed. ...." Iowa Code § 85B.11(emphasis added). The court also noted that section 85B.8 allows a claimant to file a claim "six months after separation from the employment in which the employee was exposed to excessive noise levels." Iowa Code § 85B.8 (emphasis added). The court interpreted the word "employment" in both provisions to mean all employment. Therefore, the court concluded, a change in employers did not prevent Weyerhaeuser from being liable for all of the hearing loss which Grundmeyer sustained while working at the box factory. It was the district court's position that the legislature intentionally selected the language just cited in sections 85B.11 and 85B.8 to apply to situations where there are successor employers.
Weyerhaeuser contends the district court erred in its interpretation and application of Iowa Code sections 85B.11 and 85B.8. In addition, Weyerhaeuser contends substantial evidence supports the commissioner's finding that Weyerhaeuser is not liable for any occupational hearing loss that Grundmeyer may have suffered, because no loss attributable to excessive noise at the box factory occurred after August 1, 1987, the date of the purchase.
Iowa Code chapter 17A governs review of this workers' compensation decision. See Iowa Code § 85B.14. The district court, exercising its power of judicial review under Iowa Code section 17A.19(8), acts in an appellate capacity to correct errors of law on the part of the agency. Heartland Express, Inc. v. Terry, 631 N.W.2d 260, 265 (Iowa 2001)....
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Nixon v. State
...primary concern in interpreting a statute is to determine and effectuate the legislature's intent." (citing Grundmeyer v. Weyerhaeuser Co., 649 N.W.2d 744, 750 (Iowa 2002))). Our legislature adopted a statute in 1965 that permitted some tort claims to be filed against the State, and our tas......
-
Ostrem v. Prideco Secure Loan Fund, LP
...1975) (stating general rule that the purchaser of corporate assets is generally not liable for the debts of the transferor). In Grundmeyer v. Weyerhaeuser Co., for instance, one company purchased some of another company's assets and “assumed only limited liabilities.” 649 N.W.2d 744, 751 (I......
-
Crutchfield v. Marine Power Engine Co.
...directors, and stock of selling and purchasing corporations, identity of ownership is a requirement); Grundmeyer v. Weyerhaeuser Co., 649 N.W.2d 744, 751-752 (Iowa 2002)(controlling factor is whether the transferor controls the purchasing corp.); Stratton v. Garvey Int'l, Inc. 9 Kan.App.2d ......
-
Fennelly v. A-1 Machine & Tool Co.
...primary concern in interpreting a statute is to determine and effectuate the legislature's intent.") (citing Grundmeyer v. Weyerhaeuser Co., 649 N.W.2d 744, 750 (Iowa 2002)). The "all other actions" catchall has been in the statute since 1851. See Iowa Code § 1659(3) (1851) ("The following ......