Lollar v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

• Decision Date: 21 February 1989
• Docket Number: WAL-MART
• Citation: 4 A.L.R.5th 1086,767 S.W.2d 143
• Parties: LaWanda LOLLAR, Plaintiff-Appellant, v.STORES, INC., Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: Tennessee Supreme Court

Page 143

767 S.W.2d 143

4 A.L.R.5th 1086

LaWanda LOLLAR, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. WAL-MART STORES, INC., Defendant-Appellee.

Supreme Court of Tennessee at Nashville.

Feb. 21, 1989.

David E. Brandon, Nashville, for plaintiff-appellant.

Charles Trabue III, Gary M. Brown, Nashville, for defendant-appellee.

OPINION

DROWOTA, Chief Justice.

I

In this case, we re-examine 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.

The trial court granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment rather than trying the case upon the merits. The record before us is limited to the pleadings, the plaintiff's deposition, and the affidavits of plaintiff and a fellow employee.

The plaintiff worked part time at defendant's Wal-Mart Store in Davidson County. This particular store was located in a small shopping center, with several other stores adjoining it. The shopping center had a parking lot with lined and angled parking spaces.

According to affidavits and the plaintiff's deposition, which we view in the light most favorable to plaintiff for purposes of reviewing the summary judgment disposition, the defendant required its employees to park in an area at the outermost portion of the parking lot. The area, however, was not fenced or otherwise enclosed. There were no signs or other markings indicating that parking in this area was restricted to Wal-Mart employees. The entire lot was unrestricted and open to the general public.

On the evening of January 23, 1987, icy conditions existed on the entire parking lot. After clocking out and making a purchase, appellant proceeded on foot across the icy parking lot toward her automobile, which was parked in the designated area. En route to her car, but before reaching the designated area, plaintiff slipped in the parking lot and broke her ankle.

Plaintiff brought suit to recover workers' compensation benefits as a result of her injury. Defendant moved for summary judgment on the sole ground that the plaintiff failed to satisfy the "special hazard" requirement of Woods v. Warren, discussed infra. The trial court granted summary judgment solely on this basis, and the plaintiff appealed.

Our review is limited to determining whether defendant is entitled to summary judgment. The defendant is entitled to summary judgment if there is no genuine issue of any material fact such that the defendant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Rule 56.02, Tenn.R.Civ.P.

II

In order to be compensable under our workers' compensation statute, an injury must be one "arising out of and in the course of employment." Tenn.Code Ann. Sec. 50-6-102(a)(4). The phrases "arising out of" and "in the course of" are not synonymous. "Arising out of" refers to the origin of the injury, while "in the course of" refers to the time, place and circumstances of the injury. Knox v. Batson, 217 Tenn. 620, 399 S.W.2d 765, 770 (1966).

The general rule in workers' compensation cases in Tennessee has been that an injury sustained en route to or from work is not compensable, since "the employee is not to be considered in the course of his employment until he has actually arrived at his place of employment ready to begin his activities in the employer's work...." Smith v. Camel Mfg. Co., 192 Tenn. 670, 680, 241 S.W.2d 771, 775 (1951). We have, however, recognized exceptions to this general rule of non-liability. In Woods v. Warren, we reviewed a number of cases allowing or discussing these exceptions and attempted to formulate a general rule governing them. We held that in order for an employee to recover for an en route injury, the employee must demonstrate that:

a. at the time of injury he was using a route required or furnished by the employer; ... and such route was on the premises of the employer, ... and

b. the use of the required route subjects the employee to a definite special hazard ... or

c. that the risks of travel are directly incident to the employment itself ...

Id. at 655 (citations omitted). We defined premises as "that part of the property where the employee actually works or which he is required to use for ingress and egress." Id.

Since that decision, we have addressed claims brought under the Woods v. Warren rule in 19 cases, 8 reported cases and 11 unreported cases. ¹ These decisions along with the cases discussed in Woods v. Warren constitute a substantial body of law that we are now in a position to evaluate.

The aspects of the Woods v. Warren rule that have been most difficult of application are the "required route" and "special hazard" determinations. ² Although conceptually distinct, the "required route" and "special hazard" issues are frequently raised together in particular cases and often involve overlapping facts. In discussing particular cases, we will address these two issues together where appropriate.

The required route rule is exemplified in Mallette v. Mercury Outboard Sup. Co., 204 Tenn. 438, 321 S.W.2d 816 (Tenn.1959). The employer operated a floating marina off of a large barge on McKellar Lake. A floating bridge or ramp led from the barge to the east bank of the lake. Concrete steps were constructed from the water's edge to the top of the steep bluff on the east bank. A parking lot was located on top of the bluff. The employee slipped on these steps while leaving work resulting in serious injuries.

The employer's lease included the barge, the ramp and the parking lot. The steps, however, were constructed and maintained by the City but their sole purpose was to serve the employer's business. The Court found the accident compensable, reversing the lower court, because the steps were the only reasonable means of getting to and from the place of employment on the barge.

Bennett v. Vanderbilt University, 198 Tenn. 1, 277 S.W.2d 386 (1955) is a leading case for failure to meet the required route rule. The employee tripped and fell in a parking lot maintained by the employer for the use and convenience of the employees. The employee was permitted but not required to use the parking lot. There were several other parking lots which she could have used. She selected her own parking place and her own route, and the Court denied benefits. The Court distinguished property and premises of the employer for compensation purposes:

While all property owned by an employer may be likewise called "premises" in general usage, but it is obvious from our cases, that "premises" under our compensation statute means the part of the property where the employee is to do his work, including that part which he is required to use for ingress and egress.

198 Tenn. at 7, 277 S.W.2d at 388.

The special hazard requirement is perhaps most clearly illustrated in Moore v. Cincinnati N.O. & T.P. Ry. Co., 148 Tenn. 561, 256 S.W. 876 (1923). The plaintiff employee of defendant's railroad yard was killed by a locomotive after his shift had ended and while he was in the process of leaving the yard, but before he had left the premises. The employer had argued that the plaintiff had taken a course of exit that was unnecessarily hazardous. The Court rejected this argument, however, pointing out that there were no means of egress that would not have subjected plaintiff to the special hazards and dangers of a rail yard. In the most recent case dealing with special hazards, this Court held that a special hazard may not only be a dangerous or defective physical condition on the premises, but may occur on an employer's premises by reason of traffic congestion. We concluded that the employee was using a required route and was "exposed to a special hazard, not common to the members of the public generally." Sewell v. American Uniform Co., 759 S.W.2d 415, 416 (Tenn.1988).

In Woods v. Warren, supra, the plaintiff worked in an apartment complex where she also lived. It was her practice on most days to walk to the manager's office, located at the other end of the complex from her residence, and clock in. On the day of the accident, however, snowy and icy conditions generally prevailed in the area. She drove her vehicle to the office and parked in a space of her own selection, which she was permitted, but not required, to do. After exiting her car, she fell on the icy sidewalk.

We held that although plaintiff was on the employer's premises at the time of her injury, she had several parking lots available to her and several routes she could have chosen. As in Bennett v. Vanderbilt University, she was not pursuing a required route, but one of her own choice.

We also held that she failed to demonstrate a special hazard since the snowy and icy conditions "were common to the general public and not peculiar to the nature of the employment or to the conditions under which that employment was required to be performed." 548 S.W.2d at 656. Our holding did not clearly state whether the special hazard was lacking because there were snowy and icy conditions prevailing generally, or because the general public had access to the area of the accident. The opinion in Woods made no reference to the fact that the parking lot and sidewalk were accessible to the general public.

This was clarified in Frazier v. Normak Intern., 572 S.W.2d 650 (Tenn.1978). The plaintiff slipped on ice in an alley used to get into the employer's building in a warehouse complex. The alley was closed to the general public, though three other companies used the alley. We reversed the trial court and held that the alley was a required route and that notwithstanding the generally icy conditions, the hazard created by the ice on this particular alley was not a general one, but was peculiar to the employees that used it. We distinguished Woods by noting that the parking lot in Woods was open to the general public.

Frazier raises the question of what constitutes premises which are closed to the public. Our cases that have at least...