Martinez v. Southington Metal

• Decision Date: 19 June 2007
• Docket Number: No. 27201.,27201.
• Citation: 924 A.2d 150,101 Conn.App. 796
• Court: Connecticut Court of Appeals
• Parties: Eduardo MARTINEZ et al. v. SOUTHINGTON METAL FABRICATING COMPANY.

924 A.2d 150

101 Conn.App. 796

Eduardo MARTINEZ et al. v. SOUTHINGTON METAL FABRICATING COMPANY.

No. 27201.

Appellate Court of Connecticut.

Argued February 20, 2007.

Decided June 19, 2007.

Patrick Tomasiewicz, West Hartford, with whom, on the brief, was Jonathan A. Cantor, for the appellants (named plaintiff et al.).

Lawrence L. Connelli, Hartford, for the appellee (defendant).

BISHOP, ROGERS and McDONALD, Js.

BISHOP, J.

The plaintiff Eduardo Martinez¹ appeals from the trial court's determination that his complaint for damages resulting from a work-related injury was barred by General Statutes § 31-284,² the exclusivity provision of the Workers' Compensation Act (act), General Statutes § 31-275 et seq. On appeal, the plaintiff contends that the trial court improperly granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment because his claim falls within an exception to the exclusivity statute for cases in which the employee can prove that the employer intentionally created a dangerous condition that made the plaintiff's injuries substantially certain to occur. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The plaintiff claims that he was injured on February 13, 2002 while working for the defendant, the Southington Metal Fabricating Company. He alleges that, on that date, he was assisting a coworker, Cristobal Nieves, in the operation of a metal bending machine. Nieves operated the control switch of the machine with his back partially turned away from the plaintiff, who stood in front of the machine and lifted a large sheet of steel plate that was approximately eight feet by two feet into the machine. Nieves thought that he heard the plaintiff say "okay," causing him to activate the machine. At the time, the plaintiff was still positioning the steel plate and his left arm was still under the clamp of the machine. Once the machine was activated, Nieves was unable to stop it, resulting in a severe crush injury to the plaintiff's left arm, ultimately requiring surgical treatment and amputation of his left arm below the elbow.

The plaintiff filed this action alleging that the defendant intentionally created a dangerous condition that made his injuries substantially certain to occur. The defendant moved for summary judgment on the basis that the plaintiff's complaint was barred by the exclusivity provision of the act. The court granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment, finding that the plaintiff failed to present any evidence indicating the existence of an issue of material fact as to whether intentional acts by the defendant created a substantial certainty that the plaintiff's injury would occur. This appeal followed.

"Summary judgment is appropriate when the pleadings, affidavits and any other proof submitted show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. . . . Thus, because the court's decision on a motion for summary judgment is a legal determination, our review on appeal is plenary. . . ." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Heussner v. Day, Berry & Howard, LLP, 94 Conn.App. 569, 572-73, 893 A.2d 486, cert. denied, 278 Conn. 912, 899 A.2d 38 (2006).

"In seeking summary judgment, it is the movant who has the burden of showing the nonexistence of any issue of fact. The courts are in entire agreement that the moving party for summary judgment has the burden of showing the absence of any genuine issue as to all the material facts, which, under applicable principles of substantive law, entitle him to a judgment as a matter of law. The courts hold the movant to a strict standard. To satisfy his burden the movant must make a showing that it is quite clear what the truth is, and that excludes any real doubt as to the existence of any genuine issue of material fact. . . . As the burden of proof is on the movant, the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the opponent. . . .

"It is frequently stated in Connecticut's case law that, pursuant to Practice Book §§ 17-45 and 17-46, a party opposing a summary judgment motion must provide an evidentiary foundation to demonstrate the existence of a genuine issue of material fact. . . . [T]ypically, [d]emonstrating a genuine issue requires a showing of evidentiary facts or substantial evidence outside the pleadings from which material facts alleged in the pleadings can be warrantably inferred. . . . Moreover, [t]o establish the existence of a material fact, it is not enough for the party opposing summary judgment merely to assert the existence of a disputed issue. . . . Such assertions are insufficient regardless of whether they are contained in a complaint or a brief. . . . Further unadmitted allegations in the pleadings do not constitute proof of the existence of a genuine issue as to any material fact." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Rockwell v. Quintner, 96 Conn.App. 221, 228-29, 899 A.2d 738, cert. denied, 280 Conn. 917, 908 A.2d 538 (2006).

General Statutes § 31-284(a) exempts employers from liability for civil damages "on account of personal injury sustained by an employee arising out of and in the course of his employment. . . ." "`Arising out of and in the course of his employment'" is defined as an accidental injury or occupational disease originating while the employee is engaged "in the line of [his] duty in the business or affairs of the employer upon the employer's premises . . . ." General Statutes § 31-275(1). "`Personal injury'" includes accidental injury and "injury to an employee which is causally connected with [his] employment and is the direct result of repetitive trauma or repetitive acts incident to such employment, and occupational disease." General Statutes § 31-275(16)(A).

"Our Workers' Compensation Act indisputably is a remedial statute that should be construed generously to accomplish its purpose. . . . Section 31-284(a), the exclusivity provision in the act, manifests a legislative policy decision that a limitation on remedies under tort law is an appropriate trade-off for the benefits provided by workers' compensation. That trade-off is part and parcel of the remedial purpose of the act in its entirety. Accordingly, our case law on workers' compensation exclusivity reflects the proposition that these statutes compromise an employee's right to a common law tort action for work related injuries in return for relatively quick and certain compensation." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Driscoll v. General Nutrition Corp., 252 Conn. 215, 220-21, 752 A.2d 1069 (2000).

Our Supreme Court first recognized a narrow exception to the exclusivity provision in Jett v. Dunlap, 179 Conn. 215, 425 A.2d 1263 (1979). In Jett, the Supreme Court recognized a possible exception to the exclusivity of workers' compensation where the employer intentionally directs or authorizes another employee to assault the injured party. Id., at 218, 425 A.2d 1263.

In Mingachos v. CBS, Inc., 196 Conn. 91, 491 A.2d 368 (1985), our Supreme Court declined the invitation to extend the exception to situations in which an injury resulted from the employer's intentional, wilful or reckless violations of safety standards established pursuant to federal or state laws. The court held: "To bypass the exclusivity of the act, the intentional or deliberate act or conduct alleged must have been designed to cause the injury that resulted." Id., at 102, 491 A.2d 368. This intent is distinguishable from reckless behavior. Id., at 102-103, 491 A.2d 368. High foreseeability or strong probability are insufficient to establish this intent. Id. Although such intent may be proven circumstantially, what must be established is that the employer knew that the injury was substantially certain to follow the employer's deliberate course of action. Id. To hold otherwise would undermine the statutory scheme and purpose of the workers' compensation law and usurp legislative prerogative. See id., at 106, 491 A.2d 368.

Definitive explication of the intentional injury exception to workers' compensation exclusivity came in Suarez v. Dickmont Plastics Corp., 229 Conn. 99, 639 A.2d 507 (1994) (Suarez I), in which the court stated that "intent refers to the consequences of an act . . . [and] denote[s] that the actor desires to cause [the] consequences of his act, or that he believes that the consequences are substantially certain to follow from it. . . . A result is intended if the act is done for the purpose of accomplishing such a result or with knowledge that to a substantial certainty such a result will ensue." (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., at 108, 639 A.2d 507. The plaintiff in Suarez I alleged that the defendant required the plaintiff and other employees to clean a plastic molding machine while it was running, refused to allow the plaintiff to use safer methods to clean the machine and refused to place a protective cover on the machine. Id., at 101, 639 A.2d 507. It also was alleged that the defendant had told the plaintiff that if he used safer methods to clean the machine, his employment would be terminated. Id. Our Supreme Court stated that "the defendant's [alleged] conduct constituted more than a mere failure to provide appropriate safety or protective measures, and that the plaintiff's injury was the inevitable and known result of the actions required of him by the defendant." Id., at 111, 639 A.2d 507. In Suarez I, the documentary evidence submitted in opposition to a motion for summary judgment raised a genuine dispute concerning the employer's belief that an employee would inevitably amputate his fingers as a result of the employer's demands of the employee. Id. The Supreme Court remanded the case for trial, which resulted in a plaintiff's verdict. The matter was appealed again.

In Suarez v. Dickmont Plastics Corp., 242 Conn. 255, 698 A.2d 838 (1997) (Suarez II), our Supreme Court described its...