McKinnon v. Western Sugar Co-Op. Corp.

• Decision Date: 05 February 2010
• Docket Number: No. DA 09-0330.,DA 09-0330.
• Citation: 2010 MT 24,225 P.3d 1221,355 Mont. 120
• Parties: Lance McKINNON, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. WESTERN SUGAR COOPERATIVE CORPORATION, Defendant and Appellee.
• Court: Montana Supreme Court

225 P.3d 1221

2010 MT 24

355 Mont. 120

Lance McKINNON, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. WESTERN SUGAR COOPERATIVE CORPORATION, Defendant and Appellee.

No. DA 09-0330.

Supreme Court of Montana.

Submitted on Briefs November 4, 2009.

Decided February 5, 2010.

For Appellant: James P. Carey and Micheal F. Lamb, Lamb & Carey, Helena, Montana, Victor R. Halverson, Halverson, Sheehy & Plath, P.C., Billings, Montana, Jon M. Moyers, Moyers Law, P.C., Billings, Montana.

For Appellee: Chad E. Adams and Leo S. Ward, Browning, Kaleczyc, Berry & Hoven, P.C., Helena, Montana.

Justice BRIAN MORRIS delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶ 1 Lance McKinnon (McKinnon) appeals an order of the First Judicial District Court, Lewis and Clark County, dismissing his complaint for failure to state a claim and denying his constitutional challenge based on McKinnon's failure to notify the Attorney General's office. We reverse.

¶ 2 We review the following issues on appeal:

¶ 3 Did the District Court correctly dismiss McKinnon's intentional injury claim for failure to state a claim?

¶ 4 Did the District Court correctly apply M.R. Civ. P. 24(d) when it dismissed McKinnon's constitutional challenge?

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

¶ 5 A railcar traumatically amputated both of McKinnon's legs while he was working for Western Sugar Cooperative Corporation (Western Sugar) on February 15, 2005. McKinnon received workers' compensation benefits for his injury.

¶ 6 McKinnon filed his original complaint on February 9, 2007, in which he sought to circumvent the exclusivity provision of the Workers' Compensation Act. Section 39-71-411, MCA. McKinnon initially did not serve Western Sugar. McKinnon alleged in his complaint that Western Sugar had engaged in inherently dangerous, ultra-hazardous work practice and had violated its non-delegable duty to provide a safe workplace. McKinnon claimed that Western Sugar's actions had proximately caused his injuries.

¶ 7 This Court issued its opinion in Brady v. PPL Montana, 2008 MT 177, 343 Mont. 405, 185 P.3d 330, after McKinnon had filed his complaint. Brady came to this Court with an incomplete factual record on a certified question pursuant to M.R.App. P. 44 from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. We declined in Brady to address the constitutionality of the Workers Compensation exclusivity provision in a "factual vacuum." Brady, ¶ 6.

¶ 8 McKinnon amended his complaint in light of Brady to include a constitutional challenge to § 39-71-413, MCA. McKinnon filed his first amended complaint on July 18, 2008. McKinnon specifically alleged that Western Sugar's conduct met the statutory exception to Workers' Compensation exclusivity. McKinnon also argued that § 39-71-413, MCA, was unconstitutional both on its face and as applied to him.

¶ 9 McKinnon timely served Western Sugar on September 12, 2008. Western Sugar filed a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim on October 1, 2008. McKinnon served the Attorney General with a copy of his first amended complaint on October 7, 2008. The Attorney General acknowledged receipt of service on October 10, 2008. The Attorney General did not file a motion to intervene.

¶ 10 The District Court granted Western Sugar's motion to dismiss on all counts following oral argument. The court specifically found that McKinnon's claims did not fit within the statutory exception to Workers' Compensation exclusivity. The court also dismissed with prejudice McKinnon's constitutional challenges for failing to provide the Attorney General with notice at the time that he had filed his first amended complaint and before he had served Western Sugar.

¶ 11 McKinnon filed a notice of appeal on June 4, 2009. McKinnon notified the Attorney General of his appeal on the same date. The Attorney General filed notice of its intent to intervene on June 29, 2009. Western Sugar moved to dismiss McKinnon's substantive constitutional challenges. This Court granted Western Sugar's motion to the extent that the appeal would be limited to the procedural issue of whether the District Court correctly interpreted M.R. Civ. P. 24(d). McKinnon concurred. The Attorney General withdrew its notice of intervention.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 12 We construe a complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs when reviewing an order dismissing a complaint under M.R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). Jones v. Mont. Univ. Sys., 2007 MT 82, ¶ 15, 337 Mont. 1, 155 P.3d 1247. A court should not dismiss a complaint for failure to state a claim unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim that would entitle him to relief. Jones, ¶ 15. A district court's determination that a complaint failed to state a claim presents a conclusion of law. Jones, ¶ 15. We review for correctness a district court's conclusions of law. Jones, ¶ 15.

DISCUSSION

¶ 13 Did the District Court correctly dismiss McKinnon's intentional injury claim for failure to state a claim?

¶ 14 The District Court determined that McKinnon had failed to state a claim under the exception to the Workers' Compensation exclusivity provision set forth at § 39-71-413, MCA. The court agreed with Western Sugar that McKinnon had alleged no injury caused by "an intentional and deliberate act" on the part of Western Sugar. Section 39-71-413, MCA. The District Court found that McKinnon had set forth merely a series of allegations that Western Sugar had failed to ensure a safe workplace. The court determined that "without using the word negligence, McKinnon has alleged a negligence claim against Western Sugar." The court further determined that McKinnon had failed to state a claim under § 39-71-413, MCA, in light of McKinnon's failure to allege "an intentional and deliberate act" on the part of Western Sugar.

¶ 15 Western Sugar argues that Wise v. CNH Am., LLC, 2006 MT 194, 333 Mont. 181, 142 P.3d 774, provides the standard for dismissal in McKinnon's case. We held in Wise that the plaintiff's failure to allege anything more than ordinary negligence proved insufficient to satisfy the requirements of § 39-71-413, MCA. We rejected Wise's arguments that he needed to allege only actions that would have constituted "intentional and malicious" conduct in order to satisfy the statutory requirement. Wise, ¶ 9. We noted that the 2001 amendment to § 39-71-413, MCA, specifically had replaced "malicious" with "deliberate." Wise, ¶ 11; § 39-71-413, MCA. The legislature also had defined an "intentional injury" as one "caused by a deliberate act with the specific intent of causing an injury." Wise, ¶ 11; § 39-71-413(3), MCA. We concluded in Wise that following the amendment of § 39-71-413, MCA, "an employee now must allege that he or she has been intentionally injured by the intentional act of an employer or fellow employee in order to avoid the exclusivity provision of the Workers' Compensation Act." Wise, ¶ 11.

¶ 16 Wise had alleged only that his employer negligently failed to provide safe working conditions and negligently failed to comply with state and federal regulations. Wise, ¶ 12. Wise made no allegation that the employer had acted intentionally or deliberately. Wise, ¶ 12. Wise claimed merely that the specific allegations of negligence in his claim satisfied the pleading requirement by constituting "intentional and deliberate" conduct on the part of his employer. Wise, ¶ 12. Wise never made the connection of how the alleged negligence constituted intentional and deliberate conduct on the part of his employer. McKinnon's claim, by contrast, alleges specific intentional and deliberate acts on the part of Western Sugar. McKinnon claims that Western Sugar's conduct constituted an "intentional and deliberate act of engaging in an ongoing policy and practice of moving railcars in an uncontrolled manner, without necessary safety equipment."

¶ 17 McKinnon asserts that his claim sufficiently alleged an intentional act to survive scrutiny under M.R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). McKinnon claims that he was not allowed to develop the record through discovery sufficiently to establish the facts necessary to prove his claims. A complaint must contain "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." M.R. Civ. P. 8(a). Our cases reflect the principle that liberal rules of pleading allow for compliance with the spirit and intent of the law rather than a rigid adherence to formula or specific words. See R.H. Schwartz Constr. Specialties v. Hanrahan, 207 Mont. 105, 672 P.2d 1116 (1983). This Court also has determined that further discovery may constitute an appropriate remedy for lack of specificity in a complaint. Willson v. Taylor, 194 Mont. 123, 128, 634 P.2d 1180, 1183 (1981). This determination reflects the principle that "`[t]his Court does not favor the short circuiting of litigation at the initial pleading stage unless a complaint does not state a cause of action under any set of facts.'" Willson, 194 Mont. at 128, 634 P.2d at 1183 (quoting Tobacco River Lbr. Co. v. Yoppe, 176 Mont. 267, 271, 577 P.2d 855, 857 (1978)).

¶ 18 McKinnon specifically alleges that Western Sugar's conduct fit within the exception to Workers' Compensation exclusivity at § 39-71-413, MCA. McKinnon further alleges that Western Sugar's conduct in regularly moving railcars in an uncontrolled manner without proper safety equipment was intentional and deliberate. McKinnon points out that Western Sugar relies primarily on this Court's interpretation of the pre-2001 statutory provision. McKinnon asserts that our holding in Brady indicates that the 2001 amendment to § 39-71-413, MCA, has yet to be interpreted comprehensively by this Court.

¶ 19 Wise requires that a plaintiff allege facts sufficient to establish deliberate acts by the employer intended to cause injury to the employee. Wise, ¶ 11. McKinnon alleges that Western Sugar's practice of moving railcars without proper safety...