Morgan v. Columbia Helicopters, Inc.
| Decision Date | 21 August 1990 |
| Docket Number | No. 17838,17838 |
| Citation | 796 P.2d 1020,118 Idaho 347 |
| Parties | Lewis Hulbert MORGAN, Jr., Claimant-Appellant, v. COLUMBIA HELICOPTERS, INC., Employer, and North River Insurance Company, Surety, Defendants-Respondents. |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
Clemons, Cosho & Humphrey, Boise, for claimant-appellant. Frederic V. Shoemaker, argued.
Quane, Smith, Howard & Hull, Boise, for defendants-respondents. Alan K. Hull, argued.
Lewis Morgan was employed as a project manager for Columbia Helicopters, a firm which is engaged in helicopter logging operations. During the summer of 1984, Morgan was project manager for at least three job sites in Idaho. Morgan and his crew moved to the third of these job sites, called Tamarack Falls, during the second week in August. The Tamarack Falls job site was located approximately seven miles east of Donnelly, Idaho. During the course of a job, the crew generally lived in campers at or near the job site. While working at the Tamarack Falls job site, Morgan lived in his camper approximately two miles from the site. All members of the crew, including Morgan, were paid an $18.50 per diem for the additional expenses they incurred by living and eating away from their homes. Morgan's home at this time was a residence located approximately one mile south of Sweet, Idaho. He stayed at his camper near the job site during the week and returned to his home at Sweet on weekends when he was able to do so.
As project manager, Morgan was responsible for hiring and supervising employees, determining hours of operation, and in general for control over the logging site, including any equipment used by the crew. He had authority to engage the services of outside mechanics to make repairs on equipment when necessary. One of Columbia Helicopters' pickup trucks had sustained damage which Morgan decided to have repaired. He sought out David Stricker, a mechanic who lived and worked in Crouch and with whom Morgan was acquainted, and indicated to Stricker that he would make arrangements for repairs when the use of the truck was not essential.
In addition to a monthly salary and a per diem expense allowance, Morgan was provided with a company pickup truck for his use on company business, both on and off the job site, and to drive to and from his home or camper to the job site. Morgan was also permitted to use the truck for incidental personal errands.
On Friday, August 17, 1984, Morgan departed the job site at about 6:00 p.m. and drove the company pickup truck to his home in Sweet. From past experience Morgan had learned that it was best to deal with Stricker in person, because Stricker did not have a telephone and messages left with others proved unreliable. So on Saturday, August 18, 1984, Morgan left his home in Sweet at approximately 8:00 p.m., intending to meet with Stricker in Crouch concerning repairs to the damaged pickup truck, although he had not previously arranged the meeting. Morgan drove his company pickup. He took the most direct route to Crouch, driving east from Sweet on Highway 52 to Horseshoe Bend and then north on Highway 55 to Banks. On his way to Banks he stopped at a bar called the Ponderosa, where he had two drinks, played pool, and talked to the bartender. He left the bar around 8:30 p.m. and arrived in Crouch at about 9:00 p.m. He went directly to the Longhorn, a cafe and bar in Crouch, which was a community social meeting center. Stricker lived directly across the street from the Longhorn, and Morgan had met him there before. Stricker was in fact at the Longhorn that evening. At the Longhorn the two men discussed the repair of the pickup, and they agreed that Stricker would acquire the necessary materials and that precise arrangements about when the work would be done would be made later. While at the Longhorn Morgan had several drinks.
Stricker is a reserve deputy sheriff. While he and Morgan were at the Longhorn, a fight occurred at a dance hall some distance away, and Stricker was called to the scene. Morgan accompanied Stricker to the dance hall, where they stayed for approximately forty-five minutes. They then returned to the Longhorn, where Morgan continued to talk with Stricker and a number of other acquaintances. Morgan had several more drinks. He conceded that during the evening he consumed 8-10 drinks containing a total of approximately a fifth of alcohol.
Morgan left Crouch at about 1:15 a.m., after the bar had closed. He took the same direct route he had taken earlier that night. While in Horseshoe Bend he stopped to see an acquaintance who was not home. He then drove west from Horseshoe Bend toward Sweet on Highway 52. He concedes that he was in an alcoholic blackout at times during the trip. While on Highway 52, the company pickup Morgan was driving partially crossed the center line of the road and struck an oncoming vehicle. The driver of the other vehicle was killed, and Morgan was injured. At the hospital, Morgan's blood/alcohol level was measured at .20 percent. Morgan eventually pled guilty to a charge of vehicular manslaughter and was jailed for that offense.
On August 16, 1985, Morgan filed for workers' compensation benefits. Several affirmative defenses were raised. After lengthy discovery, Morgan moved for a bifurcation of the case, seeking a hearing limited to the issue of whether the accident arose out of and in the course of his employment. Columbia Helicopters agreed to a hearing on that issue but requested that the initial hearing should also address the issue of whether Morgan's intoxication should limit or bar his recovery of benefits. The May 10, 1988 hearing before Referee Robert Youngstrom focused on both issues. The referee's findings of fact, conclusions of law, and order were adopted by the Commission.
The Commission found that Morgan's drinking was the proximate cause of the collision and Morgan's resultant injuries. The Commission...
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...the Commission thereafter did not disagree. She was also aware of this Court's then recent opinion, Morgan v. Columbia Helicopters, Inc., 118 Idaho 347, 349, 796 P.2d 1020, 1022 (1990), and quoted from Thus, the inquiry to be engaged in by both the Commission and this Court when faced with ......
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...the Commission correctly denied benefits after it applied the law to the relevant facts. I.C. § 72-732(4); Morgan v. Columbia Helicopters, Inc., 118 Idaho 347, 796 P.2d 1020 (1990). The applicable standard for determining whether an employee is entitled to compensation under the Worker's Co......
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...fatal accident did not arise out of and in the course of his employment. Idaho Const. art. V, § 9; Morgan v. Columbia Helicopters, Inc., 118 Idaho 347, 350, 796 P.2d 1020, 1023 (1990). To the extent that this appeal involves questions of fact, we defer to the factual findings of the Commiss......
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...the Commission correctly denied benefits after it applied the law to the relevant facts. I.C. § 72-732(4); Morgan v. Columbia Helicopters, Inc., 118 Idaho 347, 796 P.2d 1020 (1990). We review questions of fact only to determine if there is substantial competent evidence to support the Commi......