Mullins v. Tyson Foods, Inc.

• Citation: 143 F.3d 1153
• Decision Date: 13 May 1998
• Docket Number: No. 97-3242,97-3242
• Parties: Michael T. MULLINS, Appellant, v. TYSON FOODS, INC., Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 1153

143 F.3d 1153

Michael T. MULLINS, Appellant, v. TYSON FOODS, INC., Appellee.

No. 97-3242.

United States Court of Appeals,

Eighth Circuit.

Submitted Feb. 13, 1998.

Decided May 13, 1998.

Ryan T. Linville, Kansas City, MO, argued, for Appellant.

Richard M. Paul, III, Kansas City, MO, argued (John R. Cleary and Karen J. Halbrook, appeared on the brief), for Appellee.

Before McMILLIAN and WOLLMAN, Circuit Judges, and BOGUE, ¹ District Judge.

McMILLIAN, Circuit Judge.

Michael T. Mullins (Mullins) appeals from a final order entered in the District Court for the Western District of Missouri granting summary judgment in favor of defendant Tyson Foods, Inc. (Tyson), on Mullins's premises liability claim. Mullins v. Tyson Foods, Inc., No. 96-1065 (W.D. Mo. June 25, 1997) (order granting summary judgment) (hereinafter "slip op."). For reversal, Mullins argues that the district court erred in relying upon a line of Missouri cases regarding landowner liability that developed out of the "inherently dangerous activity" doctrine. For the reasons discussed below, we agree and reverse the judgment of the district court and remand the case to the district court for further proceedings.

Jurisdiction

The present case was removed from state court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441. Jurisdiction was proper in the district court based upon 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Jurisdiction on appeal is proper based upon 28 U.S.C. § 1291. The notice of appeal was timely filed under Rule 4(a) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure.

Background

The facts in this case, as set forth in the district court's order, are largely undisputed and presented in the light most favorable to Mullins, the non-moving party. Mullins was an employee of Little Rock Electrical Contractors (LRE), an independent contractor hired by Tyson to perform electrical work at Tyson's production plant in Sedalia, Missouri ("the plant"). LRE's contract work at the plant began in October 1993 and initially involved running temporary lights throughout the plant. LRE continued to perform electrical jobs at the plant including, among other things, installing permanent lights and electrical wire for motorized electrical doors throughout the main hallway which runs through the north side of the plant. LRE completed its work in the main hallway by June 1994, but continued to perform other electrical work at the plant.

In June 1994 Tyson began processing operations in the production area located on the west side of the plant. Tyson employees transported chicken from the production area, through the main hallway, to freezers located in the northeast and east areas of the plant. Waste and fluids from the chickens sometimes fell to the floor in the hallway while the chickens were being transported. Tyson employees occasionally mopped the floor of the main hallway using a liquid cleaner and cleaned the area using large machines, but sometimes left behind cleaning solution and the waste and fluid from the chickens. Although the floor of the production area was covered with a non-slick "toughcoat" surface, the main hallway was not.

On July 5, 1994, Mullins had been working on the north side of the plant when he went on his lunch break. He started to walk down the main hallway and, as he turned the northeast corner of the main hallway, he slipped and fell, injuring his back. It is assumed that he slipped on a combination of waste and fluids from the processed chickens, water, and cleaning solution. Mullins filed a workers' compensation claim and settled with LRE's workers' compensation insurance carrier for approximately $22,453.00.

On September 11, 1996, Mullins filed the present action in Missouri state court. Tyson removed the case to the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri on the basis of diversity jurisdiction. Tyson subsequently moved for summary judgment on the ground that relief for Mullins was foreclosed under Matteuzzi v. Columbus Partnership, L.P., 866 S.W.2d 128 (Mo.1993) (en banc) (Matteuzzi ) (abolishing the "inherently dangerous activity doctrine" for injuries sustained by an independent contractor's employee who is covered by workers' compensation insurance and holding that such employee may establish negligence as an invitee only if the landowner retained possession and control of the premises). The district court granted Tyson's motion holding that, under Matteuzzi, for liability to attach, a landowner must substantially control the job site, the physical activities of the independent contractor's employees, and the details of the manner in which the work was done, and that Tyson did not have such control in the present case. Slip op. at 5, 12. This appeal followed.

Discussion

The central issue in this case is whether, in light of Matteuzzi and other Missouri cases, the Missouri Supreme Court would hold that Tyson is exempt from liability under the facts of this case. Under Missouri law, landowners generally are not liable for injuries to employees of independent contractors who are engaged in inherently dangerous activity ² and are covered by workers' compensation. ³ E.g., Matteuzzi, 866 S.W.2d at 131-32. We must therefore determine whether the Missouri Supreme Court would hold that this rule also precludes landowner liability for injuries to such employees that arise from conditions that are unrelated to the contracted work, outside of the independent contractor's control, and in an area that is not part of the independent contractor's job site. In other words, we must determine whether the Matteuzzi test for premises liability applies to any and all tort claims of employees of independent contractors who are covered by workers' compensation. After a careful review of Missouri law, we hold that the Matteuzzi standard does not extend to all such claims and, more important, it does not apply to Mullins's premises liability claim. Accordingly, we reverse the order of the district court.

I. The Matteuzzi Standard & Missouri Premises Liability Law

In Matteuzzi, the Missouri Supreme Court set forth the standard for premises liability as follows:

It is well settled that a property owner owes an invitee the duty to use reasonable and ordinary care to prevent injury to the invitee, ... and that an employee of an independent contractor who has permission to use a landowner's premises or facilities is such an invitee. If, however, the landowner relinquishes control of the premises to an independent contractor during a period of construction, the duty of care shifts to the independent contractor. The landowner, no longer considered the possessor of the land, is thus relieved of potential liability. On the other hand, to establish that the landowner retained possession and control of the premises and the attendant duty of care, [the plaintiff] must show that the landowner controlled the jobsite and the activities of the contractor.... "[T]he owner's involvement in overseeing construction must be substantial ... the control must go beyond securing compliance with the contracts; the owner must be controlling the physical activities of the employees of the independent contractors or the details of the manner in which the work is done."

Id. at 132 (quoting Halmick v. SBC Corp. Serv., Inc., 832 S.W.2d 925, 929 (Mo.Ct.App.1992) (other citations omitted)). In an earlier case, Zueck v. Oppenheimer Gateway Properties, Inc., 809 S.W.2d 384 (Mo.1991) (en banc) (Zueck ), the Missouri Supreme Court overruled extant caselaw by limiting the application of the inherently dangerous activity doctrine to tort claims for which workers' compensation was not recoverable. Id. (holding that landowner may no longer be held vicariously liable for contractor's negligence where workers' compensation is available). Read together, Matteuzzi and Zueck carved out an exception, based on whether a landowner relinquished or maintained control over the job site, to the common law exception exempting landowners from liability for injuries sustained by employees of independent contractors who are engaged in inherently dangerous activity and covered by workers' compensation. See Matteuzzi, 866 S.W.2d at 131-32. In short, Matteuzzi and Zueck restored the exception to the general rule of landowner liability vis-a-vis invitees in holding that landowners cannot be held directly or vicariously liability for the injuries of employees of an independent contractor when the landlord relinquishes control of the premises to the independent contractor during a period of construction and the injured employee is covered by workers' compensation. See Matteuzzi, 866 S.W.2d at 132; cf. Zueck, 809 S.W.2d at 390.

Missouri courts applying the Matteuzzi standard have defined its applicability in broad terms. See, e.g., Horner v. Hammons, 916 S.W.2d 810, 814 (Mo.Ct.App.1995) (holding that Matteuzzi bars landowner liability "whether or not the employee was engaged in an inherently dangerous activity ... and regardless of whether the liability sought to be imposed is vicarious or direct") (citations omitted); Gillespie v. St. Joseph Light and Power Co., 937 S.W.2d 373, 379 (Mo.Ct.App.1996) (Gillespie ) ("[L]andowners are not liable for injuries to employees of independent contractors, even if the landowners were directly negligent, if the employer of the injured employee is liable for workers' compensation."). However, these statements must be read in the context of the facts of these cases which describe injuries that occurred in the course of performing or preparing to perform the contracted work. Moreover, neither Matteuzzi, Zueck, nor their progeny have dismantled the long standing doctrine that "a property owner owes an invitee the duty to use reasonable and ordinary care to prevent injury to the invitee, ... and ... an employee of an independent contractor who has permission to use a landowner's premises or facilities is such an invitee." Matteuzzi, 866 S.W.2d at 132 (internal cites omitted)....