Reid v. North River Ins. Co.
| Decision Date | 03 April 1974 |
| Docket Number | No. 6359,6359 |
| Citation | 508 S.W.2d 683 |
| Parties | Betty Jean REID, Appellant, v. NORTH RIVER INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
A. R. Archer, Jr., Monahans, Max E. Ramsey, Odessa, for appellant.
Scott, Hulse, Marshall & Feuille, J. F. Hulse, Charles R. Jones, El Paso, for appellee.
This is a workmen's compensation case. The injury was the result of an automobile accident and the problem presented lies in the area of the employer's control of the transportation and special mission exceptions to the 'coming-and-going' rule regarding course of employment. The trial Court entered judgment for the insurance company based upon a jury finding that the injury was not sustained in the course of the employment. The employee complains that error was committed as the evidence conclusively established as a matter of law that she was in the course of her employment and that the jury finding was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence and was manifestly unfair and unjust. We affirm.
The Appellant, Betty Jean Reid, was employed by Photography Unlimited, Inc., a corporation with offices and studios in El Paso, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Fort Gordon, Georgia. Her work required that she travel in the area outside of El Paso where she contacted various stores to arrange the taking of photographs. Most of her time was spent in traveling and she used her own automobile. Her salary was set at $500.00 per month and in addition she was paid the sum of $20.00 per day for food and lodging when she was out of town. She was furnished a credit card by which her employer paid the cost of gasoline, tires, and expenses of maintenance for the car . At the time of her injury, she had her home in El Paso but was undergoing a training period with the expectation that she would be moving to Albuquerque for a permanent assignment. On the day of her injury, which was a Saturday, she arrived in El Paso from one of her trips and went directly to the office of her employer. Mr. Walter Parker, the owner of all of the stock of the corporation, invited her to lunch and while they were eating he informed her that he wanted her to go to work for the company on a permanent basis at the Fort Gordon, Georgia, office and that she was to leave the following Monday. When they returned to the office, they worked until about 8:30 P.M., when he requested that she drive him to the Jester's Club, a bar in El Paso, and he did not have a car at the time. Mr. Parker actually drove her car to the bar where they stayed until about 11:00 P.M. and where they had a few drinks. They then started to Mr. Parker's home but stopped at the El Morocco Club where they had a late supper. After eating, they continued with Mr. Parker still driving when the accident occurred. Mr. Parker lived some distance to the northwest of El Paso and for Mrs. Reid to take Mr. Parker from his office to his home and to return to her own home was a distance of some 55 to 60 miles.
The dispute in the evidence is presented when Mr. Parker testified that all business of Photography Unlimited, Inc. had been concluded when they left the company offices that night and they were merely enjoying a social evening together. He testified that he did request that the Appellant drive him to the Jester's Club to pay some money he owed the bartender but that when it came time to leave, it was the Appellant who offered to take him to his home. He stated that he preferred to stay downtown and shoot some pool rather than go home but did accept the Appellant's offer. He repeatedly denied that he directed or instructed her to drive him home and that after they left the office they never discussed company business. Appellant insists that it was Mr. Parker who suggested she take him home and that they could then discuss her proposed move to Georgia and that at the Jester's Club they discussed her move and business and continued to go over these matters until the time of the accident.
In connection with the course of employment issue, the trial Court charged the law of Section...
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Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Chesnut
...Section 1b to Article 8309 is to limit the instances when recovery will be allowed to those enumerated in Section 1b. Reid v. North River Insurance Company, 508 S.W.2d 683 (Tex.Civ.App.--El Paso 1974, no The general rule is that injuries suffered by employees while traveling on public stree......