Roberts' Dependents v. Holiday Parks, Inc.

• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: INZER; GILLESPIE
• Citation: Roberts' Dependents v. Holiday Parks, Inc., 260 So.2d 476 (Miss. 1972)
• Decision Date: 03 April 1972
• Docket Number: No. 46572,46572
• Parties: DEPENDENTS OF Jack D. ROBERTS, Deceased, v. HOLIDAY PARKS, INC. and Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company.

Page 476

260 So.2d 476

DEPENDENTS OF Jack D. ROBERTS, Deceased, v. HOLIDAY PARKS, INC. and Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company.

No. 46572.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

April 3, 1972.

Howard C. Ross, Jr., Jackson, for appellant.

Daniel, Coker, Horton, Bell & Dukes, John B. Clark, Jackson, for appellees.

INZER, Justice:

This is an appeal by the dependents of Jack D. Roberts, deceased, from a judgment of the Circuit Court of Hinds County affirming an order of the Workmen's Compensation Commission denying death benefits to the widow and dependent children of the decedent. We reverse and remand to the commission for the payment of benefits.

This is the second appearance of this case before this Court. On the former appeal, we sustained a motion of the claimants to vacate the judgment of the circuit court affirming the order of the Workmen's Compensation Commission denying benefits and remanded the case to the commission for additional evidence. Roberts' Dependents v. Holiday Parks, Inc. and Hartford Accident and Indemnity Co., 221 So.2d 92 (Miss.1969).

The record in this case reflects that Jack D. Roberts, deceased, was in his lifetime employed by Holiday Parks, Inc., a Mississippi corporation. He was president and general manager of this corporation and was paid a salary of $13,500 per year. Holiday Parks, Inc. is a subsidiary of General Securities Corporation, a Louisiana corporation. General Securities Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Denson Company, a Mississippi corporation. General Securities owned other subsidiary corporations; they were Music House, Point Coupee Finance Company, and Port Allen Finance Company, all Louisiana corporations. In addition to being General Manager of Holiday Parks, Roberts performed services for all the other corporations. General Securities and Music House both paid him a salary of $150 per month. Denver Wilson is the president of Denson Company, the master corporation, and, as such, he directed the activities of the subsidiary corporations. Holiday Parks was engaged in the business of selling mobile homes and Roberts directed its activities. Roberts had no regular hours of employment and performed such services for the other corporations as was needed. Unless directed specifically by Wilson, Roberts determined for himself what services he would perform for Holiday Parks and the other corporations. Roberts was also a pilot and as such flew an airplane used in the business of the various corporations. This plane was purchased by Music House, but the expense of operating the plane was paid by Denson Company. Roberts traveled in this plane when he had duties to perform away from Jackson. He also flew the plane to carry Wilson on business trips away from Jackson.

On Monday, May 29, 1967, Roberts and Denver Wilson left Jackson in the plane to go to Houston, Texas. The purpose of this trip was to transport Wilson to Houston where he was to transact business for General Securities Corporation. When they reached Houston, Wilson departed from the plane and Roberts flew to Baton Rouge. It was understood that he would return to Houston on Wednesday and bring Wilson back to Jackson. Wilson testified that Roberts was not needed in Houston and that he went to Baton Rouge on business. He did not give Roberts any directions as to what he was to do in Baton Rouge and did not actually know the purpose of his trip to Baton Rouge. There is no direct evidence as to the purpose of this trip from Houston to Baton Rouge, but it is known that while in Baton Rouge he performed services for Holiday Parks, Music House, and at least one other corporation. On Wednesday after Roberts left Baton Rouge to return to Houston, and while in flight, his plane crashed near Crowley, Louisiana, and he was killed instantly.

The Workmen's Compensation Commission held that the evidence on behalf of the claimant is insufficient to show that Roberts was performing services within the course of and scope of his employment with Holiday Parks, Inc. at the time of his death on May 31, 1967. On appeal to the circuit court the order of the commission denying death benefits was affirmed.

It is the contention of the appellants that the circuit court was in error in affirming the order of the Workmen's Compensation Commission because the evidence is sufficient to show that Roberts was in the course of his employment with Holiday Parks on his trip from Houston to Baton Rouge, that...