Schroeder v. Peoplease Corp., 1D08-4247.

• Decision Date: 25 September 2009
• Docket Number: No. 1D08-4247.,1D08-4247.
• Citation: 18 So.3d 1165
• Parties: Kurt SCHROEDER and Linda Schroeder, Appellants, v. PEOPLEASE CORPORATION and L & S Logistic Services, Inc., Appellees.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

18 So.3d 1165

Kurt SCHROEDER and Linda Schroeder, Appellants, v. PEOPLEASE CORPORATION and L & S Logistic Services, Inc., Appellees.

No. 1D08-4247.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

September 25, 2009.

Terry P. Roberts, Tallahassee, for Appellants.

John T. Conner of Dean, Ringers, Morgan & Lawton, P.A., Orlando, for Appellees.

VAN NORTWICK, J.

Kurt Schroeder and Linda Schroeder appeal a final summary judgment in their negligence action against Peoplease Corporation (Peoplease) and L & S Logistics Services, Inc. (L & S), appellees. The trial court granted summary judgment based upon workers' compensation immunity under section 440.11(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2005), and expressly ruled that Peoplease and L & S were not estopped from asserting the defense of workers' compensation immunity. Because we find disputed issues of fact remain as to the question of estoppel, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.

In 2006, Kurt Schroeder was employed by Peoplease, and was working for L & S under an employee leasing contract between Peoplease and L & S. He drove a truck and delivered merchandise to sites around the state. On April 5, 2006, he arrived in Grand Ridge, Florida, where he was expected to deliver a load weighing approximately 2,000 pounds to a school. The school was unprepared to receive the material and the merchandise was too heavy for him to unload. Schroeder alleges in his complaint that the merchandise was sealed on one skid and could not be offloaded without assistance or the necessary equipment. He proceeded to a motel in Bay County with the knowledge and permission of L & S. When he contacted a company representative and explained that he could not offload the Grand Ridge delivery, that representative directed Schroeder to manually move the load within the trailer so as to permit him to make other deliveries scheduled for the next day. Within minutes of attempting to move the load, he suffered the onset of heart problems. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital where he underwent emergency heart surgery.

Schroeder filed a petition seeking workers' compensation benefits from Peoplease. Peoplease controverted the entire claim and filed a notice of denial which provides:

REASON FOR DENIAL OF BENEFITS (Provide detailed information to support reason(s) for denial)

The present condition of claimant is not the result of injury arising out of and in the course of his or her employment.

The condition of claimant is due to natural causes unrelated to his [or] her employment.

The condition pre-existed the alleged date of injury.

The condition complained of is not the result of an injury within the meaning of the term as used in the Florida Compensation Act.

The claimant's condition is due to pre-existing disease and not to an accident.

There is no causal connection between the claimant's condition and his or her employment.

On January 8, 2007, the Schroeders filed a civil action against Peoplease and L & S. Relying upon the notice of denial, they alleged that neither Peoplease nor L & S could claim workers' compensation immunity from suit pursuant to chapter 440, Florida Statutes. See § 440.11(1)(a), Fla. Stat. (2005).¹

Peoplease and L & S filed an amended motion for summary judgment. They argued that they were not estopped from asserting workers' compensation immunity because the notice of denial denied the workers' compensation claim on the grounds of a preexisting condition, which is a recognized defense to a claim for workers' compensation benefits under section 440.09(1)(b), Florida Statutes (2005), and the notice did not assert that no employment relationship existed or that the incident occurred outside the scope of the employment relationship. Attached to the motion was the affidavit of Rosa Fitzsimmons, the workers' compensation adjuster who prepared the notice of denial. In her affidavit, she stated that the intent of the notice was neither to assert a lack of an employment relationship nor to allege that Mr. Schroeder's incident occurred outside the scope of the employment relationship. She stated that the intent of the notice of denial was to dispute that Mr. Schroeder's injury was compensable.

Appellees argued that summary judgment was appropriate under Tractor Supply Company v. Kent, 966 So.2d 978 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007). In Kent, the court held that, where the employer's denial of coverage was based upon the fact that the employee's medical condition was preexisting and unrelated to his current employment, the employer was not estopped from asserting immunity from suit pursuant to the exclusivity provision of section 440.11. Id. at 981. The court reasoned that a denial on the basis of preexisting condition is not the equivalent of an assertion that no employment relationship existed or that the incident occurred outside the scope of employment. Id.

The Schroeders responded arguing that summary judgment was not appropriate because Peoplease and L & S had not presented conclusive proof that there are no genuine issues of material fact. Attached to the response was the affidavit of Schroeder in which he stated that "relying on Peoplease's denial of my workers' compensation claim, and failure to furnish medical care for my injuries," he had obtained medical care and treatment for which he was personally responsible. He stated that Peoplease and L & S failed to authorize or offer medical care and treatment and had never advised him they would pay or reimburse him for his medical expenses, which he was obligated to pay because they failed to furnish medical care for his injuries. He argued that, because they denied that he suffered an accident or injury arising out of and in the course of his employment, they were estopped from asserting the exclusivity of chapter 440, citing Byerley v. Citrus Publishing, Inc., 725 So.2d 1230 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999) (holding that the elements of estoppel were met when the employer denied the workers' compensation claim because the injury did not arise out of the course and scope of employment, but thereafter took the irreconcilable position in the tort action filed by the employee that the workers' compensation exclusivity defense applied).

After a hearing, the trial court entered the order under review granting final summary judgment as to all claims brought in the Schroeders' action and finding, as follows:

1. The major thrust of the Notice of Denial entered in Plaintiffs workers' compensation claim arising out of the same incident which gives rise to this lawsuit was the employer's contention that the heart condition suffered by the Plaintiff was due to pre-existing disease and not to an accident, or was due to natural causes unrelated to his employment.

2. The Defendants in this action have not taken inconsistent positions in Plaintiffs prior workers' compensation claim and the instant action. Therefore, Defendants in this action are not estopped from asserting the defense of workers' compensation immunity.

This court reviews an order granting summary judgment de novo. Volusia County v. Aberdeen at Ormond Beach, L.P., 760 So.2d 126, 130 (Fla.2000). Turning to the workers' compensation statutes, an employer is only required to pay compensation or furnish benefits "if the employee suffers an accidental compensable injury or death arising out of work performed in the course and the scope of employment." § 440.09(1), Fla. Stat. (2005). Section 440.02(19), Florida Statutes (2005) defines "injury" in pertinent part as "personal injury or death by accident arising out of and in the course of employment."

On appeal, the Schroeders argue that the effect of the notice of denial stating that claimant's condition "is not the result of injury arising out of and in the course of his ... employment" and that "the condition complained of is not the result of an injury within the meaning of the term as used in the Florida Compensation Act" was to deny all compensability of his claim. It is undisputed that Peoplease and L & S have paid no benefits to him, either medical or lost wages, since his injury in 2006. Schroeder asserts that he relied on that denial to his detriment by obtaining medical care for his heart condition at his own expense. The Schroeders argue that this record contains no evidence that he suffered from a preexisting condition and that Peoplease and L & S, having denied that Kurt Schroeder suffered an accident or injury arising out of and in the course and scope of his employment, are estopped from now taking a contrary position by arguing that they merely defended the workers' compensation claim based upon a position that claimant's condition was due to a preexisting condition.

The elements necessary to establish equitable estoppel for purposes of workers' compensation exclusivity or immunity are "(1) a representation as to a material fact that...