Smith v. Rockwood Ins. Co.
Decision Date | 03 May 1988 |
Docket Number | No. LR-C-86-518.,LR-C-86-518. |
Citation | 684 F. Supp. 607 |
Parties | Eddie SMITH, Plaintiff, v. ROCKWOOD INSURANCE COMPANY and Crawford & Company, Defendants. |
Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Arkansas |
Robert Pschiemer, Little Rock, Ark., for Eddie Smith.
Tom F. Lovett, Little Rock, Ark., for Rockwood Ins. Co.
Walter Murray, Bill Frye, Little Rock, Ark., for Crawford & Co.
Defendants Rockwood Insurance Company and Crawford and Company and plaintiff Eddie Smith have motions for summary judgment now before the Court.
As stated by the United States Supreme Court, in Poller v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., 368 U.S. 464, 467, 82 S.Ct. 486, 488, 7 L.Ed.2d 458 (1962):
Summary judgment should be entered only when the pleadings, depositions, affidavits, and admissions filed in the case "show that ... there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Rule 56(c), Fed.Rules Civ.Proc.
In compliance with Local Rule 29, the parties have submitted statements of the material facts as to which they contend there is no genuine issue to be tried. Based on the statements of the parties, and for the sole purpose of consideration of these motions, we accept the following facts as true, and turn now to the defendants' motions for summary judgment.
Working from these facts which we accept as true, we next note that we must determine how these facts relate to the pertinent statute in this case, Ark.Code Ann. § 11-9-105(a) (1987), which provides:
The rights and remedies granted to an employee subject to the provision of this chapter the "Workers Compensation Law", on account of injury or death, shall be exclusive of all other rights and remedies of the employee, his legal representative, dependents, next of kin, or anyone otherwise entitled to recover damages from the employer or any principal, officer, director, stockholder, or partner acting in their capacity as an employer, on account of the injury or death, and the negligent acts of a co-employee shall not be imputed to the employer.
The defendants, in almost identical motions for summary judgment, argue that the Arkansas Supreme Court has construed the statute in question so as to bar, as a matter of law, plaintiff's claim in this court. Plaintiff contends that the facts of his case are distinguishable from any cases previously decided by the Arkansas Supreme Court, that the Arkansas Supreme Court has not yet ruled whether there may be a bad-faith tort action based on mishandling of a workers' compensation claim, and that he is therefore not barred from pursuing this action. If the Arkansas Supreme Court has construed the statute in light of facts similar to those before us, we are bound to follow that construction. Slaaten v. Cliff's Drilling Co., 748 F.2d 1275 (8th Cir.1984).
In determining whether the Arkansas Supreme Court has found that the tort of bad faith is actionable against a workers' compensation insurance carrier, we initially note that the tort of bad faith is available in other types of insurance cases. Aetna v. Broadway Arms, 281 Ark. 128, 664 S.W. 2d 463 (1984); Employers Equitable Life Insurance v. Williams, 282 Ark. 29, 665 S.W.2d 873 (1984). However, the narrower issue of whether the tort of bad faith is available against a workers' compensation insurance carrier is discussed in the more recent case of Cain v. National Union Life Ins. Co., 290 Ark. 240, 718 S.W.2d 444 (1986). A few excerpts from the brief opinion in Cain summarize the case:
The case of Johnson v. Houston General Ins. Co., 259 Ark. 725, 536 S.W.2d 121 (1976), cited in Cain was an appeal from the trial court's dismissal of the complaint for failure to state a cause of action. Plaintiff, injured while in the course of employment, was awarded a lump-sum amount by the Workers' Compensation Commission in October of 1974. When plaintiff did not receive his payment from the insurance carrier, he brought suit in March, 1975, alleging that the defendant withheld payment "for the purpose of harassment, vexation and torment," that the defendant's conduct was "retaliatory and spiteful," and that plaintiff had been caused "substantial mental anguish, injury, and damages" as a result of defendant's behavior. The Arkansas Supreme Court, in affirming the dismissal of the complaint at the trial level, found meritless the plaintiff's argument that the Workers' Compensation Act was not the exclusive remedy under the facts of the case. We can say, based upon Cain and Johnson...
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