Christian v. McDonald, et al.
| Docket Number: | 2003-IA-01848-SCT | |
| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 02-17-2005 Opinion Author: Dickinson, J. Holding: Reversed and Remanded |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Personal injury - Venue - Fraudulent joinder - Exclusivity of Workers’ Compensation Act - Section 71-3-7 - Section 71-3-9 Judge(s) Concurring: Smith, C.J., Waller and Cobb, P.JJ., and Carlson, J. Non Participating Judge(s): Diaz, J. Dissenting Author : Easley and Graves, JJ. Concurs in Result Only: Randolph, J. Procedural History: Bench Trial Nature of the Case: CIVIL - PERSONAL INJURY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 08-18-2003 Appealed from: Smith County Circuit Court Judge: Robert G. Evans Disposition: Denied venue transfer Case Number: 2002-010 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | Jewel Christian d/b/a ABC, Jewel Christian and Charles E. Magee |
SHELLY G. BURNS |
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| Appellee: | Timothy McDonald and John E. Currie | GARY R. KING EUGENE C. TULLOS |
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| Topic: | Personal injury - Venue - Fraudulent joinder - Exclusivity of Workers’ Compensation Act - Section 71-3-7 - Section 71-3-9 |
| Summary of the Facts: | Timothy McDonald and John Currie, both employees of Crocodile Currie, Inc., were transporting equipment for CCI in separate vehicles owned by CCI. Traveling behind Currie in a vehicle owned by his employer, Jewel Christian, Charles Magee crashed into Currie, causing him to run into McDonald. McDonald filed suit against Christian, Currie and Magee, in the Smith County Circuit Court, claiming he was injured in the accident and that both Magee and Currie were negligent in the operation of their vehicles. Currie, who also claimed to be injured from the accident, filed a cross-claim against Christian and Magee. McDonald and Currie are both residents of Smith County, Christian is a resident of Pike County, and Magee is a resident of Walthall County. Christian and Magee moved for a change of venue to Walthall County, claiming that McDonald had fraudulently joined Currie as a defendant to obtain venue in Smith County. Christian and Magee argue that McDonald’s claims against Currie are subject to the exclusive remedy provision of the Mississippi Workers Compensation Law and, therefore, could not serve as a basis for a claim in circuit court. Without Currie as a defendant, Christian and Magee point out that McDonald’s suit against Magee must be brought in Magee’s home county of Walthall. The court denied the motion for change of venue, and the Supreme Court granted an interlocutory appeal. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | The test for fraudulent joinder is whether the venue-fixing defendant is a party against whom liability could exist. Section 71-3-7 of the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Law provides that compensation shall be payable for disability or death of an employee from injury or occupational disease arising out of and in the course of employment, without regard to fault as to the cause of the injury or occupational disease. The facts establish that McDonald was injured while both McDonald and Currie were in the course and scope of their employment for the same employer. Section 71-3-9 provides that the liability of an employer to pay compensation shall be exclusive and in place of all other liability of such employer to the employee and that if the employer fails to secure payment of compensation, the injured employee may elect to claim workers’ compensation under or to maintain an action at law for damages. The requirement that the employer must secure payment of compensation means that he must have in effect an insurance policy complying with the workmen’s compensation act or must qualify as a self insurer. Currie testified that the company had workers’ compensation insurance coverage. Because the undisputed facts and clear, unambiguous law prevent any recovery by McDonald against Currie as a defendant, Currie was fraudulently joined for the purpose of setting venue in Smith County. Therefore, the trial court should have transferred this case to a county of proper venue. |
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