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Patterson v. Martin Forest Products12/15/2000
PEATROSS, J., dissents with written reasons.
Following the trial court's denial of its motion for summary judgment, defendant, Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company, filed an application for supervisory writs which was granted by this court. The sole issue for our review is whether the trial court erred in denying summary judgment based upon its finding that plaintiff, Allan Patterson, could pursue a tort claim against his employer, Martin Forest Products, for injuries arising out of an accident that occurred while he was working in contravention of the Child Labor Law, La. R.S. 23:151 et seq. Finding no error, we affirm.
Facts and Procedural Background
At the request of his father, a foreman for defendant, Martin Forest Products, plaintiff, Allan Patterson, was hired by the elder Patterson's employer days after his seventeenth birthday. Allan's employment at the saw mill was expressly prohibited by La. R.S. 23:161(7) and (9), which provides in pertinent part that minors (with an exception inapplicable to this case) shall not be employed, permitted or suffered to work in or about saw mills or in logging operations.
On April 4, 1996, while removing sticks from the bark conveyor in the "hole," Allan sustained serious injuries to his hand when it became tangled in the intake hogfeeder. All of Allan's medical bills were paid by the self-insured workers' compensation group to which Martin Forest Products belonged. Additionally, Allan was paid workers' compensation benefits for nine weeks.
Thereafter, Allan filed suit against defendants, Martin Forest Products; Daniel B. Wyatt, vice-president of Martin Forest Products; and, Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company ("PLM"), the mill's general liability insurer, seeking redress in tort based upon the fact that Allan's hiring was in violation of the Child Labor Law.
Martin Forest Products and Wyatt filed a motion for summary judgment, urging that Allan's exclusive remedy was workers' compensation. Thereafter, PLM filed a motion for summary judgment, urging that, as the mill's general liability insurer, they should be dismissed from the action because Allan's claim is solely based in workers' compensation and their policy clearly excludes coverage for workers' compensation claims. The trial court denied both motions. PLM's application for writs was granted by this court.
Discussion
Summary judgment shall be rendered if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. La. C.C.P. art. 966(B). Our review of summary judgment is de novo, utilizing the same criteria that guide the trial court's grant or denial of summary judgment. Independent Fire Insurance Co. v. Sunbeam Corp., 99-2257 (La. 02/29/00), 755 So.2d 226; Richardson ex rel. Brown v. Lagniappe Hospital Corp., 33,378 (La. App. 2d Cir. 05/15/00), 764 So.2d 1094.
The issue in this case, i.e., whether Allan's status as a minor allows him to opt out of the exclusivity provisions of Louisiana's workers' compensation act and bring a suit in tort, is an issue of law rather than an issue of fact. Furthermore, it appears that the facts underlying Allan's claim are undisputed.
Louisiana's Child Labor Law specifically provides that it is illegal for a minor to be employed, permitted or suffered to work in or about saw mills or in logging operations. La. R.S. 23:161(7) and (9). Several courts, including our supreme court, have addressed the issue of the remedy available to a minor hurt while il
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