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Buck v. Freeman12/12/2000
action that are not clearly expressed or implied by the legislation."). In determining whether a private cause of action may be implied, this court must consider
(1) whether appellant belongs to the class for whose benefit the statute was enacted; (2) whether the legislature indicated an intent to create or deny a remedy; and (3) whether implying a remedy would be consistent with the underlying purpose of the [statute]. Flour Exch. Bldg. Corp. v. State, 524 N.W.2d 496, 499 (Minn. App. 1994), review denied (Minn. Feb. 14, 1995).
"The purpose of the assigned risk plan is to provide workers' compensation coverage to employers rejected by a licensed insurance company." Minn. Stat. §á79.252, subd. 1 (1998). The benefited class, therefore, is employers rejected by the voluntary insurance market. The purpose of the statute is not to establish safety standards or to protect employees from harm, but rather to provide them with compensation insurance, should an accident occur. Implying a cause of action based upon a failure to inspect runs counter to the statute's purposes.
Here, the legislature did not expressly or clearly imply a private cause of action. An implied remedy would be inconsistent with the purpose of the statute. We, therefore, hold that the district court did not err in finding that no cause of action exists under Minn. Stat. § 79.253, subd. 2.
DECISION
Because an employer is immune from suit under Minn. Stat. § 176.031 (1998), and the performance of duties does not transform an employer into a co-employee for the purposes of the WCA, we affirm the dismissal of the action against respondent Freeman. Furthermore, because Minn. Stat. § 79.253, subd. 2 (1998), does not create a private cause of action, the compensation insurers retain the exclusive remedy protections of Minn. Stat. § 176.031.
Affirmed.
AMUNDSON, Judge (concurring in part, dissenting in part)
I. Common Law Remedy As Affected By Statute
The majority has crafted a well-reasoned affirmance of the district court's actions. I concur with much of its logic, but have reservations about not applying Minnesota's own exclusive remedy statute, Minn. Stat. § 176.031 (1998), and Minnesota's third-party liability statute, Minn. Stat. § 176.061 (1998), as written, but choosing instead to follow what it perceived to be a clear pattern in the statute granting immunity from suit to workers' compensation insurance carriers. Legislative trends should have no bearing on interpretation of the existing Minnesota statute. The district court and this court should refrain from speculating on what the Minnesota legislature might do, and should apply the statute as written. The Minnesota act does not deprive an employee of the right to sue a person other than the employer. Only the legislature can grant such immunity and it is not apparent it has done so. The cloak of employer immunity should not be extended by implication to cover the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Assigned Risk Plan (MWCARP) to protect it from suits for its own negligence.
I would reverse the district court. I would further give a more charitable construction to the safety inspection statute, Minn. Stat. § 79.253, subd. 2 (1998), and hold that the MWCARP is not immune from a liability suit. In the alternative, we should remand the claim against MWCARP in order that discovery might proceed and the evidence be developed as to the acts and/or omissions of the MWCARP with respect to its duty to inspect the employer's premises under Minn. Stat. § 79.253.
Can an employee's common law right against a third party be taken away by statute through any means other than
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