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Insurance Co. of North America v. Gaylord Container Corp.6/23/2000
ller to the unloading point, and has been removed or detached from the truck ... used to transport the said pulpwood hereunder." The document was, however, signed only on behalf of Gaylord. Thus any contract between the parties would have to have been based either on a verbal agreement or action clearly indicative of consent. La. C.C. art. 1927.
According to Robert T. Carter, in 1992, Gaylord did not have employees who cut or loaded the timber; nor did Gaylord possess or own equipment for cutting, skidding or loading. Gaylord hauled no logs in trucks; however, 20% of the short wood processed at the mill was produced by Gaylord. At the time of the incident, approximately 50-75 deliveries of short wood were made to the Gaylord mill per day. Whitfield was one of approximately 100-125 "dealers" who obtained wood from other sources and then sold and delivered pulpwood to Gaylord. All dealers were required to carry insurance; however, Carter admitted that there was no procedure for confirming that the dealers actually possessed valid insurance.
Carter stated that, after being weighed, the trucks carrying pulpwood proceeded to a receiving point, called a flume, where on-site Gaylord employees unloaded the wood. Whitfield's set rate payment per ton of wood also included reimbursement for the freight costs. These costs might vary depending on the distance of the loading point from the mill. The pulpwood was then processed at Gaylord's paper mill. There was no understanding between the parties relative to a specific quantity of timber. In addition to delivering timber to Gaylord, LaBauve delivered to other unrelated locations, including timber mills in Mobile, Alabama, and Wiggins, Mississippi. LaBauve also stated, via affidavit, that he hauled dirt, gravel and other products in a dump truck for Fairley.
The agreement between Gaylord and Whitfield was thus limited to the price that Gaylord agreed to pay for received deliveries by Whitfield. LaBauve was performing the single service of delivering pulpwood at the Gaylord site for the purpose of selling it to Gaylord on behalf of Whitfield. The lack of any obligation by Whitfield to sell to Gaylord, or to perform a specific service in favor of Gaylord, negates the possibility that Fairley's employee was a statutory employee of Gaylord. Moreover, although Gaylord appears to have customarily bought any pulp wood that was delivered by its various dealers, there has been no demonstration that it was under any legal obligation to do so.
For these reasons, the trial judge clearly erred in the grant of summary judgment. The summary judgment in favor of Gaylord Container Corporation is reversed. The matter is remanded to the trial court for proceedings consistent with this decision. Costs associated with this appeal are assessed to Gaylord Container Corporation.
REVERSED.
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