 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Onstad v. Payless ShoeSource8/24/2000
oyer's alleged sexual harassment and assault were acts arising out of and in the course of employment); Winters v. Dalton (Mich. App. 1994), 523 N.W.2d 636, 638 (a determination of whether an employee's injuries grew out of or occurred in the course of the employment relationship "is initially within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Bureau of Workers' Disability Compensation").
19 Nevertheless, in line with our prior case law, we conclude that the District Court had jurisdiction to adjudicate whether Onstad's tort claim was barred, as a matter of law, under the exclusive remedy provision. "Permitting piecemeal litigation of the various issues involved in . . . District Court action would be a terrible waste of judicial resources and the parties' time and money." CNA Ins. Companies v. Dunn (1995), 273 Mont. 295, 300, 902 P.2d 1014, 1017.
20 We next consider Payless's substantive arguments on its exclusive remedy defense. Payless first raised this issue as an affirmative defense in its answer to Onstad's complaint. Prior to trial, Payless moved for summary judgment that the complaint must be dismissed based on the workers' compensation exclusivity clause. In response, Onstad moved to strike the motion for summary judgment on grounds that it was untimely.
21 The court granted Onstad's motion, striking Payless's summary judgment motion as a sanction for Payless's failure to file it in a timely manner as required under the scheduling order established for this case. The court then went on to state that even on the merits, the motion would not be properly granted under Montana law, because Onstad's injuries were either "mental-mental" or "mental-physical" and therefore not compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act. The court did not, however, go so far as to explicitly grant Onstad summary judgment on this question.
22 Because the District Court's pretrial dismissal of Payless's summary judgment motion was a sanction for untimely filing of that motion, we do not consider that ruling as the court's decision on the exclusivity defense. In its next opportunity to rule on the question, the court took a more definitive position, however, and it is that ruling to which we direct our attention.
23 At the close of Onstad's case-in-chief, Payless moved for a directed verdict on the exclusive remedy defense. It argued that Onstad's own trial evidence established that she had suffered a physical injury which resulted in the development or aggravation of a disabling mental condition. In what Payless maintains was the District Court's second erroneous ruling on this subject, the court denied the motion, pointing out that Payless did not have an expert witness on this subject. The court went on to state that the evidence indicated that "most of the injury was mental," and it was therefore going to deny Payless's motion for directed verdict on the workers' compensation issue.
24 The court effectively not only denied Payless's motion for directed verdict, but also granted a directed verdict for Onstad on the workers' compensation exclusivity defense. We now consider whether that implicit ruling was correct.
25 A district court "may grant a directed verdict only when it appears as a matter of law that the nonmoving party could not recover upon any view of the evidence, including the legitimate inferences to be drawn from the evidence." King v. Zimmerman (1994), 266 Mont. 54, 59, 878 P.2d 895, 899 (citation omitted). "A motion for a directed verdict should only be granted when there is a complete absence of any evidence to warrant submission to the jury and all factual inferences must be viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmov
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Montana Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|