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IOWA MUTUAL INS. CO. v. MCCARTHY11/26/1997
otherwise provided by [the Iowa or United States constitutions, any statute, or any Iowa Supreme Court rule]."). Therefore, the trial court's decision to admit the evidence and instruct the jury that compliance with federal withholding laws was a factor it could consider was not an abuse of discretion. [572 NW2d Page 545]
B. Instruction on criteria for an independent contractor. Iowa Mutual claims the trial court erred in submitting an instruction to the jury on the indicia of an independent contractor. We review a trial court's instructions for correction of legal error. Grefe & Sidney v. Watters, 525 N.W.2d 821, 824 (Iowa 1994).
As noted earlier, there was no dispute in this case that Kelly had an agreement with McCarthy to perform services for McCarthy. Therefore, the contested issue was the nature of that relationship. This issue presented the jury with a classic choice between finding Kelly was an employee or finding he was an independent contractor. Given the issue in this case, it was appropriate for the court to instruct the jury on the test for determining whether Kelly was an independent contractor. The trial court did not err in doing so.
VII. Summary and Disposition.
This appeal was not rendered moot by McCarthy's settlement of the wrongful death claim for which coverage is sought. Nor was the estate deprived of its ability to pursue this appeal by McCarthy's failure to appeal the trial court's adverse ruling. The estate, as a third-party claimant, had a sufficient interest of its own to support a request for declaratory relief on the availability of insurance coverage for its claim.
There was substantial evidence to support the jury's finding that Kelly was not McCarthy's employee at the time of Kelly's death. Therefore, the trial court erred in granting Iowa Mutual's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict.
The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting evidence of federal withholding laws or of an employer's obligation under the workers' compensation law to file a first report of injury , nor did the court err in instructing the jury on the criteria for an independent contractor. Consequently, Iowa Mutual is not entitled to a new trial.
We reverse the declaratory judgment entered by the trial court and remand this case for reinstatement of the jury's verdict and for the entry of a declaratory judgment that Iowa Mutual's policy provides coverage for the estate's wrongful death claim. We express no opinion on the insurer's liability for the balance of the stipulated judgment entered on that claim.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
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