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Oliver v. Barrick Goldstrike Mines11/1/1995
Per Curiam: In this appeal, appellant John Michael Oliver challenges the district court's entry of summary judgment in favor of respondent Barrick Goldstrike Mines ("Barrick"). The district court granted summary relief to Barrick on grounds that Barrick was the principal contractor on the project on which Oliver was employed and that, as a matter of law, Barrick was Oliver's statutory employer under the Nevada Industrial Insurance Act ("NIIA"). Therefore, Barrick was immune from liability asserted against it by the injured Oliver. We conclude that the district court erred in determining that Barrick was Oliver's statutory employer and, therefore, reverse.
FACTS
Barrick is in the business of mining and processing gold, and operates a gold mine north of
[111 Nev. 1338, Page 1341]
Carlin, Nevada. Barrick is not a licensed contractor under NRS chapter 624. 1 During the period from 1989 to 1991, Barrick employed Mountain States Mineral Enterprises ("Mountain States"), an independent contractor, to complete several different modifications to the mill that was situated on Barrick's mine site. The modifications included changes and additions to the piping system as well as the demolition and replacement of insulation in the piping system and associated tanks. Oliver is an employee of Mountain States and a federally certified welder who specializes in pipefitting and welding. Barrick required Mountain States to enter into a "general conditions" contract and subsequent "short form" contracts for each individual project. The general conditions contract provided that Mountain States was to provide and secure workers' compensation insurance with the State Industrial Insurance System ("SIIS") covering work-related accidents to Mountain States' employees working at the mill. Mountain States secured the required insurance. Under the terms of the referenced contracts, Barrick provided power sources and access to job sites, coordinated work with other contractors as necessary, and verified Mountain States' compliance with contract specifications prior to signing off on a completed project. Barrick did not exercise day-to-day supervision over Mountain States. Moreover, Mountain States supervised Oliver, paid his wages and worker 's compensation premiums, and had the sole right to hire and fire him. On August 23, 1991, Oliver received chemical burns on his feet while removing insulation on pipes and tanks in the mill. Thereafter, Oliver filed an action against Barrick, alleging that Barrick negligently represented to him that the area in which he was injured was safe and free of chemical acid. Barrick claimed statutory immunity under the NIIA on grounds that it was Oliver's "statutory employer."
DISCUSSION
This court's standard of review on summary judgment is well established. We review the entire record anew, and without deference to the findings of the district court; therefore, our
[111 Nev. 1338, Page 1342]
review is essentially de novo, and is undertaken in a light most favorable to the party against whom summary judgment was entered. Caughlin Homeowners Ass'n v. Caughlin Club, 109 Nev. 264, 266, 849 P.2d 310, 311 (1993). Moreover, we have long recognized that:
"Rule 56 authorizes summary judgment only where the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, where it is quite clear what the truth is, that no genuine issue remains for trial, and that the purpose of the rule is not to cut litigants off from their right of trial by jury if they really have issues to try."
Id. (quoting Short v. Hotel Riviera, Inc., 79 Nev. 94, 103, 378 P.2d 979, 984 (1963)).
Under Nevada la
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