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JOHNSON v. FARMER9/20/1995
The issues on this appeal are (1) whether the personal injury claim of plaintiff Donna K. Johnson (Donna) and the loss-of-consortium claims of her husband and children against defendant Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) are precluded by the exclusive-remedy provisions of the workers' compensation laws, and (2) whether the claims of the same plaintiffs against defendant Stephanie A. Farmer were properly adjudged as unsubstantiated gross negligence claims against a coemployee.
At the time of the motor vehicle mishap on which her claims are based, Donna was an employee of DMACC. She was a coemployee of Stephanie A. Farmer. Plaintiffs urge, however, that the single-vehicle accident in which Donna was injured did not occur in the course of her employment. The district court concluded otherwise and applied the exclusive-remedy clause of Iowa Code section 85.20 (1991) to defeat the claims of all plaintiffs against DMACC. On the claims against Stephanie Farmer, the district court granted summary judgment in her favor on the basis that there was no genuine issue of material fact as to the absence of gross negligence required to be shown under section 85.20. After reviewing the record and considering the arguments of the parties, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
Donna, at all times material to the dispute, was both an adjunct instructor of nursing and a testing evaluator for DMACC. For nursing instruction, she was paid a fixed sum of money for each course taught. For testing evaluation, she was paid an hourly wage. Donna performed testing evaluations at DMACC campuses in Ankeny, Boone, and Carroll. On the morning of December 7, 1991, she drove to Ankeny from her home in Woodbine. There, she met her supervisor, Stephanie Farmer, at DMACC's Ankeny campus. Donna and Farmer left Ankeny about 6:30 a.m. in a DMACC vehicle for purposes of conducting testing evaluations at the Carroll campus. According to the record evidence there was white frost on the trees and roadway at this time.
Approximately one-half hour after leaving Ankeny, the DMACC vehicle, operated by Farmer, slid off Highway 141 near Perry and struck a power pole. Donna sustained bodily injuries from this occurrence. Ultimately, DMACC determined that Donna was eligible for workers' compensation benefits. Checks for such benefits were delivered to Donna and cashed by her.
Donna, together with her husband and children, later filed the present action. [537 NW2d Page 772]
Plaintiffs' claim against DMACC was adversely decided following an evidentiary hearing under Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 103. Plaintiffs' claim against Farmer was adversely decided on the latter's motion for summary judgment, which relied on that defendant's coemployee status and asserted the absence of gross negligence as a matter of law.
I. The Claims Against DMACC.
The district court conducted an evidentiary hearing on the exclusivity of the workers' compensation remedy against DMACC. We have characterized this issue as involving subject matter jurisdiction. Tigges v. City of Ames, 356 N.W.2d 503, 511-12 (Iowa 1984); Steffens v. Proehl, 171 N.W.2d 297, 300 (Iowa 1969). Since the abolition of the special appearance in 1987, this procedure is governed by rule 103 and rule 104(a) of the Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure. See Moyer v. City of Des Moines, 505 N.W.2d 191, 193 (Iowa 1993). Proof of facts in such motions is by such means as the court directs. Iowa R. Civ. P. 116. In the present case, the issue was decided on a record consisting of both oral testimony and depositions. A district court's findings of fact on a hearing conducted under rule 103 are binding on a reviewing court if supported
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