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Grammar v. Dollar9/13/2005
NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - PERSONAL INJURY
DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 09/13/2005
BEFORE BRIDGES, P.J., GRIFFIS AND BARNES, JJ.
. On August 1, 2002, Lillian Grammar filed a claim of negligence against Ralph and Kathryn Dollar in the Circuit Court of Lowndes County. Specifically, Grammar claimed that while in the Dollars' home on March 22, 2002, acting in her capacity as their housekeeper, she slipped on a wet linoleum floor in the master bathroom, and the resulting fall shattered her kneecap. Grammar has worked at the Dollars' residence as a housekeeper for approximately nine years. Grammar does not have health insurance and has incurred an extensive amount of medical bills from the time of the injury.
. On January 16, 2004, the Dollars filed a motion for summary judgment, which was followed by Grammar's own motion for partial summary judgment. After hearing argument of the parties, the trial court granted summary judgment for the Dollars and subsequently entered a final judgment of dismissal with prejudice on June 21, 2004.
. Aggrieved by the judgment, Grammar has effectuated this appeal and now presents, for this Court to review, the following issue:
I. DID THE TRIAL COURT COMMIT REVERSIBLE ERROR IN GRANTING THE DOLLARS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT?
Finding no such error, we affirm.
LAW AND ANALYSIS
. The standard of review by which an appellate court reviews the grant or denial of a motion for summary judgment under Rule 56(c) of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure is de novo. McMillan v. Rodriguez, 823 So. 2d 1173, 1177 ( ) (Miss. 2002). In accordance with this standard, this Court must examine all evidentiary matters before it, and the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party against whom the motion has been made. Id. Therefore, the non-movant is given the benefit of any doubt, and the movant maintains the burden of demonstrating that no genuine issue of material fact exists. Id. If, upon viewing the evidence in this light, no genuine issue of material fact can be found, and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, summary judgment should be granted. Id. Otherwise, the motion should be denied. Id.
. Grammar maintains that her relationship with the Dollars was that of either an invitee or employee. She argues that the disputed classification concerns a genuine issue of material fact, thereby demanding the order of summary judgment be reversed. Conversely, the Dollars claim that Grammar's relationship with them was that of an independent contractor, or in the alternative, a social guest. They argue that summary judgment was proper, regardless of Grammar's status, because she failed to present any evidence demonstrating they breached any duty that they might have owed her.
. According to the Mississippi Supreme Court, determining "which status a particular plaintiff holds can be a jury question, but where the facts are not in dispute the classification becomes a question of law for the trial judge." Adams ex rel. Adams v. Fred's Dollar Store of Batesville, 497 So. 2d 1097, 110 (Miss. 1986) (citations omitted). In the case sub judice, the parties clearly disagree as to what status Grammar holds; however, there is no such disagreement as to the underlying facts on which such determination could be based. Consequently, the inconclusiveness of Grammar's status is no basis for reversing summary judgment in the absence of disputed facts. Gray v. Abs Global, Inc., 850 So. 2d 180, 185 ( ) (MisS.Ct. App. 2003).
. An independent contractor, as adopted by the courts, is defined as "a person who contracts wi
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