American M. Ins. Co. v. Ind. Acc. Com.

8 Cal.2d 585 (1937) AMERICAN MOTORISTS INSURANCE COMPANY (a Corporation), Petitioner,

v.

INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT COMMISSION and GEORGE W. SUYTAR, Respondents.

L. A. No. 15764. Supreme Court of California. In Bank.

April 13, 1937. Willis I. Morrison for Petitioner.

Everett A. Corten and Emmet J. Seawell for Respondents.

THE COURT.

This is a proceeding to review an award of the Industrial Accident Commission. The applicant, George W. Suytar, was injured in the course of his employment and was given an award. United Concrete Pipe Corporation, hereinafter called United Corporation, his general employer, and its insurance carrier, Hartford Accident & Indemnity Company, were clearly liable therefor. The question is, however, whether the firm of Hall Brothers and petitioner, its insurance carrier, are also liable on the theory of special employment. The commission found that the United Corporation was a general employer and Hall Brothers a special employer and made its award jointly against both.

The essential facts are simple. The United Corporation entered into a contract to perform certain road work, a federal Public Works Administration project. Contractors were required to be licensed, and to qualify by posting bond, and could employ labor only through the office of the national re- employment service. Hall Brothers, a firm consisting of M. A. Hall and J. H. Hall, did business as independent contractors and proposed to United Corporation to furnish labor and materials for part of the job at a contract price. There is some uncertainty as to whether this proposal resulted in a contract but, whether it did or not, the two Hall brothers were not licensed nor otherwise qualified to do P. W. A. work and therefore were carried on the records of the employment service as employees of United Corporation, M. A. Hall being designated as working foreman, and J. H. Hall as carpenter and concrete worker. Suytar, the injured employee, who had previously worked for Hall Brothers, asked [587] J. H. Hall for a job and, after securing his employment card from the re-employment service, was put to work. He testified that he received most of his instructions from the two Hall brothers, but was also directed by E. I. Mosher, job superintendent of United Corporation. Although the Halls were listed on the United Corporation payrolls as employees, actually their checks were not delivered to them, but at the end of the job a settlement was reached according to the original proposal by them to do the work as subcontractors.