Wells v. Fulfer Oil & Cattle Co

1 This memorandum opinion was not selected for publication in the New Mexico Reports. Please 2 see Rule 12-405 NMRA for restrictions on the citation of unpublished memorandum opinions. 3 Please also note that this electronic memorandum opinion may contain computer-generated 4 errors or other deviations from the official paper version filed by the Court of Appeals and does 5 not include the filing date. 6 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO 7 PATRICK WELLS, LAURA 8 WELLS, and ROBERT RIVERA, 9 Plaintiffs-Appellants, 10 v. NO. 31,134 11 FULFER OIL & CATTLE COMPANY, 12 LLC, and GREGGORY FULFER, a/k/a 13 GREGG FULFER, 14 Defendants-Appellees. 15 APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF LEA COUNTY 16 Steven L. Bell, District Judge 17 Templeman and Crutchfield 18 C. Barry Crutchfield 19 Lovington, NM 20 Curtis L. Marsh 21 Dallas, Texas 22 for Appellants 23 Beall & Biehler 24 Josh A. Harris 25 Albuquerque, NM 26 for Appellees 1 MEMORANDUM OPINION 2 VANZI, Judge. 3 Plaintiffs appeal from the district court’s orders granting summary judgment on 4 all issues in favor of Defendants and denying Plaintiffs’ motion to reconsider, ruling 5 that the exclusivity provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA) bar 6 Plaintiffs’ tort claims. Unpersuaded by Plaintiffs’ arguments that summary judgment 7 was inappropriate, we issued a notice of proposed summary disposition, proposing to 8 affirm. Defendants filed a memorandum in support of our notice, and Plaintiffs filed 9 a memorandum in opposition to our notice. We have considered both responses and 10 remain persuaded that summary judgment was proper. We therefore affirm. 11 On appeal, Plaintiffs argue that the district court erred by ruling that Plaintiffs 12 did not allege sufficient facts to support their theory that Fulfer Oil & Cattle (Fulfer 13 Oil) was not immune from tort liability under the “dual persona” doctrine and that 14 genuine issues of material fact regarding the dual persona doctrine should have 15 precluded summary judgment. [DS 13-14; MIO 2-7] Plaintiffs’ response to our 16 notice argues that we confused the doctrine of “dual capacity” for the doctrine of 17 “dual persona.” [MIO 1-2] They also argue that Salswedel v. Enerpharm, Ltd., 107 [2] 1 N.M. 728 , 764 P.2d 499 (Ct. App. 1988), controls the analysis. [MIO 2] Plaintiffs 2 have not convinced us that our analysis is incorrect or that they established a genuine 3 issue of material fact. 4 Plaintiffs’ response seems to indicate that the “dual persona” doctrine involves 5 only a “separate legal status.” [MIO 2] To the contrary, “[u]nder the ‘dual persona’ 6 doctrine, an employer may become a third person, vulnerable to a tort suit by an 7 employee, if, and only if, he possesses a second persona completely independent from 8 and unrelated to his status as employer[,]” and the injury incurred was unrelated to the 9 employment relationship. Salswedel, 107 N.M. at 730-31 , 764 P.2d at 501-02 (noting 10 that the “crucial determination is whether an employment relationship existed between 11 [the parties]”). Plaintiffs have not established a role or second persona for Fulfer Oil 12 or Gregg Fulfer that is completely independent from and unrelated to their status as 13 employer and have established no facts to indicate that the injury incurred was 14 unrelated to the employment relationship. Plaintiffs’ factual assertions indicate only 15 that Gregg Fulfer was not Plaintiffs’ only supervisor. [MIO 3-4] This is not sufficient 16 to demonstrate a dual persona that would fit within an exception to the exclusivity 17 provisions of the WCA. See Garrity v. Overland Sheepskin Co., 1996-NMSC-032 , 18 ¶ 40, 121 N.M. 710 , 917 P.2d 1382 . [3] 1 It appears that Plaintiffs seek to avoid the WCA’s exclusivity by attempting to 2 distinguish Fulfer Oil from a statutory employer and characterize 3-K Oil and Gas 3 Services (3-K) as an independent contractor. See Hamberg v. Sandia Corp., [4] 2008-NMSC-015, ¶ 9 , 143 N.M. 601 , 179 P.3d 1209 (“A statutory employment 5 relationship exists when any employer procures any work to be done wholly or in part 6 for him by a contractor other than an independent contractor and the work so procured 7 to be done is a part or process in the trade or business or undertaking of such 8 employer.” (alteration, internal quotation marks and citation omitted)). We base our 9 understanding of Plaintiffs’ arguments on what they characterize as material factual 10 issues. 11 Plaintiffs contend that they established the following factual issues surrounding 12 the role of and control exercised by Gregg Fulfer and Fulfer Oil over Plaintiffs: (1) 3- 13 K personnel was hired to erect the storage tanks for Fulfer Oil with all other 14 operations of Fulfer Oil left to its own personnel; (2) Mr. Haddox, not Gregg Fulfer, 15 was the supervisor of 3-K on the installation of the storage tanks; and (3) Gregg Fulfer 16 did not perform actual day-to-day work for 3-K. [MIO 2-4] 17 Plaintiffs’ factual assertions that 3-K was not their only employer do not 18 indicate that 3-K was an independent contractor. “An independent contractor is a 19 person who contracts with another to do something for him but who is not controlled [4] 1 by the other nor subject to the other’s right to control with respect to his physical 2 conduct in the performance of the undertaking.” Chavez v. Sundt Corp., [3] 1996-NMSC-046 , ¶ 9, 122 N.M. 78 , 920 P.2d 1032 (internal quotation marks and 4 citation omitted). The standard for an independent contractor does not test the extent 5 to which Fulfer Oil or Gregg Fulfer exercised control over Plaintiffs or whether they 6 actually supervised the day-to-day installation of the storage tanks. Rather, the 7 standard looks at the totality of the circumstances “in determining whether the 8 employer has the right to exercise essential control over the work . . . including but not 9 limited to . . . direct evidence of the exercise of control, or the right to terminate the 10 employment relationship at will, by either party, and without liability . . . whether or 11 not the work is a part of the employer’s regular business, and a host of other 12 factors[.]” Id. ¶ 10 (internal quotation marks, and citations omitted). 13 Plaintiffs have not alleged any facts that would indicate that Gregg Fulfer or 14 Fulfer Oil had no right to exercise control over Plaintiffs or the work they were doing 15 when they were injured. As the notice stated and is not disputed by Plaintiffs, Gregg 16 Fulfer owns both Fulfer Oil and 3-K; he was the employer and overall supervisor of 17 all employees of Fulfer Oil and 3-K with the power to hire and fire the employees at 18 will. [RP 140; CN 3-4] 3-K does not produce any goods itself; it performs services 19 as a subcontractor for oil production companies on their property and at their [5] 1 direction, including lease operation and tank installation and maintenance. [RP 140] 2 As part of its operations, Fulfer Oil hired 3-K to install four oil storage tanks and to 3 conduct their maintenance and daily lease operation, which Plaintiffs did at the 4 direction of Gregg Fulfer on behalf of Fulfer Oil. [Id.] Plaintiffs were injured in an 5 accidental explosion during the installation of a catwalk on top of an oil storage tank, 6 while they were employed by 3-K and contracted by Fulfer Oil to perform this work 7 on Fulfer Oil’s property. [Id.; DS 9] Just because Plaintiffs had a supervisor at 3-K 8 does not mean that Gregg Fulfer, owner and controller of 3-K, or Fulfer Oil, also 9 owned and controlled by Gregg Fulfer, had no right to exercise control over Plaintiffs 10 who are employees of 3-K. No reasonable view of the undisputed facts would 11 indicate that 3-K was an independent contractor. Rather, the facts indicate that 3-K 12 was a subcontractor. See Chavez, 1996-NMSC-046 , ¶ 9 (“When a subcontractor is 13 employed to perform services in the affairs of another and who with respect to the 14 physical conduct in the performance of the services is subject to the other’s control or 15 right to control, the subcontractor is not an independent contractor.” (internal 16 quotation marks and citation omitted)). 17 We believe that Gregg Fulfer and Fulfer Oil were properly characterized as 18 statutory employers and therefore immune from tort liability under the WCA’s 19 exclusivity provisions. See Hamberg, 2008-NMSC-015, ¶ 9 . For these reasons and [6] 1 those stated in our notice, we affirm the district court’s order granting summary 2 judgment in favor of Defendants. 3 IT IS SO ORDERED. 4 __________________________________ 5 LINDA M. VANZI, Judge 6 WE CONCUR: 7 _________________________________ 8 JONATHAN B. SUTIN, Judge 9 _________________________________ 10 TIMOTHY L. GARCIA, Judge