Holden v. Mike's Catfish Inn, Inc.
Holden v. Mike's Catfish Inn, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff, Jackie Holden, appeals a summary judgment dismissing her tort claim against her employer, Mike's Catfish Inn, Inc., and its insurer, Massachusetts Bay Insurance Company. We affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On July 14, 2015, Ms. Holden, an employee of Mike's Catfish Inn, was clocked in and working in the kitchen, when she was notified by another employee that her daughter called the restaurant and was waiting outside in the parking lot to see her. Mike's Catfish Inn permitted its employees to take breaks while on the time clock. Ms. Holden's daughter parked her car within feet of the back door of the restaurant. As Ms. Holden exited the back *590door of the restaurant and proceeded toward her daughter's vehicle, she fell on a concrete slope adjacent to the restaurant door and injured herself. Ms. Holden reported the accident to her employer before leaving for the emergency room. Ms. Holden was admitted to the emergency room at Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center and was diagnosed with a broken left kneecap. Ms. Holden was discharged from the emergency room that night, but was advised that she needed surgery. Approximately fifteen days later, Ms. Holden had surgery on her left kneecap at Cypress Pointe Hospital.
On July 8, 2016, Ms. Holden filed a petition for damages against defendants
After a hearing on defendants' motion for summary judgment, the trial court found that the accident occurred during the course and scope of Ms. Holden's employment, stating in oral reasons "Mike's Catfish [Inn] is [not] individually liable ... that is what they have worker's comp[ensation] for." The trial court signed a judgment in accordance with its ruling on April 3, 2017, dismissing Ms. Holden's claims against defendants with prejudice. Ms. Holden appeals.
DISCUSSION
In her sole assignment of error, Ms. Holden argues that the trial court erred in granting defendants' motion for summary judgment because there remains a genuine issue of material fact as to whether she was in the course and scope of her employment when the accident occurred.
Summary judgments are reviewed de novo under the same criteria that govern the district court's consideration of whether summary judgment is appropriate. Marcaurele v. City of Baton Rouge/Parish of East Baton Rouge, 16-0915 (La. App. 1 Cir. 2/17/17),
Generally, when an employee seeks to recover from her employer for injuries suffered during the course and scope of employment, recovery is limited in accordance with the Louisiana Workers' Compensation Act, which provides for the employee's exclusive rights and remedies against the employer for such injury and provides immunity from civil liability in favor of an employer. La. R.S. 23:1032 ; see Cole v. State Department of Public Safety & Corrections, 01-2123 (La. 9/4/02),
Ms. Holden argues that she was not within the course and scope of her employment when her accident occurred, and she can proceed with her suit for damages against defendants. In support of her argument, Ms. Holden relies on Ruiz v. City of New Orleans, 12-405 (La. App. 5 Cir. 1/16/13),
Defendants counter that Ruiz is distinguishable from the instant matter because Ms. Holden's accident occurred at her jobsite, unlike in Ruiz where the police officer's accident occurred "miles away from his jobsite at a different building performing a transaction at his credit union." Defendants further argue that Ruiz is distinguishable from the instant matter because of the timing of Ms. Holden's accident. Because Ms. Holden's accident occurred during a brief work break, while she was on the clock on her employer's premises, defendants argue that she was in the course and scope of her employment. In support of their argument, defendants cite Carradine v. Regis Corp., 10-529 (La. App. 3 Cir. 11/3/10),
For purposes of workers' compensation, the requirement that an employee's injury occur "in the course of" employment focuses on the time and place relationship between the injury and the *592employment. Sharp v. United Fire & Indem. Co., 15-0976 (La. App. 1 Cir. 12/23/15),
The submitted testamentary evidence is sufficient to prove the ultimate issue of whether Ms. Holden was within the course and scope of her employment at the time of her accident. It is undisputed that at the time of Ms. Holden's accident she was employed by Mike's Catfish Inn, on her employer's premises, on the time clock, and on a work break. The fact that Ms. Holden walked outside on her employer's premises to see her daughter does not change the fact that she was still in the course and scope of her employment at the time of her accident. An employee who is getting paid, is on her employer's premises, and is on an approved work break is in the course and scope of her employment whether she is visiting with her daughter, getting a breath of fresh air, smoking a cigarette, or walking outside to drink a diet coke. All of the elements of course and scope of employment are met in the instant matter.
Moreover, it is undisputed that Ms. Holden made a claim for workers' compensation benefits arising out of her accident and was paid in a settlement the sum of $10,000.00. Considering these facts alone and the lack of evidence presented by Ms. Holden, we find that the trial court correctly determined that there are no genuine issues of material fact and that as a matter of law, Ms. Holden was in the course and scope of her employment when her accident occurred. Therefore, Ms. Holden's argument that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to defendants has no merit.
CONCLUSION
The April 3, 2017 judgment, which granted the motion for summary judgment in favor of Mike's Catfish Inn, Inc. and Massachusetts Bay Insurance Company, and dismissed Jackie Holden's suit, with prejudice, is affirmed. Costs of this appeal are assessed to Jackie Holden.
AFFIRMED.
Ms. Holden's petition named Hanover Insurance as a defendant; however, the record reveals that Massachusetts Bay Insurance Company should have been named as a defendant.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.