Dobosenski v. Carlton County
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Dobosenski v. Carlton County
Opinion of the Court
Certiorari to review a decision of the Industrial Commission.
For several years the petitioner, Stanley Dobosenski, had been employed as a peace officer, sometimes by Carlton County and sometimes by the village of Moose Lake. At the time of the compensable injury, Dobosenski was aiding a deputy sheriff of the county in making an investigation.
For several years before the accident, Dobosenski had served as deputy marshal of the village of Moose Lake. He worked part-time, generally one day per week, filling in for the full-time marshal on his day off. On the days that Dobosenski worked, he would assume all the marshal’s duties for a 24-hour period. These duties consisted of patrolling the town and enforcing the village ordinances. As a peace officer, he had statutory authority to make arrests in the village and beyond its jurisdictional limits when in fresh pursuit. Minn. St. 629.40; Smith v. Hubbard, 253 Minn. 215, 91 N. W. (2d) 756. He was paid approximately $16 per day by the village. Dobosenski had also been deputized by the sheriff of Carlton County. He did not have a regular work schedule in this capacity, but was called for service as needed. He was paid $5 for each assignment that he performed for the county.
On the day of the injury Dobosenski was on duty in Moose Lake, it being the marshal’s day off. He received a call telling him of “trouble” on the Pontilla farm. Because the farm was about 2 miles from Moose Lake, and thus outside of his jurisdiction, he called the office of the sheriff of Carlton County. He was told that one of the sheriff’s men would be dispatched to meet Dobosenski at a filling station in Moose Lake. Dobosenski did meet Deputy Sheriff Ralph Yojanson there and together they drove to the Pontilla farm in Yojanson’s car. Arriving at the
This court in numerous cases has said that the existence of an employment relationship is a question of fact. This court’s only function with regard to this issue is to determine whether the Industrial Commission’s findings are reasonably supported by the evidence. Hagberg v. Colonial & Pac. Frigidways, Inc. 279 Minn. 396, 157 N. W. (2d) 33.
We feel that the evidence in the present case is sufficient to support the commission’s findings.
There can be no doubt that Dobosenski was working for the county at the time of the injury. He worked for the county whenever the sheriff’s office asked for his assistance. On the day of the injury, he left the village to help the sheriff’s office make an investigation or arrest. Pontilla had committed no offense in the village and no official interest of the village was being advanced. The official authority which he exercised when he left the village was that of a deputy sheriff. § 629.40. Further, he was paid his usual wage by the county for the work he was performing when injured.
The only question remaining then is whether the commission erred in failing to find that the injury also arose out of his employment as deputy marshal of Moose Lake. The county relies on McFarland v. Village of Carlton, 187 Minn. 434, 245 N. W. 630, and Village of Schofield v. Industrial Comm. 204 Wis. 84, 235 N. W. 396. The Schofield case involved a fact situation similar to the instant case, but with two important differences. The marshal there was under an official duty imposed by a Wisconsin statute requiring village marshals to assist in such arrests. Minnesota does not have a similar statute and imposes no equivalent duty on its village marshals.
Affirmed.
See, Bystrom v. Rohlen, 134 Minn. 67, 158 N. W. 796. There was no attempt here to show that assistance was being afforded because of a rule or regulation established pursuant to Minn. St. 626.76.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STANLEY DOBOSENSKI v. CARLTON COUNTY AND ANOTHER, VILLAGE OF MOOSE LAKE AND ANOTHER
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published