Sitton v. State
Sitton v. State
Opinion of the Court
*149Plaintiff appeals a judgment that dismissed his negligence claim on summary judgment. Plaintiff was injured in a vehicular accident while he was driving an 18-wheel tractor trailer for work. Plaintiff filed this negligence action against the State of Oregon claiming that the state's design and maintenance of a highway interchange led to the accident and his resulting injuries. The state moved for summary judgment, contending *658that ORS 30.265(6)(a) makes the state immune from liability to plaintiff for his injuries because plaintiff's injuries were covered by the workers' compensation law. The trial court agreed with the state, granted summary judgment, and dismissed the action. Plaintiff assigns error to the trial court's grant of summary judgment, contending that ORS 30.265(6)(a) violates Article I, sections 10 and 20, of the Oregon Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United State Constitution.
Plaintiff was driving an 18-wheel tractor trailer westbound on Interstate 84 in Portland near the interchange with Interstate 5. He was driving in the middle lane, and a car was in the right lane. As both vehicles approached the interchange, the car changed lanes into the side of the tractor trailer. The accident caused the tractor trailer to crash through a guard rail at the interchange, fly off the interstate, and fall approximately 50 feet. Plaintiff suffered severe injuries. Plaintiff qualified for and received workers' compensation benefits, including partial lost wages and partially reimbursed medical expenses.
Plaintiff brought a negligence action against the state, seeking both economic and noneconomic damages for the state's alleged negligent design and maintenance of the interchange. The state moved for summary judgment, contending that ORS 30.265(6)(a) immunized the state from liability for plaintiff's injuries. ORS 30.265(6)(a) provides, as relevant:
*150"Every public body and its officers, employees and agents acting within the scope of their employment or duties * * * are immune from liability for:
"(a) Any claim for injury to or death of any person covered by any workers' compensation law."
Plaintiff responded that ORS 30.265(6)(a) violates Article I, section 20, of the Oregon Constitution by treating people who are covered by the workers' compensation law differently from those who are not when there is no rational basis for that difference in treatment, thereby rendering the statute void. See, e.g. , Crocker and Crocker ,
Plaintiff reprises those arguments on appeal. Plaintiff acknowledges that our case law is directly adverse to his arguments. We conclude that Jungen v. State of Oregon ,
Plaintiff next argues that ORS 30.265(6)(a) violates Article I, section 10, of the Oregon Constitution as construed in Horton v. OHSU ,
*151We agree with the state. Plaintiff filed his opening brief 12 days after the Supreme Court issued its decision in Horton . Thus, *659plaintiff could have included his argument under Horton in his opening brief. Because plaintiff could have done that, we consider plaintiff's argument under Horton to be untimely and do not consider it. See, e.g. , Clinical Research Institute v. Kemper Ins. Co. ,
Affirmed.
Plaintiff also contended in his opening brief that the trial court had erred in its construction of ORS 30.265(6)(a) in granting summary judgment. He withdrew that argument in his reply brief. Accordingly, we do not address it.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.