Glenwood Edward Johnson v. M S Carriers, Inc., etal ( 1999 )


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  •                     COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
    Present: Chief Judge Fitzpatrick, Judges Willis and Bumgardner
    Argued at Salem, Virginia
    GLENWOOD EDWARD JOHNSON
    MEMORANDUM OPINION * BY
    v.       Record No. 0907-98-3   CHIEF JUDGE JOHANNA L. FITZPATRICK
    JANUARY 12, 1999
    M S CARRIERS, INC. and
    UNINSURED EMPLOYERS' FUND
    FROM THE VIRGINIA WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION
    George L. Townsend (Chandler, Franklin &
    O'Bryan, on briefs), for appellant.
    Thomas G. Bell, Jr. (Timberlake, Smith,
    Thomas & Moses, on brief), for appellee M S
    Carriers, Inc.
    No brief or argument for appellee Uninsured
    Employers' Fund.
    In this workers' compensation case, Glenwood E. Johnson
    (claimant) appeals the commission's decision declining
    jurisdiction because employer did not have three or more
    employees regularly in service within Virginia.    Claimant also
    appeals the commission's finding that employer's "all-state"
    endorsement provision in its out-of-state workers' compensation
    policy did not subject it to the jurisdiction of the commission.
    Finding no error, we affirm the commission's decision.
    I.
    "Under familiar principles, we view the evidence in the
    light most favorable to the party prevailing below.   The
    *
    Pursuant to Code § 17.1-413, recodifying Code § 17-116.010,
    this opinion is not designated for publication.
    commission's findings of fact will be upheld on appeal if they
    are supported by credible evidence."   Uninsured Employer's Fund
    v. Clark, 
    26 Va. App. 277
    , 280, 
    494 S.E.2d 474
    , 475 (1998).
    So viewed, the evidence established that claimant, a
    resident of Virginia, was employed as an over-the-road (OTR)
    truck driver for employer beginning on July 19, 1994.   While
    employer's headquarters is located in Memphis, Tennessee,
    claimant drove routes nationwide, including occasional deliveries
    in Virginia.   Claimant estimated that approximately twice per
    month he would unload or pick-up a load in Virginia, although he
    was dispatched out of Tennessee.
    Employer presented evidence that it is subject to the
    workers' compensation laws of Tennessee and that its insurance
    policy contains an "all-state" endorsement provision, covering
    claims made in states other than Tennessee.   Employer concedes
    that it has two employees regularly in service in Virginia.
    These include Gary Santolla (Santolla), a driver recruiter in
    Dublin, Virginia, and an unidentified local driver in Richmond,
    Virginia.   While the company has several other OTR drivers who
    reside in Virginia, these employees are all dispatched from
    Tennessee and travel nationwide.
    Employer owns terminals in Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio
    and West Virginia.   The company does not own any facilities in
    Virginia.   However, it leases an office building in Dublin, where
    Santolla works, and maintains "drop yards" in both Dublin and
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    Chester, where no employees work but loads are frequently picked
    up and dropped off.   More than three OTR drivers use the drop
    yards in Virginia.
    Based upon this evidence, the commission held that it lacked
    jurisdiction over the claim. The commission wrote:
    Upon consideration of the cases and from
    this record, we find the Deputy Commissioner
    correctly determined the Commission does not
    have jurisdiction over this claim because the
    employer had "regularly in service less than
    three employees in the same business within
    the Commonwealth" pursuant to Code
    § 65.2-101(2)(h). We agree that "regularly
    in service" implies more than occasional
    pick-ups and drop-offs or merely driving
    through Virginia. We further agree that in
    view of this finding, the "all-states"
    endorsement carried by the employer on its
    workers' compensation policy does not subject
    the employer to jurisdiction.
    II.
    On appeal, claimant contends that the commission erred in
    holding that employer had less than three employees regularly in
    service within the Commonwealth.   He argues that credible
    evidence does not support the commission's finding because on any
    given day, employer dispatched an OTR driver to unload or pick-up
    a load in Virginia.   Accordingly, claimant concludes, employer
    collectively had three employees working within the Commonwealth.
    We disagree.
    "[O]nce an employee proves that his or her injury occurred
    while employed in Virginia, an employer has the burden of
    producing sufficient evidence upon which the commission can find
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    that the employer employed less than three employees regularly in
    service in Virginia."   Craddock Moving & Storage Co. v. Settles,
    
    16 Va. App. 1
    , 2, 
    427 S.E.2d 428
    , 429 (1993), aff'd per curium,
    
    247 Va. 165
    , 
    440 S.E.2d 613
     (1994).
    "Whether a person is an ``employee' and whether an employer
    has three or more employees ``regularly in service' are pivotal
    determinations in deciding if an employer is subject to the Act."
    Cotman v. Green, 
    4 Va. App. 256
    , 258, 
    356 S.E.2d 447
    , 448 (1987).
    Both full-time and part-time employees who are regularly
    employed to carry out the trade or business of the employer must
    be counted in determining the number of employees "regularly in
    service" to employer.   See id. at 258-59, 356 S.E.2d at 448.
    "[A]ny person hired by the employer to work in the usual course
    of the employer's business is an ``employee' under the Act
    regardless of how often or for low long he may be employed.     Id.
    at 258, 356 S.E.2d at 448 (citing Hoffer Bros. v. Smith, 
    148 Va. 220
    , 226, 
    138 S.E. 474
    , 476 (1927)).
    In the present case, credible evidence supports the
    commission's finding that employer did not fall within the
    purview of the Act.   It is undisputed that employer has two
    employees, Santolla and an unidentified local driver, who work on
    a regular basis within the Commonwealth.   However, the other
    various OTR drivers, delivering loads in Virginia and stopping at
    the "drop yards" on any given day, do not constitute the third
    necessary employee.   We conclude that this evidence is not
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    sufficient to establish the required basis of regularity of a
    single employee under the Act.    Like the commission, we agree
    that "``regularly in service' implies more that occasional
    pick-ups and drop-offs or merely driving through Virginia."
    Accordingly, we affirm the commission's decision. 1
    Affirmed.
    1
    Claimant also argues that employer's insurance policy
    containing an "all-state" endorsement provision subjects employer
    to the jurisdiction of the commission. This argument is without
    merit. The "all-state" endorsement does not create an obligation
    in Virginia, and employer is not required to maintain coverage
    since it did not have three employees regularly in service in
    Virginia. See Thompson v. Graebel Van Lines, No. 0676-88-4 (Va.
    Ct. App. Mar. 16, 1989).
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