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Date: 06-09-2024
Case Style:
Case Number: CJ-2029-3139
Judge: Anthony L. Bonner
Court: District Court, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma
Plaintiff's Attorney: Jeff D. Marr, Jo L. Slama, and Mdison Stockwell Clark
Defendant's Attorney: Katelyn King, Robert B. Fields, for OG&E.
Victor F. Albert and Ben Wheatley for Sunpower Corporation Systems
Ian E. Fullington and Tracey L. Williams for Moss & Associates
Timothy L. Martin and Logan Turner for Bj's Oilfield Construction, Inc.
Description: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma personal injury lawyers represented the Plaintiff who sued on
An employee died at a construction work site while working for his employer. The employee's spouse brought an action in a District Court against the owner of the work site, contractor, subcontractor, and employer. The appellate controversy is between the contractor, SunPower Corporation Systems (SunPower), and the employer/subcontractor, BJ's Oilfield Construction, Inc. (BJ's, BJ's Oilfield, or BJ's Oilfield Construction).
David Knox was an employee of BJ's and while working at the construction site he died as a result of a fellow employee's use of a trenching machine augur. Knox's spouse of the deceased sought and received Oklahoma workers' compensation benefits.
efendants filed separate motions to dismiss Knox's petition and they were granted. Three appeals were filed. Two appeals reviewed separate dismissals of plaintiff's claims against Moss and SunPower. These two dismissals were based upon the two defendants identifying themselves with "prime contractor" status. The order granting dismissal to Moss was reversed because prime contractor status for Moss was asserted by unsupported assertions in a brief and oral argument, and without evidence or stipulation on the issue.1 SunPower's dismissal order was reversed because its assertion of prime contractor status was based upon counsel's oral argument and not evidence.2
David Knox was an employee of BJ's and while working at the construction site he died as a result of a fellow employee's use of a trenching machine augur. Knox's spouse of the deceased sought and received Oklahoma workers' compensation benefits.
Knox's spouse brought a wrongful death claim in Oklahoma County District Court. She alleged SunPower, Moss, and OG&E (1) controlled and/or supervised the work performed by BJ's, (2) knew employees of BJ's lacked proper supervision and disregarded safety protocols, (3) knew the trenching machine created an unreasonably dangerous work environment, and (4) failed to provide proper supervision for safety purposes. She also included BJ's as a defendant.
Defendant SunPower filed a third-party petition alleging an intentional tort by Defendant BJ's Oilfield Construction.
Outcome: Motion to dismiss granted.
An employer may not contractually create a common-law negligence liability for the employer by creating additional non-employer roles or capacities when this negligence liability is based upon the same physical injury for a compensable workers' compensation award.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: