DADE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, APPELLANT,
v.
RONALD LAING, APPELLEE
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Dade County School Board appealed the denial of its motion for summary judgment in a workers' compensation case brought by teacher Ronald Laing, who was injured by a golf cart operated by a school custodian. The court reversed, holding that the School Board is entitled to workers' compensation immunity because both the teacher and custodian were engaged in the same overall project of providing education-related services, so the "unrelated works" exception did not apply.
The "unrelated works" exception does not apply because both Laing and Rodriguez were engaged in the same overall project of providing education-related services at the high school, despite having different individual duties and job skills. The pertinent factor is whether co-employees are involved in different projects, not whether they have different specific work duties.
[1] An employer is entitled to workers' compensation immunity when an employee accepts workers' compensation benefits, precluding a tort claim against the employer.
[2] The "unrelated works" exception to workers' compensation immunity applies when co-employees are assigned primarily to different projects, not merely different duties.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The pertinent factor is whether the co-employees are involved in different projects. Thus, the focus is upon the nature of the project involved, as opposed to the specific work skills of individual employees.”
Establishes the legal standard for determining whether the 'unrelated works' exception applies.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRonald Laing, a teacher at Hialeah High School, was hit by a golf cart operated by custodian Jose Rodriguez while leaving a classroom. Both employees …
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GERSTEN, J.
Appellant, Dade County School Board (“School Board”), appeals an order denying its motion for summary judgment. We reverse finding the School Board is entitled to immunity as a matter of law under the workers’ compensation immunity doctrine. Appellee, Ronald Laing (“Laing”), filed a personal injury lawsuit against the School Board seeking damages for an incident that occurred while he was working as a teacher at Hialeah High School. La-ing was leaving a classroom when he was hit by a golf cart operated by a school custodian, Jose Rodriguez (“Rodriguez”). At this high school, custodians and security guards use golf carts to travel across the school grounds.
The School Board moved for summary judgment asserting workers’ compensation immunity because Laing had accepted workers compensation benefits and therefore was precluded from asserting a tort claim against his employer. See § 440.11, Fla. Stat. (1997). The trial court denied the School Board’s motion finding that the “unrelated works” exception in Section 440.11(1), Florida Statutes (1997), applied thus allowing Laing to sue the School Board for his injuries.
Section 440.11(1) provides an exception to workers’ compensation immunity when employees are “operating in the furtherance of the employer’s business but they are assigned primarily to unrelated works within private or public employment.” § 440.11(1), Fla. Stat. (1997). Laing argues that, because his profession as a teacher and Rodriguez’ profession as a custodian are “unrelated,” the exception applies to abrogate the School Board’s immunity. We disagree.
The fact that employees have different duties does not necessarily mean they are involved in “unrelated works.” See Johnson v. Comet Steel Erection, Inc., 435 So. 2d 908 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983). The pertinent factor is whether the co-employees are involved in different projects. Thus, the focus is upon the nature of the project involved, as opposed to the specific work skills of individual employees. See Vause v. Bay Medical Center, 687 So. 2d 258 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996), review denied 695 So. 2d 703 (Fla.1997); Abraham v. Dzafic, 666 So. 2d 232 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995).
Here, Rodriguez and Laing were both working on the same project, in the sense that they were co-employees providing education related services to students at Hialeah High School. Although each individually were assigned different duties and had different work skills, Laing in his capacity as a teacher and Rodriguez in the capacity of custodian, both were involved as part of a team in promoting education at the school campus. Because both were engaged in activities primarily related to the provision of education related services, the “unrelated works” exception to the School Board’s immunity under Section 440.11(1) does not apply. See Johnson v. Comet Steel Erection, Inc., 435 So. 2d at 908.
Reversed and remanded with instructions.
Accordingly, the order below is reversed with instructions to enter summary judgment in favor of the School Board.
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Taylor v. Sch. Bd. OF Brevard Cnty., 888 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 2004)…hence were engaged in related, rather than unrelated, works.” Id. (quoting Vause, 687 So. 2d at 262).3 The Third District has also relied upon the “same project” test in applying the unrelated works exception. In Dade County School Board v. Laing, 731 So. 2d 19 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999), the district court held that a teacher and a school custodian were not engaged in unrelated works. See id. at 20. There, the court noted, “The fact that employees have different duties does not necessarily mean they are involved…
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Fitzgerald v. S. Broward Hosp. Dist., 840 So. 2d 460 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003)…So. 2d at 562. Because Fitzgerald’s claim fails under both “unrelated works” tests, we affirm the decision of the circuit court granting summary judgment to the District. STEVENSON and MAY, JJ., concur. . See, e.g., Dade County Sch. Bd. v. Laing, 731 So. 2d 19 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999); Turner v. PCR, Inc., 732 So. 2d 342 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998), quashed on other grounds, 754 So. 2d 683 (Fla.2000); Vause, 687 So. 2d at 261-63; Abraham v. Dzafic, 666 So. 2d 232 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995); Johnson v. Comet Steel Erection Co.,…
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Aravena v. Miami-Dade Cnty., 928 So. 2d 1163 (Fla. 2006)…156, 1157-58 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001), approved, 888 So. 2d 1, 6 (Fla.2004); Lopez v. Vilches, 734 So. 2d 1095, 1096-98 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999), disapproved of by Taylor v. Sch. Bd. of Brevard County, 888 So. 2d 1, 6 (Fla.2004); Dade County Sch. Bd. v. Laing, 731 So. 2d 19, 20 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999); Vause v. Bay Med. Ctr., 687 So. 2d 258, 261-63 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996). Prior to this Court’s decision in Taylor, the district courts had been split as to the appropriate test for determining whether coemployees were assigned pri…
Previewing 3 of 9 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Harley L. Vause v. BAY Med. Ctr., 687 So. 2d 258 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996)
- Abraham v. Dzafic, 666 So. 2d 232 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)
- Anderson v. Jud. Admin. Comm'n of the State of Fla., 435 So. 2d 908 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983)