VICTOR GLASSPOOLE, APPELLANT,
v.
KONOVER CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION SOUTH, A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLEE
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Victor Glasspoole, an employee of a construction subcontractor, appealed a summary judgment dismissing his personal injury claim against the general contractor Konover Construction. The court affirmed the summary judgment, holding that Glasspoole failed to present counter-evidence to rebut Konover's demonstration that it bore no responsibility for the alleged removal of electrical safety breakers.
The court affirmed summary judgment in favor of Konover, holding that once a movant for summary judgment tenders competent evidence supporting its motion, the opposing party must present counter-evidence to reveal a genuine issue of material fact. Because Glasspoole failed to produce counter-evidence to rebut Konover's supervisor's affidavit denying any involvement in removing the safety breakers, he did not meet his burden of showing a genuine issue of material fact.
[1] An employer is not protected by workers' compensation immunity from liability for an intentional tort against an employee.
[2] An employee may prove an intentional tort action against an employer by demonstrating either a deliberate intent to injure or conduct substantially certain to result in i…
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The workers' compensation law, Chapter 440 of the Florida Statutes, does not protect an employer from liability for an intentional tort against an employee.”
Establishes that workers' compensation immunity does not bar intentional tort claims, but the plaintiff must still meet the burden of proof.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceGlasspoole, an employee of a subcontractor, was injured by electrical shock while attempting to plug an extension cord into an outlet station at a con…
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POLEN, J.
Victor Glasspoole timely appeals from a final summary judgment order in favor of Konover Construction Corporation South (“Konover”) which dismissed Glasspoole’s personal injury claim. We affirm.
Glasspoole, an employee of a subcontractor, filed a complaint against Konover, the general contractor, seeking damages for personal injuries received while working at a construction site. He claimed that Kon- over committed an intentional tort during the construction process by instructing an electrical subcontractor to remove the safety and protective breakers from an electrical outlet station. He then alleged that he was injured when he received a severe electrical shock while attempting to plug an extension cord into that outlet station.
Konover subsequently filed a motion for summary judgment, claiming workers’ compensation immunity. In support of that motion, it filed the sworn affidavit of its supervisor for the construction site, who stated that he did not instruct anyone to remove or cause to be removed the safety and protective breakers from the relevant outlet station. The supervisor also explained that he did not know of any individual affiliated with Konover who gave said instruction or removed the breakers. Glasspoole, however, did not file any counter-evidence in response to the supervisor’s affidavit.
At a hearing on the motion, the trial court stated there was nothing in the pleadings that placed Konover responsible for the actions allegedly taken by the subcontractor that created the circumstances under which Glasspoole’s injury occurred. It, therefore, found that Konover had workers’ compensation immunity and entered summary judgment against Glas-spoole. This timely appeal followed.
The workers’ compensation law, Chapter 440 of the Florida Statutes, does not protect an employer from liability for an intentional tort against an employee. Turner v. PCR, Inc., 754 So. 2d 683, 687 (Fla.2000). In this vein, there are two alternative bases for an employee to prove an intentional tort action against an employer: the employer exhibited a deliberate intent to injure or engaged in conduct which is substantially certain to result in injury or death. Id. (citation omitted). While the first alternative employs a subjective test, the second alternative applies an objective standard to determine whether a reasonable employer should have known that its intentional conduct was substantially certain to result in injury or death. Id. at 688-89.
We hold that the trial court properly entered summary judgment against Glasspoole. Once the movant for summary judgment tenders competent evidence to support Ms motion, the opposing party must come forward with counter-evidence sufficient to reveal a genuine issue of material fact. See The Florida Bar v. Mogil, 763 So. 2d 303, 307 (Fla.2000). Here, Konover submitted a sworn affidavit from its supervisor, who stated that neither he nor anyone associated with Kon-over gave any instruction to remove the safety breakers or committed any act which would cause those breakers to be removed. This affidavit was sufficient to shift the burden to Glasspoole to come forward with any counter-evidence to show a genuine issue of material fact. Because he failed to meet that burden, we affirm. See Corbitt v. Kuruvilla, 745 So. 2d 545, 548 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999).
AFFIRMED.
GROSS and TAYLOR, JJ., concur.
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Cited By
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Fcci Ins. Co. v. Horne, 890 So. 2d 1141 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004)…lso Folds v. J.A. Jones Constr. Co., 875 So. 2d 700 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004) (one exception to the bar of workers’ compensation immunity is that an injured employee may sue the employer for an intentional tort); Glasspoole v. Konover Constr. Corp. South, 787 So. 2d 937 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001)(workers’ compensation law does not protect an employer for liability for an intentional tort against an employee). For purposes of this exception, an employee has two alternative ways to prove an intentional tort by the employer…
Authorities Cited
- Turner v. PCR, Inc., 754 So. 2d 683 (Fla. 2000)
- THE Florida BAR v. Mogil, 763 So. 2d 303 (Fla. 2000)
- John D. Corbitt, JR., M.D. v. Genevieve Kuruvilla, M.D., 745 So. 2d 545 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)