Zurich American Insurance Company v. McVey

Summary

The Texas Court of Appeals considered whether an employee killed while driving an employer-provided vehicle to a mandatory, out-of-town training conference was acting within the course and scope of employment. The court held that the coming-and-going rule did not exclude the travel because the employer provided and paid for the transportation, and that the trip originated in and furthered the employer’s business. The court affirmed summary judgment awarding workers’ compensation survivor benefits.

Holdings

1. The fact that the employer furnished or paid for transportation removes the travel from exclusion under the coming-and-going rule, but does not by itself establish that the injury occurred in the course and scope of employment.
2. McVey's travel originated in TruGreen's business and furthered its affairs because he was required to travel to a mandatory, out-of-town, multi-day leadership conference, and the circumstances of his transportation were substantially dictated by the employer's business requirements.
3. The undisputed facts established that Troy was acting in the course and scope of his employment when the accident occurred, making his death compensable; the district court properly granted McVey's motion and denied Zurich's motion.

Questions Presented

1. Whether, under the undisputed facts, Troy McVey was acting in the course and scope of his employment when he was killed while traveling from home to a mandatory, out-of-town employer conference.
2. Whether the employer-provided-transportation exception to the coming-and-going rule alone established compensability, or merely removed the ordinary travel exclusion so that the general course-and-scope requirements still had to be satisfied.
3. Whether summary judgment for McVey was proper and summary judgment for Zurich should be denied.

Disposition

affirmed