Total Transportation, Inc. of Mississippi and Protective Insurance Company v. Gerry Lynn Shores, Widow and Dependent of Phillip Shores, Deceased

Summary

The Mississippi Supreme Court held that the death of an over-the-road truck driver, who was abducted and killed after spending approximately eleven hours drinking at a bar, was not compensable under the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Act. The Court concluded that the third-party assault was not directed against the employee because of his employment and that his extended bar visit was not reasonably incidental to his work as a traveling employee. The Court affirmed the Court of Appeals and reversed and rendered the Rankin County Circuit Court judgment.

Holdings

1. Shores's death was not caused by a willful act directed against him because of his employment. His employment merely furnished an opportunity for him to be present in the area and was not a contributing cause of the assault and killing.
2. The Commission improperly expanded Mississippi workers' compensation law by treating Shores's death as compensable based merely on his status as a traveling employee and the general risk of assault near a truck stop.
3. Appellate courts may reverse a Commission decision when it rests on an erroneous application of law, even though factual findings receive deferential substantial-evidence review.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Phillip Shores's death from a third-party intentional act was directed against him because of his employment under Mississippi Code section 71-3-3(b).
2. Whether Shores's extended stay at a bar, alcohol consumption, and conduct before the killing constituted a personal deviation such that his death did not arise out of and in the course of employment.
3. Whether the Workers' Compensation Commission improperly applied Mississippi workers' compensation law in finding the death compensable.

Disposition

other