Smith v. The BDK Grp. Shallotte, LLC

Summary

The North Carolina Court of Appeals reviews the denial of defendants’ motions to dismiss negligence-related claims arising from an employee’s stroke at work. The majority holds that the Workers’ Compensation Act provides exclusive jurisdiction in the Industrial Commission because the pleadings showed an employer-employee relationship, coverage under the Act, an injury arising out of and in the course of employment, and no applicable exception. The court reverses and remands for dismissal, while Judge Flood dissents.

Holdings

1. The Industrial Commission has exclusive jurisdiction when the pleadings reveal an employer-employee relationship, the parties are subject to the Workers' Compensation Act, the injury arose out of and in the course of employment, and no recognized exception to the Act's exclusivity provision applies.
2. The superior court erred by denying defendants' Rule 12(b)(1) and Rule 12(b)(6) motions insofar as they were based on the Workers' Compensation Act's exclusivity provision and the Industrial Commission's exclusive jurisdiction.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the superior court had subject matter jurisdiction over plaintiff's negligence-based claims in light of the Workers' Compensation Act's exclusivity provision.
2. Whether the Act vested exclusive jurisdiction in the Industrial Commission where the pleadings showed an employer-employee relationship, the parties were subject to the Act, the injury arose out of and in the course of employment, and no recognized exception to exclusivity applied.
3. Whether the superior court erred by denying defendants' Rule 12(b)(1) and Rule 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded