Summary
The South Carolina Court of Appeals held that Rufus Revis remained a statutory employer of Danny Pilgrim under the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act because he continued to own and operate the construction business and acted as the general contractor. The court affirmed the workers’ compensation commission’s statutory-employer determination. It reversed the commission’s calculation of Pilgrim’s average weekly wage and remanded for compliance with South Carolina Code section 42-1-40.
Holdings
- Revis remained an owner and operator of Just Garages Plus at the time of Pilgrim's injury and was therefore jointly liable with Eaton as Pilgrim's statutory employer.
- The Commission committed an error of law by calculating Pilgrim's average weekly wage as $18 multiplied by a forty-hour week without applying one of the methods authorized by section 42-1-40 or making the factual findings required for an alternative method.
- The court did not decide which party bears the burden of proof concerning the amount of average weekly wage.
Questions Presented
- Whether Rufus Revis remained a statutory employer of Pilgrim and was jointly liable with Eaton under the Workers' Compensation Act.
- Whether the Workers' Compensation Commission properly calculated Pilgrim's average weekly wage by multiplying his hourly wage by a forty-hour week.
- Whether the burden of proof regarding the amount of average weekly wage was properly before the court.
Disposition
reversed_and_remanded
Cases Cited (14)
- Glass v. Dow Chem. Co., 325 S.C. 198, 482 S.E.2d 49 (1997)(followed)
- Forrest v. A.S. Price Mech., 373 S.C. 303, 644 S.E.2d 784 (Ct. App. 2007)(followed)
- Clade v. Champion Labs., 330 S.C. 8, 496 S.E.2d 856 (1998)(followed)
- Bartley v. Allendale County Sch. Dist., 381 S.C. 262, 672 S.E.2d 809 (Ct. App. 2009)(followed)
- Shealy v. Algernon Blair, Inc., 250 S.C. 106, 156 S.E.2d 646 (1967)(followed)
- Marlow v. E.L. Jones & Son, Inc., 248 S.C. 568, 151 S.E.2d 747 (1966)(discussed)
- Chavis v. Watkins, 256 S.C. 30, 180 S.E.2d 648 (1971)(discussed)
- Shuler v. Tri-County Elec. Co-op., Inc., 385 S.C. 470, 684 S.E.2d 765 (2009)(followed)
- Hill v. Eagle Motor Lines, 373 S.C. 422, 645 S.E.2d 424 (2007)(followed)
- Steele v. Self Serve, Inc., 335 S.C. 323, 516 S.E.2d 674 (Ct. App. 1999)(discussed)
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Cited In (0)
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Court Document
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