Court affirms summary judgement based on a statutory employee defense

Kayden v Ford Motor Co.
WD 870165 (9/19/2017)


Clamant fell on a parking lot at Ford's assembly plant in Claycomo, Missouri in 2010.  She was employed by U.S. Security Associates, which h was in a contract with Allied Automotive to provide security for Ford.  She claims that she fell because of a mud-like substance and that Ford created a dangerous condition when it attempted to patch a large pothole in the parking lot. 

Ford obtained a summary judgment that  Kayden was Ford's statutory employee and her exclusive remedy was through worker's compensation. 

The test for statutory employment considers four elements:  1) are activities routinely done, 2) on a regular and a frequent schedule 3) contemplated in the agreement to be repeated over a relatively short span of time and 4) the performance of which would require the statutory employer to hire permanent employees absent the agreement

The only legal question was whether the work was performed in the usual course of Ford's business.  The claimant worked 30 hours per week in the capacity to perform security, the security was routinely provided and that Ford would have hired to use its own employees if the private security business did not perform the same services

The court found these facts satisfied a finding to support the statutory employment defense.  The court noted the appellant did not "address in a substantive manner" what facts did not qualify her as a statutory employee and relied upon general principles of negligence instead of addressing the primary legal issue in the case.

Atty  Beny, Reinhold