S-18-0419 Juan Martinez v. CMR Construction and Roofing of Texas LLC and Its Insurer Argonaut Ins. Co., (Appellant) v. Rene Menjivar and Texas Mutual Ins.Co. (Appellee)
Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court, Judge Daniel R. Fridrich
Attorneys: James R. Walz (Walz Law Offices) (Appellee) – Benjamin E. Maxell (Govier, Katskee, Suing & Maxell) (Appellant) – Jason W. Grams & Stacy L. Morris (Lamson, Dugan & Murray LLP) (Appellee)
Civil: Workers’ Compensation
Proceedings Below: Appellee, Juan Martinez, brought a workers' compensation action against Appellant to recover for damages he sustained in a fall from a two story roof he was working on in Omaha, Nebraska. Appellant brought a third party claim against a workers compensation insurance provider, Appellee, Texas Mutual. Texas Mutual filed a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction which the trial court granted. The trial court later entered an award in favor of Martinez and against Appellant. Appellant appeals both Texas Mutual’s dismissal and Martinez’s award.
Issues: CMR’s case mainly focuses on the actions or lack thereof that result in a finding of statutory employer status under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-116. An additional issue raised is whether out-of-state insurance companies, who broadly agree to insure parties operating in other unidentified states are subject to the personal jurisdiction of any state the insured travels.