Dunkling v. Lawrence Brunoli, Inc.

Excerpt

The defendants B Co. and its insurer appealed to this court from the decision of the Compensation Review Board affirming the decision of the Work- ers' Compensation Commissioner, which determined that B Co., a gen- eral contractor, was the principal employer of the plaintiff D, when he suffered a compensable injury while working for an uninsured subcon- tractor, M Co. B Co. had contracted with the state on a construction project, and B Co. then subcontracted work to M Co. and C Co. D was an employee of C Co. and worked on the construction project installing siding and gutters until he was laid off in November, 2014. B Co. war- ranted all the work performed against failures of workmanship and materials for one year after it left the worksite in September, 2014. In November, 2014, the state contacted B Co. about repairing a leaking gutter. Thereafter, B Co. contacted M Co. and indicated that it was refusing final payment until the repairs were made. Subsequently, the president of M Co., R, hired D directly to repair the leaking gutter. On December 4, 2014, D and R traveled to the worksite to make the repairs, during which D fell from a ladder and sustained injuries. After a formal hearing, the commissioner found, inter alia, that D was an employee of M Co. and sustained a compensable injury, and ordered M Co. to accept compensability for D's injuries. Thereafter, the commissioner made a subsequent finding that B Co. was a principal employer pursuant to statute (§ 31-291) and, thus, also was liable for compensation benefits due to D, on the basis that B Co. initially subcontracted with M. Co. and that D's injuries were sustained as the result of B Co.'s direct communication and directive to M Co. to repair the gutters. On appeal, the board, inter alia, affirmed the commissioner's decision, finding that more than one entity may be deemed a claimant's principal employer. On the defendants' appeal to this court, held: 1. The defendants could not prevail on their claim tha