Ioerger v. Halverson Construction Company, Inc.

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State: Illinois

Docket No: 105912, 105917 cons. Rel

Case Date: 12/18/2008

Preview:Docket Nos. 105912, 105917 cons.

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS

DANIEL IOERGER et al., Appellees, v. HALVERSON CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC. (Midwest Foundation Corporation, Appellant). Opinion filed December 18, 2008.

JUSTICE KARMEIER delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Chief Justice Fitzgerald and Justices Freeman, Thomas, Garman, and Burke concurred in the judgment and opinion. Justice Kilbride dissented, with opinion.

OPINION The issue in this case is whether the immunity afforded to an employer by the exclusive remedy provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act (the Act) (820 ILCS 305/5(a), 11 (West 2000)) extends to the employer's co-venturer in a joint venture and to the joint venture itself. The circuit court held that it does. The appellate court reversed and remanded. 377 Ill. App. 3d 223. For the reasons that follow, we reverse the appellate court's judgment, affirm the judgment of the circuit court, and remand to the circuit court for further proceedings.

The relevant facts are these. During the summer of 1999, Midwest Foundation Corporation (Midwest) entered into a joint venture (hereinafter, the Joint Venture) with Halverson Construction Company, Inc. (Halverson), in connection with a project undertaken by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to repair the McCluggage Bridge over the Illinois River in Peoria. The terms of this business arrangement were set forth in a written agreement between Midwest and Halverson. The agreement provided that Midwest and Halverson "constitute[d] themselves as joint venturers for the purpose of submitting joint bids *** for the performance of the construction contracts herein before described, and for the further purpose of performing and completing such construction project." If the bids were awarded, they were to be "entered into in the names of the parties as joint venturers." Under the agreement, profits and losses and liabilities resulting from the project were to be shared 60/40, with the larger share going to Midwest. The agreement required Midwest and Halverson to each make periodic contributions of working capital to the Joint Venture in proportion to their respective share of the profits and losses. It also specified how various responsibilities and costs were to be allocated. Pursuant to the agreement, Midwest was responsible for "the performance of all labor for the Joint Venture, including payroll, payroll taxes, fringes and other employee expenses, including, but not limited to, the establishment of worker[s'] compensation insurance and the payments of all premiums therefore." Correspondingly, Midwest was "entitled to reimbursement from the Joint Venture for the costs incurred in performing the foregoing obligations; such reimbursement to be paid at such time or times as the Joint Venture shall determine." IDOT accepted the Joint Venture's bid and the Joint Venture began work on the bridge project. In accordance with the joint venture agreement, Midwest furnished workmen for the project. Throughout the course of the project, Midwest would pay the labor costs, including workers' compensation insurance premiums, then submit statements to the Joint Venture for reimbursement. Among the workers employed by Midwest on the bridge project were ironworkers Daniel Ioerger, Randy McCombs, Robert L. Foulks, Sr., and Ralph Bill. On April 24, 2000, while the four were working -2-

from a platform suspended above the river, the platform collapsed, causing them to plummet into the river below. Ioerger, McCombs and Bill were injured. Foulks was killed. Ioerger, McCombs, Bill and Robert Lamar Foulks, as administrator of the estate of Robert L. Foulks, Sr. (hereinafter referred to collectively as plaintiffs), each applied for and received workers' compensation benefits through Midwest's workers' compensation insurer. It is undisputed that these workers' compensation benefits were plaintiffs' exclusive remedy with respect to Midwest and that sections 5(a) and 11 of the Workers' Compensation Act (820 ILCS 305/5(a), 11 (West 2000)) precluded plaintiffs from bringing a common law action for negligence against Midwest in circuit court. See Meerbrey v. Marshall Field & Co., 139 Ill. 2d 455, 462-63 (1990). In addition to seeking workers' compensation benefits from Midwest, plaintiffs brought a civil action in the circuit court of Peoria County against Halverson, the Joint Venture, and various other defendants to recover damages for injuries they sustained as a result of the accident. Their complaint, as amended, contained more than 40 counts. Counts I through V were directed against Halverson. Counts I, II, and V, brought on behalf of Ioerger, McCombs and Bill, respectively, alleged negligence. In counts III and IV, Robert Lamar Foulks, as administrator of the estate of Robert L. Foulks, Sr., asserted claims under the Wrongful Death Act (see 740 ILCS 180/0.01 et seq. (West 2000)) and the Survival Act (755 ILCS 5/27-6 (West 2000)). Counts XI through XV paralleled courts I through V, but were directed against the Joint Venture rather than Halverson. All the remaining counts involved other defendants and are not relevant to this appeal. Halverson and the Joint Venture filed separate motions for summary judgment pursuant to section 2

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