Gregorio P. Fejeran v. Fred P. Diego, Arthur Hilbrands and Myrtle E. Hilbrands v. Far East Trading Company, Inc.

These two appeals were consolidated, since the facts and legal issues in both are essentially the same.

Gregorio Pejeran, the plaintiff in No. 26.090, and Myrtle E. Hilbrands who, with her husband, was a plaintiff in No. 26.091, sustained personal injuries during the course of their employment but due to the alleged negligence of persons other than their employers. Each duly commenced a civil suit seeking damages from Fred P. Diego and Far East Trading Company, Inc., respectively, the alleged tort feasors. However, prior to trial the defendants, relying upon Section 37033, Government Code of Guam, moved to dismiss the several damage actions on the ground that the plaintiffs had elected to take workmen’s compensation and were no longer entitled to prosecute the said suits. Defendants, asserting that plaintiffs, after commencing their suits, had accepted compensation payments from their employers, argued, in substance, that the acceptance of these payments constituted an election under the above code section to take workmen’s compensation as provided by the Guamanian law, and operated to assign their causes of action for damages to their employers. The District court, concluding…