Pacific Employers Insurance v. Department of Industrial Relations

This is a proceeding by the petitioner to review an order of the Industrial Accident Commission, which, under the present law dividing the functions of the state government into various departments, is a part of the Department of Industrial Relations. Petitioner is the insurance carrier of Delsie L. Isley, and an award was made against it on account of injuries sustained by one Ralph R. Powell while engaged in wrecking a barn and while in the employ of said Delsie L. Isley. [1] From the evidence before the Commission, it appears that the said Delsie L. Isley was the owner of two trucks, and was engaged in the general trucking and hauling business *Page 579 under the name of "Isley Transfer." This business seems to have been entirely conducted and managed by her husband, Everett Isley, and the business is usually referred to in the record as his business; in fact, the evidence shows but little connection of Delsie L. Isley with the business, except that she was the owner of the trucks used therein, but as petitioner concedes that the evidence is sufficient to show that Powell was in her employ, no discussion of it from this standpoint is necessary. The scope of the business, as…

The respondent Department of Industrial Relations has filed a petition for a rehearing in which several contentions are stated at some length. Most of the points so made were at least suggested in the brief originally submitted to us and were considered by us before the decision was made, although some of them are not discussed in the opinion. A large part of this petition seems to be based on a misunderstanding of the language of our opinion, which has apparently led counsel to believe that we held the particular work in which Powell was engaged when he was hurt to be the personal business of Everett Isley. Following the example of the witnesses, we referred to the various acts of Everett Isley as being his acts, without specifically stating that they were done by him for Delsie L. Isley, but we fully understood that all of these acts were done by him as her agent, except in the single ease of the previous wrecking job to which he testified. We considered the case in the same aspect, except as to that one job, as if all the acts referred to had been done by Delsie L. Isley in person.

As to the casual nature of Powell’s employment, respondent complains that the opinion fails to…

This is a proceeding by the petitioner to review an order of the Industrial Accident Commission, which, under the present law dividing the functions of the state government into various departments, is a part of the Department of Industrial Relations. Petitioner is the insurance carrier of Delsie L. Isley, and an award was made against it on account of injuries sustained by one Ralph R. Powell while engaged in wrecking a barn and while in the employ of said Delsie L. Isley.

From the evidence before the Commission, it appears that the said Delsie L. Isley was the owner of two trucks, and was engaged in the general trucking and hauling busi *579 ness under the name of “Isley Transfer.” This business seems to have been entirely conducted and managed by her husband, Everett Isley, and the business is usually referred to in the record as his business; in fact, the evidence shows but little connection of Delsie L. Isley with the business, except that she was the owner of the trucks used therein, but as petitioner concedes that the evidence is sufficient to show that Powell was in her employ, no discussion of it from this standpoint is necessary. The scope of the business, as stated by…