Huie Secures Dismissal of All Claims in Personal Injury Case

Huie attorney Bart Cannon recently secured the dismissal of all claims asserted against Huie clients in a personal injury case pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. The Plaintiff alleged he was severely and permanently injured after falling from an elevated platform on which he was working at a facility owned by one of the Defendants, a building materials company.

The Plaintiff initially filed suit in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Alabama arguing the Defendants breached a duty to provide him with a safe workplace. After removing the case to Federal Court, Huie attorneys immediately filed Motions to Dismiss arguing the Plaintiff’s claims failed as a matter of law based on the exclusivity provision of Alabama’s Workers’ Compensation Act under a general versus special employer analysis from Terry v. Read Steel Products, 430 So.2d 862 (Ala. 1983) and its progeny. The Plaintiff filed a Motion to Remand arguing the Defendants failed to carry their burden regarding the amount in controversy requirement for federal jurisdiction over the case. The Court rejected the Plaintiff’s argument, specifically found the Defendants proved the amount in controversy requirement was facially apparent from the Complaint and retained jurisdiction over the case. The Court then adopted the Defendants’ argument that the Plaintiff’s claims failed as a matter of law and granted the Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss fully disposing of all claims and further taxing the costs of the litigation to the Plaintiff.