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Sauve v. Winfree8/20/1999
[No. 5160 - August 20, 1999]
Appeal from the Superior Court of the State of Alaska, Third Judicial District, Anchorage, Karen L. Hunt, Judge.
I. INTRODUCTION
After falling down a stairway at her place of employment, Nanette Sauve sued the premises owners, Dennis Winfree and Bill Nix, who were also the officers and sole shareholders of Sauve's corporate employer. The superior court granted summary judgment to Winfree and Nix after concluding that their landlord duties were inextricably intertwined with their corporate duties and, thus, that they were immune as co-employees under the Workers' Compensation Act. Because Sauve raised a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Winfree and Nix's negligence as landlords caused her injury, we reverse the superior court's grant of summary judgment and remand for trial.
II. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS
In 1989 Nanette Sauve began working as a retail clerk for Alaska Seapac, Inc., d/b/a 10th & M Seafoods (10th & M), in a two-story office building in Anchorage. On August 17, 1992, Sauve fell down a flight of stairs in the office building while working. She had undergone knee surgery twelve days before the accident as a result of a non-work-related incident earlier that year, and the fall aggravated her knee injury. 10th & M paid Sauve both medical benefits and workers' compensation benefits for a period of missed work due to disability after she fell.
Dennis Winfree and Bill Nix are the sole shareholders, board members, and officers of 10th & M. Like Sauve, both Winfree and Nix are salaried, full-time employees of 10th & M. Sauve reported to Winfree and Nix, each of whom described himself as her supervisor.
Winfree and Nix also own the building housing 10th & M and lease it in its entirety to 10th & M through a partnership they created called ANW Investments. According to ANW's accountant, Russell Minkemann, ANW intended the lease to be a "triple net" lease -- that is, a lease requiring the lessee, 10th & M, to pay all insurance, taxes, and costs of maintenance and repair for the leased premises. According to Minkemann, ANW's sole income came from the rent paid by 10th & M for the building. ANW's partnership tax returns through 1989 list the building at 10th & M as the partnership's address.
Minkemann also stated in his affidavit that, according to 10th & M's corporate tax returns, 10th & M has paid for all maintenance, repair, and improvements to the building during the course of the lease. Such repairs include work on the freezers, replacement of portions of ceilings and walls, and installment of non-skid material on the floors. Minkemann stated that all significant leasehold improvements to the building have been capitalized as assets of 10th & M and have been reflected in the depreciation schedules filed with the corporation's tax returns.
Rick Dawson, an Anchorage building contractor, stated in an affidavit that the stairway in question is a winding stairway prohibited in retail establishments under the Uniform Building Code. Dawson stated that the staircase also exceeds the maximum rise allowed under the Code and that the width of portions of the tapered and fan-shaped treads on the stairs is too narrow.
In August 1993 Sauve sued Winfree and Nix in their capacity as owners of the building, claiming that, as landlords, they were liable for her injuries on the stairs. Superior Court Judge Milton M. Souter granted summary judgment to Winfree and Nix on the ground that, because they were also Sauve's co-employees at 10th & M, they were immune from liability under the exclusive re
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