Andrea Blackwell and Frederick Blackwell, Co-Conservators for the Estate and Person of Robert Blackwell v. Comanche Construction, Inc. and Comanche Construction of Georgia, Inc.
This interlocutory appeal arose from a lawsuit filed by Andrea and Frederick Blackwell, co-conservators for Robert Blackwell, against Comanche Construction, Inc. after Robert sustained debilitating injuries on a job site. Comanche, a subcontractor, argued it was a statutory employer of Blackwell and thus immune from tort liability under the Tennessee Workers' Compensation Act. The trial court denied Comanche's summary judgment motion, finding it was not a statutory employer. The Court of Appeals dismissed the interlocutory appeal, concluding that the threshold issue of whether Ford Construction Company, Blackwell's direct employer, was a subcontractor of Comanche was not addressed by the lower court and was outside the scope of the certified appellate question, thus precluding a decision on the statutory employer issue. The case was therefore remanded for further proceedings consistent with the opinion.