Appeal
from the Superior Court in Mohave County The Honorable
Charles W. Gurtler, Judge No. S8015CV201600092
Ryan
Skiver (argued), The Skiver Law Firm, Scottsdale; James E.
Harris, Harris & Associates P.C., L.L.O., Omaha, NE,
Attorneys for Stephanie Jackson
Phillip H. Stanfield, Daniel O. King, Lori L. Voepel
(argued), Jones, Skelton & Hochuli, P.L.C., Phoenix,
Attorneys for Eagle KMC L.L.C., Rachael Gabriella Hender,
Werner Enterprises, Inc., and Drivers Management, L.L.C.
James F. Mahoney, Emily K. Dotson, Resnick & Louis, P.C,
Scottsdale, Attorneys for Amicus Curiae Arizona Trucking
Association
Stanley G. Feldman, Miller, Pitt, Feldman & McAnally,
P.C, Tucson; David L. Abney (argued) Ahwatukee Legal Office
P.C, Phoenix, Attorneys for Amicus Curiae Arizona Association
for Justice/Arizona Trial Lawyers Association
JUSTICE GOULD authored the opinion of the Court, in which
CHIEF JUSTICE BALES and JUSTICES PELANDER, TIMMER, BOLICK,
and LOPEZ, and JUDGE ECKERSTROM[*] joined.
OPINION
GOULD,
JUSTICE
¶1
We hold that Arizona's automatic assignment provision in
A.R.S. § 23-1023(B) does not apply when an employee
receives workers' compensation benefits under another
state's laws. Rather, the law of the state in which an
employee's workers' compensation is paid determines
the assignment rights of the employer and employee.
I.
¶2
Stephanie Jackson, a South Carolina resident, was employed as
a semi-truck driver for Drivers Management, LLC
("DM"), a Nebraska company. DM contracted with
Eagle KMC, LLC ("Eagle"), an Arizona company, to
provide training for Jackson in Arizona. In February 2014,
Jackson was a passenger in a semi-truck driven by Rachael
Hender, an Eagle employee. Jackson was injured when Hender
rolled the semi-truck while driving in Arizona. She
subsequently applied for and received workers'
compensation in Nebraska. DM, which is self-insured for
workers' compensation, paid Jackson's benefits.
¶3
In February 2016, a few days before Arizona's two-year
statute of limitations expired, see A.R.S. §
12-542(1), Jackson filed this personal injury action against
Eagle, Hender, and Werner Enterprises (the registered owner
of the semi-truck) (collectively "Eagle"), alleging
several claims, including strict liability, negligence, and
"statutory violations." In accordance with Nebraska
law, because DM had a subrogation claim against any
third-party recovery, Jackson named DM as a defendant.
See Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-118 (stating an
"employer having paid or paying compensation to [an]
employee . . . shall be made a party to the suit" for
subrogation purposes).
¶4
Eagle filed a motion to dismiss (later converted into a
motion for summary judgment) arguing that pursuant to §
23-1023(B), Jackson had no legal interest in the action.
Section 23-1023(B) provides, among other things, that if a
person entitled to compensation under Arizona's
workers' compensation laws does not file an action
against a third person who caused the injury within one year
of the action accruing, the action is deemed to be assigned
to the employer or the workers' compensation insurer. The
superior court granted summary judgment in favor of Eagle,
reasoning that § 23-1023(B) applied here, and thus
Jackson had no legal interest in the action.
¶5
The court of appeals reversed. Jackson v. Eagle KMC
LLC, 244 Ariz. 224, 227 ¶ 14 (App. 2018). Relying
on Quiles v. Heflin Steel Supply Co., 145 Ariz. 73,
77 (App. 1985), it held that § 23-1023(B) did
not apply to Jackson's claim because her
"workers' compensation benefits were adjudicated and
paid in Nebraska," and therefore the law of Nebraska
"governs subrogation, lien, and assignment rights in
this action." Jackson, 244 Ariz. at 227 ¶
13.
¶6
We granted review to determine whether the automatic
assignment provision in ยง 23-1023(B) applies to actions
against a third-party tortfeasor when an injured employee
receives workers' compensation benefits under another
state's laws. We have jurisdiction pursuant to ...