Andrew Lechuga
v.
Heartland Co-Op, Mid-States Millwright & Builders, Inc., Mid-States Material Handling & Fabrication, Inc., O & J Enterprises, LLC, Manzano Grain Bin Services, LLC and Garcia Grain Structure, LLC
Appellant
Andrew Lechuga
Appellee
Heartland Co-Op, Mid-States Millwright & Builders, Inc., Mid-States Material Handling & Fabrication, Inc., O & J Enterprises, LLC, Manzano Grain Bin Services, LLC and Garcia Grain Structure, LLC
Attorney for the Appellant
Randall J. Shanks
Attorney for the Appellee
Joseph E. Jones and Elizabeth A. Culhane
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Fremont County, Mark J. Eveloff, Judge. AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED. Heard by Doyle, P.J., and Mullins and Bower, JJ. Opinion by Bower, J. (15 pages)
In an interlocutory appeal, Andres Lechuga challenges the district court decision granting summary judgment to O & J Enterprises, LLC (O & J) in his tort action. OPINION HOLDS: We find there are genuine issues of material fact on the questions of whether O & J had a subcontractor agreement with Garcia Grain Structures, LLC (Garcia Grain), or whether Ezekiel Garcia was O & J’s employee and whether O & J and Garcia or Garcia Grain had a principal-agent relationship. On these issues we reverse the district court’s decision granting summary judgment to O & J and remand for further proceedings. We find the district court properly granted summary judgment to O & J on the issue of whether O & J was in a joint venture with Mid-States Millwright & Builders, Inc. and Garcia or Garcia Grain, and we affirm on this issue.
