Beatrice Tindall v. Denholm and Mckay

The arrangements between the proprietor of a large city department store, an insured under the Workmen's Compensation Act,
G. L. c. 152, and an insured independent contractor operating a millinery department at several locations in the store showed
as a matter of law that the millinery department was part of the business or "work" of the proprietor within § 18
of the act, so that the doctrine of "common employment" barred an action of tort against the proprietor under §
15 for personal injuries sustained in the store by an employee of the independent contractor through negligence of an employee
of the proprietor. This action of tort was brought in the name of the plaintiff, an employee of Allied Millinery Company, Inc. (Allied), by
Allied's insurer, under G. L. c. 152, § 15, 1 to recover for injuries sustained by her on June 21, 1958, when
she stepped from a "passenger freight elevator" on the defendant's premises. The operator of the elevator, an employee of
the defendant, was admittedly negligent. 2 The plaintiff received compensation from Allied's insurer. The defendant also
was insured under the act. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff. The defendant, having waived all other exceptions,
now relies solely upon its exception to the denial of its motion for a directed verdict. The motion was based on the ground
that the work done by the plaintiff's employer was part of and process in the business carried on by the defendant. G. L.
c. 152, § 18.