Clearest Expression of the New Co-Employee Rule For Cases from 2005-2012 in Missouri: Fowler v. Phillips
Friday, August 26, 2016

Trial court reversed and remanded for further proceedings consistent with the recent 2016 Missouri Supreme Court decisions Peters v. Wady Indus.,Inc. and Parr v. Breeden.

Court Summary:

The court holds that, if the plaintiff alleges that a co-employee violated workplace safety rules, the co-employee can be liable for negligence.  That's a pretty easy claim to plead. John Fowler and Mary Fowler (collectively, Appellants) appeal from the judgment of the trial court granting summary judgment in favor of Amy Phillips (Phillips) in Appellants’ personal injury case, in which they asserted injuries stemming from Phillips’ negligence and reckless conduct as a co-employee.

REVERSED AND REMANDED.

Division Three Holds:

The trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of Phillips, because Phillips owed Fowler an independent duty of care, separate from their employer’s nondelegable duty to provide a safe workplace. See Peters v. Wady Indus., Inc., --- S.W.3d ---, 2016 WL 3180586 (Mo. banc June 7, 2016); Parr v. Breeden, --- S.W.3d ---, 2016 WL 3180249 (Mo. banc June 7, 2016).

8/23/2016

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