Independent Contractor Status

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WI Court of Appeals – District II

Case Name: Maranda A. LaFrombois, et al. v. Mark Reisen

Case No.: 2017AP74

Officials: Reilly, P.J., Gundrum and Hagedorn, JJ.

Focus: Independent Contractor Status

Maranda A. Lafrombois appeals from an order granting summary judgment to Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

Based upon the foregoing, the circuit court concluded that Reisen was acting as an independent contractor at the time of the accident. Lafrombois contends that this conclusion was erroneous, as other facts suggest that Reisen was acting as a servant instead. Lafrombois points to various obligations in the contract that affected Reisen’s work.  She also notes that Reisen was accountable for his performance, as Gannett would contact him regarding delivery errors/missed deadlines and could deduct his pay or terminate him. We are not persuaded by Lafrombois’ arguments. To begin, limited control over certain aspects of a job does not rewrite an independent contractor relationship. Moreover, the ability to hold an independent contractor accountable for a job is unremarkable and does not create a master-servant relationship.

In the end, on this record, we are satisfied that Reisen retained and exercised the right to control all significant details of the work of delivering newspapers. Accordingly, we conclude that he was an independent contractor at the time of the accident and that the circuit court properly granted summary judgment in Gannett’s favor.

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.