Attenta, Inc. v. Lula Calhoun

Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama

Marengo County | 97 So. 3d 140 | May 18, 2012


Court Rules Outrage Claim must be Joined with Original Wrongful Death Action

The case arose from a workplace accident in which Lula Calhoun’s husband was fatally injured while employed by Linden Lumber Company, Inc. Following his death, Calhoun filed a lawsuit seeking worker's compensation death benefits.

In another proceeding, Calhoun filed a tort-of-outrage claim against Attenta, Inc., the third-party administrator of the worker's compensation program for Linden Lumber. A jury awarded Calhoun damages based on this claim. Attenta appealed, arguing that the court that heard the tort-of-outrage claim lacked jurisdiction, because the same issue was central to the dispute in the original lawsuit where Calhoun sought worker's compensation benefits.

The Alabama Supreme Court agreed with Attenta, vacated the judgment and dismissed the case, holding that the original court which took cognizance of the case had exclusive jurisdiction to determine the dispute to its conclusion.

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