TOMMY PATRICK v. DEREK MULVANEY d/b/a MULVANEY CONSTRUCTION, LLC, JERRY DIERKER CONSTRUCTION, and CITY OF MONETT, SD36956

In 2015 the City of Monett elected to manage renovation of City Hall itself after bids were higher than expected; City Council member Jerry Dierker (a contractor) coordinated the project.
Dierker engaged subcontractors, including Derek Mulvaney d/b/a Mulvaney Construction, LLC; Mulvaney hired Tommy Patrick as an hourly employee who performed roofing, framing, metalwork and other tasks.
Mulvaney sometimes provided transport and tools; Patrick was paid by Mulvaney and had a regular, continuous employment relationship for about a year.
On March 17, 2016 Patrick suffered a severe hand injury while hanging sheetrock at City Hall; Mulvaney told Patrick he lacked workers’ compensation insurance.
An ALJ found Patrick was an employee of Mulvaney (not an independent contractor) and that the City acted as the general contractor/part of its usual business, making the City Patrick’s statutory employer under §287.040 and secondarily liable.
The City appealed, arguing (1) the work was not an operation of the City’s usual business under §287.040.1 and (2) the owner-of-premises exception and Patrick’s status as an independent contractor preclude statutory-employer liability; the court affirmed the Commission’s award.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the City was Patrick’s statutory employer because the work was an operation of the City’s usual business under §287.040.1	Patrick: City managed the project as general contractor; remodeling was part of City’s usual business, so City is statutory employer	City: The work was not an operation of its usual business; City was merely property owner/coordinator	Court: Affirmed. Commission had competent evidence and credibility findings that City acted as general contractor and was statutorily liable.
Whether §287.040.1 does not apply because City was merely owner of premises and Patrick was an independent contractor	Patrick: Patrick was an employee of Mulvaney; City acted as general contractor, so statutory-employer rule applies	City: Owner-of-premises exception applies and Patrick was an independent contractor	Court: Rejected. ALJ/Commission found Patrick an employee and City acted as general contractor; City’s appeal also failed for not following required Nichols analytical sequence.

Treasurer of the State of Missouri v. Parker, 622 S.W.3d 178 (Mo. banc 2021) (standard of review for Commission awards)
Annayeva v. SAB of TSD of City of St. Louis, 597 S.W.3d 196 (Mo. banc 2020) (deference to Commission credibility and weight determinations)
Nichols v. Belleview R-III School District, 528 S.W.3d 918 (Mo. App. S.D. 2017) (three-step analytical formula for challenging Commission factual findings)
Houston v. Crider, 317 S.W.3d 178 (Mo. App. S.D. 2010) (source of analytical framework applied in Nichols)
Ziade v. Quality Bus. Solutions, Inc., 618 S.W.3d 537 (Mo. App. W.D. 2021) (failure to follow required analytical sequence is fatal)
Doe Run Co. v. Fenwick, 599 S.W.3d 906 (Mo. App. S.D. 2020) (arguments lacking required analysis lack persuasive value)
Maryville R-II School District v. Payton, 516 S.W.3d 874 (Mo. App. W.D. 2017) (treat ALJ findings as part of the Commission award)