57 Ga. App. 242 | Ga. Ct. App. | 1938
This case came to this court on exceptions complaining of the ruling of the superior court in vacating an award made by the industrial commission in favor of the plaintiff. The sole question presented is whether under the undisputed testimony of the plaintiff he was an employee or an independent contractor. The plaintiff testified as follows: “I got just the job for the brick work. I did the brick by the thousands. I went and came when I got ready. I worked when I got ready. I did not have any particular hours for working. Mr. Taylor, the president of the
The industrial commission in making an award to the plaintiff cited the cases of Joiner v. Sinclair Refining Co., 48 Ga. App. 365 (172 S. E. 754), Swift & Co. v. Alston, 48 Ga. App. 649 (173 S. E. 741), and Cleveland-Oconee Lumber Co. v. Anderson, 50 Ga. App. 613 (178 S. E. 753), as sustaining the award. We are unable to agree to this view. In the case of Joiner v. Sinclair Refining Co., the written contract between the plaintiff and the defendant established the relation of master and servant, the contract by its terms giving to the defendant the power to control the manner, means, and methods of performing the contract. In Swift & Co. v. Alston, the court based its decision not upon whether the employer did actually control the manner, means, and time of doing work, but whether the employer had the right to control the manner, means, and time of doing the work. The court in that case went further, and said that from the very nature of the employment (unloading cars of coal) it was to be presumed that the employer had the right to so control the work. In Cleveland-Oconee Lumber Co. v. Anderson there was a conflict in the evidence as to the con
Judgment affirmed.