This appeal by the insurance carrier and the
employer, separately, involves a double indemnity award against the employer as well as an award for ordinary compensation payable by the carrier. A further complication arises out of the fact that there was a third party action brought by the father of the deceased, as administrator, against 231 Lexington Avenue Corporation (hereinafter termed the corporation) and a painter named Nelson. Such action was brought in the Federal court and was settled out of court by the corporation through its insurance company (the present insurance carrier) paying $5,000 and Nelson paying $750. The surrogate of New York county approved the compromise and a general release was executed by the father as administrator. Prior to bringing this action two notices of injury had been filed on behalf of dependents of the deceased for compensation and three notices of election to sue had been filed with the State Industrial Board, and the corporation through its president had signed two reports of the accident naming itself as employer in each and in one of them admitting that the deceased’s occupation was elevator operator and that she was injured in her regular work. In one of the first notices of injury the corporation was. named as employer and in the other a man named Hopkins (the
We conclude that there was evidence to sustain the finding of the Board that the deceased was an employee of the corporation. The third party action created no estoppel against such a finding. Those receiving the awards had no control over the action. If there was any estoppel it ran against the corporation and its insurance carrier who participated in the settlement with knowledge of the notices which had been filed and of the report of the president of the corporation admitting injury in the course of the employment of the deceased. (Clow v. Keith’s Fordham Theatre, 247 N. Y. 583; Beekman v. Brodie, Inc., 249 id. 175; Adleman v. Armstrong Publishing Co., 222 App. Div. 705.) The right to deficiency compensation was not cut off and the settlement remained unaffected, (O’Brien v. Lodi, 246 N. Y. 46.)
There is evidence to sustain the finding of illegal employment of
The awards should be reversed, with costs against the State Industrial Board to abide the event, and claim remitted, with directions to modify the awards in accordance with this opinion.
All concur; McNamee, J., not voting.
Awards reversed, with costs against the State Industrial Board to abide the event, and claim remitted, with directions to mpdify awards in accordance with opinion.
