## Facts

- Marju Enterprises, Inc. operated an Austin discotheque, “The Green House,” and carried workers’ compensation insurance through Casualty Reciprocal Exchange.
- Paul C. Stone, Jr. was a corporate officer of Marju and received a salary as an officer.
- In October 1978, the club’s night-manager position became vacant, and Stone assumed night-manager responsibilities.
- Stone’s substituted managerial duties included hiring and firing workers, scheduling shifts, and overseeing operations during business hours.
- On December 26, 1978, Stone was fatally shot while working at the club.
- Stone’s estate and beneficiaries sought workers’ compensation death benefits from the insurer.
- The insurer denied liability, arguing Stone’s corporate-officer status excluded him from coverage under the policy.
- A jury found (1) Stone was employed in two capacities and (2) he was performing substitute manager duties when shot.

## Issues

1. Whether a corporate officer is categorically excluded from workers’ compensation coverage under the employer’s policy when the officer is also employed in a separate, covered capacity.
2. Whether coverage turns on the capacity in which the worker was acting at the time of injury, as found by the jury.

## Decision

- The Texas Supreme Court reversed the court of civil appeals and affirmed the trial court’s judgment awarding death benefits.
- The Court held Stone’s officer status did not bar recovery because the evidence supported the jury’s findings that he worked in two capacities and was acting as substitute night manager when killed.
- The Court treated the worker’s role at the time of injury as controlling and declined to override supported jury findings.

## Legal Principles

- A person may serve both as a corporate officer and as an employee in a distinct role; officer status alone does not negate employee coverage for separate covered duties.
- Workers’ compensation coverage may depend on the capacity in which the individual was acting at the time of injury, not merely on title.
- Appellate courts should respect jury determinations on dual-capacity employment and scope of duties when supported by legally sufficient evidence.

## Conclusion

The court reinstated workers’ compensation death benefits because the decedent’s corporate-officer title did not preclude coverage where the factfinder reasonably concluded he also held a separate covered job and was injured while performing that covered work.


Harris v. Casualty Reciprocal Exch., 632 S.W.2d 714 (Tex. 1982)