Landmark Supreme Court Victory for Bourne Law
Published: 5/1/2021 | Written by Elliot Bourne (Partner)
Robert Bourne argued the case of Frett v. State Farm at the Georgia Supreme court. For nearly 85 years, injuries that happen during a scheduled lunch break were not covered by workers' compensation.
Historic Supreme Court Victory
Bourne Law Firm overturned 85 years of Georgia case law that denied workers’ comp benefits for lunch break injuries:
- Frett v. State Farm - Argued by Robert Bourne at Georgia Supreme Court
- 85-year-old rule abolished: Since 1935, “scheduled break” injuries were denied
- Victory for all Georgia workers: Benefits now available for scheduled break injuries
- 3+ years of appeals: Fought through Appellate Courts to Supreme Court
- Court called it “poorly reasoned”: Even for its time, Farr (1935) mixed up legal test
- Return to original intent: Restored true meaning of “arising out of employment”
We are pleased to announce a victory—not only for our client—but for injured workers across the state of Georgia. Bourne law firm appealed this case all the way to the supreme court, arguing that the case law arbitraily denied workers compensation benefits to people who suffered injuries on a scheduled lunch break. The Supreme Court agreed with our argument and the “scheduled break” rule has been abolished.
The history of the “scheduled break” rule long and often confusing. In 1935, the Georgia Supreme Court decided that “scheduled breaks” for lunch are not covered under Georgia Workers Compensation law. In the Farr case (1935), the employee was denied benefits when he fell down the stairs while on a lunch break. The Court reasoned that he was outside of the employers control on an individual pursuit. Although thousands of workers have been denied compensation because they were on a scheduled lunch break, we believed that the Farr case was poorly reasoned. It ignored the statutory definition of a work accident as one “arising out of and in the course of employment”. We fought this case through the Appellate Courts to the Georgia Supreme Court, in a process that took over 3 years.
The Supreme Court agreed with us that the Farr decision was poorly reasoned. Particularly they agreed that the 1935 case mixed up the “two prong test” for arising out of and in the course of employment. The Court rightly characterised the Farr case as “poorly reasoned” — even for its time — and overturned the 85-year-old case law.
Needless to say, the decision in Frett v State Farm marks a long-awaited return to the original intent of Georgia’s Workers Compensation Act. It is hard to imagine how many injured Georgian’s had been denied compensation under the former “scheduled break defense.” This decision has had a lasting impact on workers’ compensation law in Georgia, as seen in recent applications of the Frett decision. Our firm continues to achieve victories for injured workers, including another appellate victory for injured workers at the Georgia Court of Appeals.