An employee is deemed to "knowingly" accept benefits when he "has full knowledge of his options." Bradshaw, 922 S.W.2d at 505; True v. Amerail Corp., 584 S.W.2d 794, 794 (Tenn. 1979); see also Hale v. Commercial Union Assurance Cos., 637 S.W.2d 865, 869-70 (Tenn. 1982) (To hold that an employee "who received voluntarily-paid benefits did not make a binding election . . .[i]t is sufficient . . . if benefits were received and accepted by the employee without knowledge on his part that he could have made a claim in Tennessee, or without the degree of knowledge which is required in order for a binding election to be made."). As another Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel recently clarified, however, the election of remedies doctrine does not preclude recovery if the employee actively pursued a claim in a venue that does not have jurisdiction.
Their sole contention is that suit in Tennessee was barred by Gray's election to pursue his remedy for work-related injuries in Texas and, therefore, that they were entitled to a summary judgment, or to judgment at trial, on this basis. They rely for authority on Tidwell v. Chattanooga Boiler Tank Co., 163 Tenn. 420, 43 S.W.2d 221 (1931); Thomas v. Transport Insurance Co., 532 S.W.2d 263 (Tenn. 1976); True v. Amerail Corp., 584 S.W.2d 794 (Tenn. 1979); and Hale v. Commercial Union Assurance Cos., 637 S.W.2d 865 (Tenn. 1982). In response, the employee acknowledges the controlling nature of this body of authority but insists that, on these facts, there was no binding election.
Although the district court was not ultimately persuaded, Collierville cited several Tennessee cases to support its position, including a Tennessee Supreme Court case decided after Adams that acknowledges the possibility that a motion to dismiss, combined with an answer, may be deemed a responsive pleading. See Hale v. Commercial Union of Assurance Cos., 637 S.W.2d 865, 866 (Tenn. 1982) ("Defendant's responsive pleading was a combined motion to dismiss and answer.") This case, and others cited by Collierville, have construed a motion to dismiss, under certain circumstances, as a responsive pleading.
755 S.W.2d at 458. Finally, in Hale v. Commercial Union AssuranceCos., 637 S.W.2d 865 (Tenn. 1982), this Court opined that bad faith is akin to fraud or wrongfulness. Id. at 869.
Perkins v.BE K, Inc., 802 S.W.2d 215, 217 (Tenn. 1990). Here, Defendants made the decision to proceed under Virginia law; Plaintiff, without being given an opportunity to make a knowledgeable and informed choice, merely accepted the benefits which were tendered. Cf. Hale v. Commercial Union Assur. Cos., 637 S.W.2d 865, 867 (Tenn. 1982) (discussing the necessity for a knowing, informed choice). The record fails to demonstrate that Plaintiff participated in the claim procedure beyond simply signing two documents.
Since the employment contract was not made in Tennessee, the entire period of employment was outside Tennessee, and the injury occurred outside Tennessee, the employee is not entitled to worker's compensation benefits under Tennessee law. Furthermore, the employee made an election to receive benefits under Virginia law and, therefore, is precluded from claiming benefits under Tennessee law. He asserted in his affidavit that he "never intended to be bound by or accept the law of the state of Virginia concerning any benefits to which [he] was entitled," and now relies upon Hale v. Commercial Union Assurance Companies, 637 S.W.2d 865 (Tenn. 1982), in which the Court found that the employee had not made an election under Arkansas law. The employee in Hale had worked for the employer in Memphis for several years when she was transferred temporarily to the employer's store in Arkansas, where the injury occurred.
In the workers' compensation context, bad faith has been likened to "fraud or wrongfulness." Coleman, 2005 WL 3147658, at *5 (citing Hale v. Commercial Union Assurance Cos., 637 S.W.2d 865, 869 (Tenn.1982)). The employer in Coleman denied Mr. Coleman's claim for workers' compensation, and one issue in the case was whether the denial was made in bad faith.