Nature of the Case
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Facts
On 1 December 1982, Shane Tucker (P), then aged eight, slipped on a sidewalk on D's property and fell, cutting his hand. Shane (P) was with his mother Sylvia (P) as she was going to her job as a cashier at a store owned by D. Ken Schneiderman was employed as the manager of D's store. Ken had the authority to hire and fire employees as he deemed necessary to assist him in the operation of the business, and all wages paid to any of the employees that he hired were deducted from the commission that he received from D. Shane (P) ordinarily did his homework, ate a snack, and performed odd jobs about the station. Ken employed Shane (P) and paid him varying amounts to perform duties at the store. Shane (P) put up cigarettes, picked up trash, stocked bottles in the cooler, and other odd jobs from time to time while Sylvia (P) worked as a cashier for the store. He had been doing these jobs for almost a month at the time of the accident. The jobs generally took him between half an hour and one hour to complete. Ken would pay him a dollar, occasionally more depending on the amount of work he had done. Shane (P) clearly expected to be paid for his efforts. On the day of the accident, he had nearly finished his tasks and was on his way to ask Ken if there was anything else Ken wanted him to do when he slipped and fell. He said at one point that he believed that Ken did later give him his dollar. Sylvia (P) corroborated Shane's (P) account. Ps sued D for negligence. Ds moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, claiming that Shane (P) was an employee of D and subject to the Workers’ Compensation Act and was therefore limited to filing a claim for workers’ compensation. 'By statute, the Superior Court is divested of original jurisdiction of all actions which come within the provisions of the Workmen's Compensation Act.' The Act provides that its remedies shall be an employee's only remedies against his or her employer for claims covered by the Act. Remedies available at common law are specifically excluded. The Act specifically includes within its provisions illegally employed minors. The judge concluded that Shane (P) was an employee injured within the course and scope of his employment. The judge dismissed the action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The court of appeals affirmed. Ps appealed.
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