Howard v. Dallas Morning News, Inc.

The central issue in this case is whether David Mitchell was an employee or an independent contractor of the Dallas Morning News. The threshold determination in such cases is whether Mitchell had the authority to act for the publishing company. See, e.g., McMahan v. Berry, 319 Ark. 88, 890 S.W.2d 242 (1994); Pledger v. Troll Book Clubs, Inc., 316 Ark. 195, 871 S.W.2d 389 (1994); Jumper v. L & M Transp., Inc., 296 Ark. 319, 756 S.W.2d 901 (1988); Johnson v. Timber Corp., 295 Ark. 622, 752 S.W.2d 241, set aside on rehearing on other grounds, 295 Ark. 663-A, 758 S.W.2d 415 (1988); Schuster’s,…