Provide a summary (approx 150 words) supporting either the plaintiff or the defendant based on the facts of the case and your interpretation of the law. You need to do some research on the case selected and provide links to that research which assisted you in your decision. Check at least 2 other sources as part of your independent research.

Hercules, Inc. is a large chemical corporation. Its operation in Brunswick, Georgia, extracts resins from tree stumps, processes the resins into chemical compounds, and sells them to manufacturers. Hercules purchases tree stumps from various parties, including D. Hays Trucking, Inc. (Hays). Hays owns its own equipment and delivery vehicles, hires its own truckers and other employees, pays for its employees workers compensation coverage, and withholds federal and state taxes from employees paychecks. Hays directs the work of its employees who pull the stumps from the ground and the truckers who deliver the stumps to Hercules.

One night, Mr. Hays was driving a tractor trailer owned by D. Hays Trucking, Inc. loaded with 80,000 pounds of pine stumps from Alabama to the Hercules plant in Georgia. Just prior to midnight, when he was 10 miles from the Hercules plant, Mr. Hays crashed the tractor trailer into a car driven by Phyllis Lewis, killing her. Mr. Hays was driving the tractor trailer approximately 10 to 15 miles per hour over the 65-miles- per-hour speed limit and there were no skid marks from the tractor trailer prior to the collision. Preston Lewis, the executor of the estate of Phyllis Lewis, brought suit in U.S. district court against Mr. Hays, D. Hays Trucking, Inc., and Hercules, Inc., to recover damages for negligence. Hercules made a motion for summary judgment, alleging that D. Hays Trucking, Inc. was an independent contractor and therefore Hercules could not be held liable for its negligence. Lewis v. D. Hays Trucking, Inc., 701 F.Supp.2d 1300, 2010 U.S. Dist. Lexis 28035 (United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, 2010)

1. Did Lewis act ethically in suing Hercules, Inc.?