Adams v. Lori Heaphy & Assoc.

155 So. 3d 170, 14 La.App. 3 Cir. 580, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 2976, 2014 WL 7156512
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 17, 2014
DocketNo. 14-580
StatusPublished

This text of 155 So. 3d 170 (Adams v. Lori Heaphy & Assoc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Adams v. Lori Heaphy & Assoc., 155 So. 3d 170, 14 La.App. 3 Cir. 580, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 2976, 2014 WL 7156512 (La. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinions

PICKETT, Judge.

hA workers’ compensation claimant appeals a judgment denying his claims that the court reporter hired by defense counsel to take and transcribe his deposition did not did not send a copy of his deposition for him to read and sign to his attorney as agreed and did not comply with the law because the copy of the original deposition she sent him was defaced. For the following reasons, we reverse the judgment and remand the matter for further proceedings.

[172]*172FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On October 25, 2013, Mr. Joseph L. Adams filed a WC-1008 Disputed Claim for Compensation against Lori Heaphy & Associates (Heaphy), a court reporting service, in which he identified the dispute at issue as: “Refused to provide transcript of deposition of Joseph Adams to attorney as requested and sent a defaced copy of deposition directly to client (Joseph Adams) without notice to attorney.”. The dispute arose after Mr. Adams was deposed by his employer in connection with his workers’ compensation claim. Joseph Adams v. Acadian Works, Inc., District 04, Docket 12-8716.

Heaphy answered Mr. Adams’ claim specifically denying that the court reporter who took and transcribed Mr. Adams’ deposition failed to comply with any obligations she owed under the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act and the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, including but not limited to, La.Code Civ.P. arts. 1445 and 1446. Heaphy also asserted a reconventional demand against Mr. Adams’ attorneys for sanctions, costs, and attorney fees, as provided in La.Code Civ.P. art. 863(D)(4) and/or La.R.S. 23:1310.9, asserting that Mr. Adams’ claim was filed “to harass and is not warranted by existing law.” Heaphy also raised peremptory exceptions of no right of action and no cause of action.

| ^Shortly thereafter, Heaphy filed a motion for summary judgment and supporting memorandum in which it set forth that Mr. Adams’ deposition had been taken and transcribed by one of its certified court reporters who, pursuant to La.Code Civ.P. art. 1445, sent a copy of the deposition to Mr. Adams for him to read and sign. Heaphy argued that the deposition submitted to - Mr. Adams was “word for word” a transcript of what had been submitted to the employer/insurer’s attorney and that while the deposition had a red line down the middle of each page, it was clearly legible. Heaphy further asserted that Mr. Adams signed and dated the Witness Attestation on which he indicated no changes to the transcript and returned it to Heaphy. Heaphy argued that it had complied with all the requirements imposed under the Code of Civil Procedure and that no law required the transcript provided to Mr. Adams’ attorney be free of charge. It sought dismissal of Mr. Adams’ claims and awards of sanctions, costs, and attorney fees.

In his opposition to the summary judgment, Mr. Adams asserted that at the conclusion of his deposition, the court reporter agreed to his attorney’s request that the transcribed deposition be sent to the attorney, not Mr. Adams, for Mr. Adams to review and sign. Mr. Adams further asserted that contrary to the agreement, Heaphy sent the deposition directly to him and that he read the deposition, completed a form, and returned the form to Heaphy as requested. As a result, Mr. Adams’ attorney did not have a copy of anything Mr. Adams returned to Hea-phy.

Mr. Adams complained that the copy of his deposition Heaphy provided to him was defaced as compared to the deposition provided to his employer in his workers’ compensation case because his copy consisted of four pages of the full deposition which were reduced and condensed to one page with a two and one-half | ¡¡inch red streak down the middle of each page, “defacing the document and making it more difficult to read.” He asserted that the differences in the copy provided to him resulted in the defendants having an advantage over him.

At the hearing on the motion for summary judgment, Heaphy argued that the basis of Mr. Adams’ complaint was that his [173]*173attorney wanted a free copy of the deposition, rather than paying for it as provided in La.Code Civ.P. art. 1445. Mr. Adams’ attorney pointed out, however, that pursuant to La.Code Civ.P. art. 1446(A)(1), he could obtain a free copy of Mr. Adams’ deposition by getting the original from his employer/insurer’s attorney and copying it. He reiterated his complaints that Mr. Adams’ copy of his deposition is a legal document that had been defaced and that his client was entitled to have his deposition in the same form that was provided to the other party in the litigation. Counsel argued that court reporters are paid to perform work for the legal system and that the depositions they take and transcribe are property of the legal system. Counsel also complained that Heaphy’s court reporter did not act in accordance with their agreement and forward the deposition to him, not his client, for him to review with his client. Counsel’s primary complaint was that the copy of the deposition sent to his client was defaced with the wide red line. He argued that his client was not receiving equal treatment as required by law and that there is no legal authority for Heaphy’s defacing a legal document.

The workers’ compensation judge (WCJ) granted summary judgment in favor of Heaphy, finding that until Mr. Adams read and signed the deposition, “it is not yet an official public document.” The WCJ concluded that reducing and condensing four pages of the deposition to one page and imposing a two and one-half inch wide red line down the middle of each page of the condensed deposition |4provided to Mr. Adams did not result in “a significant impairment to the legibility” of the deposition. In reaching this conclusion, the WCJ noted that Mr. Adams read and signed the deposition without indicating there was an issue with his ability to read it. The WCJ denied Heaphy’s request for sanctions, costs, and attorney fees.

Mr. Adams appealed. He assigns two errors with the WCJ’s judgment:

1. The [WCJ] erroneously rendered judgment against Michael B. Miller and Jacqueline B. Manecke, the attorneys for Joseph Adams.
2. The [WCJ] erred in granting the Motion for Summary Judgment.

Heaphy answered the appeal, seeking sanctions, costs, and attorney fees as noted above.

DISCUSSION

Was Judgment Erroneously Granted Against Attorneys for Mr. Adams?

Mr. Adams argues the judgment in this matter should not have been entered against his attorneys because they are not parties to the suit. The Office of Workers’ Compensation, District 04, styled the Citation that accompanied Mr. Adams’ WC-1008 Disputed Claim for Compensation and included Mr. Adams’ attorneys’ names in the caption on the Citation pursuant to Mr. Adams’ allegation that the court reporter agreed to send the deposition to his attorney, not him. In turn, counsel for Heaphy styled their pleadings and the judgment in the same manner.

The WCJ’s jurisdiction is limited to claims or disputes arising out of workers’ compensation claims as provided in Louisiana Revised Statutes Chapter 23. La.R.S. 23:1310.3(F). Mr. Adams’ claims against Heaphy arise out of his workers’ compensation claim. Heaphy’s claims against Mr. Adams’ attorneys are third party claims that do not fall within the limitations of La.R.S. 23:1310.3(F). | r,Therefore, the WCJ did not have jurisdiction to award judgment against Mr. Adams attorneys, and the judgment is reversed to the extent that it does.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
155 So. 3d 170, 14 La.App. 3 Cir. 580, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 2976, 2014 WL 7156512, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/adams-v-lori-heaphy-assoc-lactapp-2014.