Baine v. Queen Ins. Co.

395 S.W.2d 805, 217 Tenn. 143, 21 McCanless 143, 1965 Tenn. LEXIS 527
CourtTennessee Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 3, 1965
StatusPublished

This text of 395 S.W.2d 805 (Baine v. Queen Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Tennessee Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Baine v. Queen Ins. Co., 395 S.W.2d 805, 217 Tenn. 143, 21 McCanless 143, 1965 Tenn. LEXIS 527 (Tenn. 1965).

Opinion

Me. Chief Justice Burnett

delivered the opinion of the Court.

This is an appeal questioning the construction given the Workmen’s Compensation Act (T.C.A. sec. 50-901, et seq.) in a Workmen’s Compensation suit wherein the death of the employee was conceded as being compensa-ble, and it was likewise conceded that his average weekly wage was $50.00 per week.

The Chancellor decreed that James Lewis Baine, Jr., was a partial dependent, he being a son of the deceased, and that this boy derived thirty (30%) per cent of his total support from the decedent, and was entitled to an award of $7.50 per week (based upon decedent’s earnings of $50.00 per week x 50 % x 30%). The Chancellor likewise found in favor of the decedent’s partially dependent mother, Percie Baine, and found that she was entitled to benefits at the rate of $7.50 per week (based upon 60% dependency x $50.00 x 25%); and that these payments were to continue during the dependency but not to exceed the maximum amount of $14,000.00. There was no motion for a new trial, but the insurance company, which is appealing, did offer an amendment to the decree which partially presented the question here posed by the insurance company, and upon which this appeal is based.

In a Workmen’s Compensation case it is necessary that a motion for a new trial be filed. Adams v. Patterson, 201 Tenn. 655, 301 S.W.2d 362. In compensation cases it is the duty of one complaining of the findings of the trial court, which is the result of a consideration [146]*146of facts and an application of law thereto, that a motion for a new trial be filed to authorize a review on an appeal in error'. This is true whether the facts are presented to the trial conrt or agreed to, or whether the facts are disclosed by documents exhibited with the pleadings or facts presented to the court as exhibits to be made a part of the return to the writ. Where it appears that no motion has been filed for a new trial in a Workmen’s Compensation ease but an appeal has been prayed, granted and perfected, this Court will only consider errors that are apparent upon the record as defined by this Court in the case of Memphis St. Railroad Co. v. Johnson, 114 Tenn. 632, 641, 88 S.W. 169. In view of the motion having been made and filed to correct the judgment below, and in view of the fact that only questions of the interpretation of the statute are here involved, we will overrule the motion to dismiss for failure to file a motion for a new trial in the instant case and will attempt to answer the questions here presented.

The insurance company assigns two errors which are to the effect, (1) that the Chancellor erred in holding that the appellees, as partial dependents, are entitled to recover compensation during their dependency subject to the statutory maximum of $14,000.000, and (2) that the partially dependent mother of the deceased is not entitled to any recover at all, but, if she is entitled to a recovery, this is limited to 60% of $9',800.00 (arrived at by subtracting $4,200.00 from $14,000.00) or only a total of $5,800.00. In support of these assignments the insurance company says:

“The question raised by this appeal is whether the code sections set out above limit a partial dependent receiving less than the maximum weekly amount to a [147]*147lesser total amount tlian partial dependents receiving maximum weekly payments. ’ ’

The Code sections set out immediately preceding this statement are T.C.A. sec. 50-1013(b), (c) (5), (7), (10), (11) and (12), which are found in the Supplement to the above Section and will not be copied herein in toto as copied in the brief of the appellant, since they can easily be found in the Code and referred to there without taking up space in this opinion.

The contention of the appellant is that the incapacitated son of the decedent — he was held to receive 30% of his total support from contributions of the decedent — should be only 30% of the maximum allowed under the Compensation Act of $14,000.00 or a total sum fixed at $4,200.00. The same argument is used that if the mother is found to have received 60% of her total income from the decedent then her 60% should be 60% of the total amount of $14,000.00 after the 30% for the son has been taken. In other words, it is to fix her total, if she is entitled to anything, at only $5,800.00.

T.C.A. sec. 50-1013 (c) (11) which governs compensation for partial dependents provides:

“Compensation in case of death. The compensation payable in case of death to persons wholly dependent shall be subject to a maximum of thirty-six dollars ($36.00) per week and a minimum of fifteen dollars ($15.00) a week; provided, that if at the time of injury the employee receives wages of less than fifteen dollars ($15.00) a week, the compensation shall be the full amount of such wages a week, but in no event shall the compensation payable under the provision be less than twelve dollars ($12.00) a week. The compensation pay[148]*148able to partial dependents shall be subject to the same maximum and minimum specified in tbe foregoing-sentence ; provided, however, that if the income loss of said partial dependents by such death be less than fifteen dollars ($15.00) per week, then the dependents shall receive the full amount of the income loss. This compensation shall be paid during dependency not to exceed the maximum of fourteen thousand dollars ($14,000), payments to be paid at the intervals when the wage was payable as nearly as may be. ’ ’

It seems to us that it was clearly the intent of the Legislature in enacting this to provide for compensation benefits during the period of dependency. The present Act increases the $36.00 per week maximum to $38.00 per week, but we are not concerned with that. Prior to the Act, above quoted, which was effective in 1963, there was a limitation of 400 weeks; now at the time of the Act here the only limitation is the $14,000.00 maximum for the period of dependency.

T.C.A. sec. 50-1013(a) (3) provides:

“Wife, child, husband, mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, sister, brother, mother-in-law, and father-in-law who were wholly supported by the deceased workman at the time of his death and for a reasonable period of time immediately prior thereto shall be considered his actual dependents, and payment of compensation shall be made to them in the order named. ’ ’

Immediately following the paragraph just quoted is paragraph (b) which defines partial dependents as “Any member of a class named in subdivision (a) (3) ” or those just named above in the quoted Section of the Code, and this Section (b) also provides that “payment of com[149]*149pensation shall be made to snob dependents in the order named.” Then in this same Code Section, subdivision (c) (10), it is provided:

“Partial dependents to receive proportion. Partial dependents shall be entitled to receive only that proportion of the benefits provided for actual dependents Avhich the average amount of the wages regularly contributed by the deceased to such partial dependent at, and for a reasonable time immediately prior to the injury, bore to the total income of the dependent during the same time.”

The next paragraph of this Code Section that is applicable is subdivision (c) (13), which provides:

“Actual dependents.

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Related

Diamond Coal Mining Co. v. Curnutt
165 S.W.2d 575 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1942)
Memphis Street Railway Co. v. Johnson
114 Tenn. 632 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1905)
Adams v. Patterson
301 S.W.2d 362 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1957)

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Bluebook (online)
395 S.W.2d 805, 217 Tenn. 143, 21 McCanless 143, 1965 Tenn. LEXIS 527, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/baine-v-queen-ins-co-tenn-1965.