Brinker v. Frontier North, Inc.

2016 Ohio 8279
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 21, 2016
Docket27962
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2016 Ohio 8279 (Brinker v. Frontier North, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brinker v. Frontier North, Inc., 2016 Ohio 8279 (Ohio Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

[Cite as Brinker v. Frontier North, Inc., 2016-Ohio-8279.]

STATE OF OHIO ) IN THE COURT OF APPEALS )ss: NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COUNTY OF SUMMIT )

JERROLD BRINKER C.A. No. 27962

Appellant

v. APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE FRONTIER NORTH, INC., et al. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS COUNTY OF SUMMIT, OHIO Appellees CASE No. CV 2014-12-5311

DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY

Dated: December 21, 2016

CARR, Presiding Judge.

{¶1} Appellant, Jerrold Brinker, appeals the judgment of the Summit County Court of

Common Pleas. This Court affirms.

I.

{¶2} This matter arises out of an incident that occurred while Jerrold Brinker was

working for Frontier North, Inc. Brinker experienced pain in his right shoulder while taking

down a ladder and transporting it to a Frontier van. Brinker filed a workers’ compensation claim

and Frontier initially certified the claim. Brinker met with his physician and, subsequently, an

MRI was performed on Brinker’s shoulder. On May 20, 2014, the Bureau of Workers’

Compensation (“BWC”) issued an order disallowing the claim based on the fact that there was

no connection between Brinker’s diagnosed condition and his occupational injury. In denying

the claim, the Administrator for BWC notified the parties that they had 14 days to appeal the

order. 2

{¶3} On May 28, 2014, Brinker’s physician attempted to appeal the order. Brinker

retained counsel and did not file an appeal himself until June 13, 2014. Before the District

Hearing Officer, Brinker contended that the letter filed by his physician on May 28, 2014, was

sufficient to perfect his appeal. The District Hearing Officer determined that the Industrial

Commission lacked jurisdiction to address the order because Brinker failed to file a timely

appeal, concluding that “[t]he correspondence submitted by [the physician] on 05/28/2014 may

not be construed as an appeal because it was not filed by a party to this claim.” Subsequently, a

Staff Hearing Officer reviewed the appeal and concurred with the decision of the District

Hearing Officer. The Industrial Commission refused further review of the matter.

{¶4} Brinker appealed to the trial court and filed a complaint on November 28, 2014.

Both the Administrator and Frontier North filed answers to the complaint. Thereafter, the

Administrator filed a motion for summary judgment. Frontier North subsequently joined in the

Administrator’s motion. Brinker filed a brief in opposition to the motion, and the Administrator

replied thereto. On September 1, 2015, the trial court issued a journal entry granting the motion

for summary judgment and dismissing the case on the basis that Brinker failed to exhaust all of

his administrative remedies prior to appealing to the trial court.1

{¶5} On appeal, Brinker raises three assignments of error.

II.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR I

THE TRIAL COURT ERRED WHEN IT GRANTED APPELLEES’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AS TO JURISDICTION BECAUSE THERE IS NO RULE, STATUTE OR ADMINISTRATIVE CODE SECTION THAT

1 Brinker filed a motion for reconsideration of the trial court’s final order issued on September 1, 2015. It is well-settled that a motion for reconsideration of a final order is a nullity and will not be considered by this Court on appeal. LaSalle Bank Natl. Assn. v. Scolaro, 9th Dist. Summit No. 25084, 2011-Ohio-1218, ¶ 17. 3

PROHIBITS APPELLANT’S PHYSICIAN FROM SUBMITTING AN APPEAL ON APPELLANT’S BEHALF AND AT HIS DIRECTION TO THE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION, AND THE PLAIN MEANING OF THE STATUTORY LANGUAGE PERMITS CLAIMANT AND/OR HIS REPRESENTATIVE TO FILE AN APPEAL.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR II

THE TRIAL COURT ERRED WHEN IT GRANTED APPELLEES’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AS TO JURISDICTION BECAUSE THERE IS NO RULE, STATUTE OR ADMINISTRATIVE CODE SECTION THAT SPECIFICALLY REQUIRES FORM R-2 TO BE FILED BY AN INDIVIDUAL IN ORDER TO REPRESENT A CLAIMANT, AND DR. SCHNELL’S LETTER OF APPEAL WAS SUFFICIENT.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR III

THE TRIAL COURT ERRED WHEN IT GRANTED APPELLEES’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AS TO JURISDICTION BECAUSE APPELLANT’S PHYSICIAN TIMELY FILED AN APPEAL ON APPELLANT’S BEHALF, ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS WERE HELD AND, THEREFORE, APPELLANT EXHAUSTED ALL ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES TO CONFER THE TRIAL COURT WITH JURISDICTION OVER THIS RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE CASE.

{¶6} In his first assignment of error, Brinker contends that the trial court erred in

granting the motion for summary judgment because Brinker’s physician had authority to submit

a notice of appeal on his behalf. In his second assignment of error, Brinker contends that his

physician was not required to submit Form R-2 in order to be Brinker’s authorized representative

for the purposes of filing the notice of appeal. In his final assignment of error, Brinker contends

that because his physician filed a timely notice of appeal, the trial court erred in granting

summary judgment on the basis that Brinker had failed to exhaust all administrative remedies

prior to appealing to the trial court. This Court disagrees.

Background

{¶7} In the motion for summary judgment, the Administrator argued that the trial court

lacked jurisdiction over the matter due to the fact that Brinker failed to timely appeal the BWC 4

order denying his claim. The Administrator contended that because Brinker failed to file a

timely appeal, he did not exhaust the administrative remedies available to him, and therefore was

precluded from seeking review by the trial court under R.C. 4123.512.

{¶8} Brinker countered that the letter submitted by his physician was sufficient to

perfect his appeal, and that he had exhausted all administrative remedies prior to appealing to the

trial court. Brinker further argued that statutory and administrative code provisions should be

construed liberally so as to effectuate the purpose of the workers’ compensation system. Brinker

produced numerous exhibits, including a letter sent from his physician to the Industrial

Commission on May 28, 2014, eight days after the disallowance of the claim, wherein the

physician requested a second review of the claim based on his opinion that “the initial decision to

deny the claim was based on insufficient evidence.” While the discussion of Brinker’s condition

appeared under the heading that read, “APPEAL,” the letter was printed on the physician’s

professional letterhead and was signed solely by the physician. Brinker also attached a copy of

Indus. Comm. Resolution R04-1-01, which sets forth standards of conduct for non-lawyers

before the BWC and Industrial Commission, in support of the proposition that a non-lawyer may

act as a representative as long as the non-lawyer refrains from engaging in legal advocacy and

analysis. Brinker also produced an affidavit where his physician averred that Brinker had asked

his physician to appeal the disallowance of the claim on Brinker’s behalf. Brinker further

submitted an affidavit and emails from his law firm’s office manager showing that the BWC

never indicated there would be a problem with the timeliness of the appeal prior to the issuance

of the District Hearing Officer’s decision on July 28, 2014.

{¶9} In reply, the Administrator underscored that only a “claimant or employer” may

appeal a BWC order under R.C. 4123.511(B)(1) and O.A.C. 4123-3-18(A)(1). With respect to 5

Indus. Comm. Resolution R04-1-01, the Administrator argued that the resolution was only

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Related

Brinker v. Frontier N., Inc.
2017 Ohio 4024 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2017)

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