Cain v. National Union Life Insurance

718 S.W.2d 444, 290 Ark. 240, 1986 Ark. LEXIS 2158

• Court: Supreme Court of Arkansas
• Decided: November 3, 1986
• Docket: 86-70
• Status: Published

Opinions

Robert H. Dudley, Justice.

This third-party tort of bad faith action was filed by a workers’ compensation claimant against the compensation insurer. The claimant pleaded that the insurer stipulated it was liable for all medical expenses, but failed to pay those expenses and, as a direct result, the claimant suffered emotional distress, humiliation, and embarrassment. The trial court dismissed the complaint. We affirm. The trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction. The appeal is heard in this Court since it presents questions involving the construction of an initiated measure and the law of torts. Rule 29(1 )(c) and (o) of the Rules of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals.

We have previously ruled on this issue. In Johnson v. Houston General Insurance Co., 259 Ark. 724, 536 S.W.2d 121 (1976), we held that the benefits payable pursuant to the workers’ compensation act, and the procedure set out in that act for obtaining those benefits, constitute an exclusive remedy, and that remedy precludes an action at law, even for an intentional tort arising out of the non-payment of benefits.

Appellant, the plaintiff claimant below, asks us to overrule Johnson, supra. We decline to do so because the holding conforms with the workers’ compensation act which provides the remedies for late payment. The statutory remedies include: (1) A twenty percent penalty plus interest for the late payment of an award, Ark. Stat. Ann. § 81-1319(f)(g) (Repl. 1976), (2) A provision by which the Commission may require a bond from an employer to insure payment, Ark. Stat. Ann. §81-1319(j) (Repl. 1976), and (3) A provision that a final award may be filed with the circuit clerk which causes it to become a lien on the property of the employer, Ark. Stat. Ann. § 81-1325(c) (Repl. 1976).

Any change concerning the exclusivity of the statutory remedies or the form of those remedies must come legislatively.

Affirmed.

Purtle, J., dissents.