Carty Ex Rel. Carty v. State Office of Risk Management

Fifth Circuit

Carty Ex Rel. Carty v. State Office of Risk Management

756 F.3d 436, 2014 WL 2958995

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

DecidedJuly 1, 2014

Docket12-40750

StatusPublished

This text of 756 F.3d 436 (Carty Ex Rel. Carty v. State Office of Risk Management) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Carty Ex Rel. Carty v. State Office of Risk Management, 756 F.3d 436, 2014 WL 2958995 (5th Cir. 2014).

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Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Intervenor Plaintiff-Appellant State Office of Risk Management (SORM) appeals the district court’s judgment approving the settlement between Christy Carty, individually and as next friend to her minor children, and a private party alleged to be responsible for her husband’s death. Specifically, it challenges the district court’s deduction of attorneys’ fees and expenses from its subrogation interest as well as the court’s conclusion regarding the extent to which SORM could suspend future payments to the Carty children.

In our prior opinion, 1 we held that the district court did not commit reversible error in deducting attorneys’ fees and expenses. 2 We concluded, however, that SORM’s second point of error involved questions upon which Texas law was silent. 3 Accordingly, we certified three questions to the Supreme Court of Texas, including:

How should a workers’ compensation carrier’s right under section 417.002 [of the Texas Labor Code] to treat a recovery as an advance of future benefits be calculated in a case involving multiple beneficiaries? Should the carrier’s right be determined on a beneficiary-by-beneficiary basis or on a collective-recovery basis? 4

*438 The Supreme Court of Texas has answered this question, and its answer is dispositive. The Texas court held that “when multiple beneficiaries recover compensation benefits through the same covered employee, the carrier’s rights to a third-party settlement are determined by treating it as a single, collective recovery rather than separate recoveries by each beneficiary.” 5 Because the district court treated the recoveries as separate, it erred in determining the extent to which SORM was entitled to suspend future benefit payments. 6

Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED in part, VACATED in part, and REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

1

. Carty v. State Office of Risk Mgmt., 733 F.3d 550 (5th Cir.2013).

2

. Carty, 733 F.3d at 553-55.

3

. Id. at 555.

4

. Id. at 561-62.

5

. State Office of Risk Mgmt. v. Carty, 436 S.W.3d 298, No. 13-0639, 2014 WL 2790810, at *1 (Tex. June 20, 2014).

6

. See Carty, 733 F.3d at 552.

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PER CURIAM:

Intervenor Plaintiff-Appellant State Office of Risk Management (SORM) appeals the district court’s judgment approving the settlement between Christy Carty, individually and as next friend to her minor children, and a private party alleged to be responsible for her husband’s death. Specifically, it challenges the district court’s deduction of attorneys’ fees and expenses from its subrogation interest as well as the court’s conclusion regarding the extent to which SORM could suspend future payments to the Carty children.

In our prior opinion, 1 we held that the district court did not commit reversible error in deducting attorneys’ fees and expenses. 2 We concluded, however, that SORM’s second point of error involved questions upon which Texas law was silent. 3 Accordingly, we certified three questions to the Supreme Court of Texas, including:

How should a workers’ compensation carrier’s right under section 417.002 [of the Texas Labor Code] to treat a recovery as an advance of future benefits be calculated in a case involving multiple beneficiaries? Should the carrier’s right be determined on a beneficiary-by-beneficiary basis or on a collective-recovery basis? 4

*438 The Supreme Court of Texas has answered this question, and its answer is dispositive. The Texas court held that “when multiple beneficiaries recover compensation benefits through the same covered employee, the carrier’s rights to a third-party settlement are determined by treating it as a single, collective recovery rather than separate recoveries by each beneficiary.” 5 Because the district court treated the recoveries as separate, it erred in determining the extent to which SORM was entitled to suspend future benefit payments. 6

Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED in part, VACATED in part, and REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

1

. Carty v. State Office of Risk Mgmt., 733 F.3d 550 (5th Cir.2013).

2

. Carty, 733 F.3d at 553-55.

3

. Id. at 555.

4

. Id. at 561-62.

5

. State Office of Risk Mgmt. v. Carty, 436 S.W.3d 298, No. 13-0639, 2014 WL 2790810, at *1 (Tex. June 20, 2014).

6

. See Carty, 733 F.3d at 552.

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