Liberty Mutual Insurance Company v. Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development and Workers' Compensation Division

CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedJanuary 3, 2012
DocketM2010-02082-COA-R3-CV
StatusPublished

This text of Liberty Mutual Insurance Company v. Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development and Workers' Compensation Division (Liberty Mutual Insurance Company v. Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development and Workers' Compensation Division) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Liberty Mutual Insurance Company v. Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development and Workers' Compensation Division, (Tenn. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT NASHVILLE August 26, 2011 Session

LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY ET AL. v. TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND WORKERS’ COMPENSATION DIVISION

Appeal from the Chancery Court for Davidson County No. 08-2777-I Claudia Bonnyman, Chancellor

No. M2010-02082-COA-R3-CV - Filed January 3, 2012

This action was filed pursuant to the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, Tennessee Code Annotated § 4-5-322, for contested cases. The petitioner challenges a penalty assessed by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Division of Workers’ Compensation. The stated reason for the penalty was the failure to file Form C-20, Tennessee Employer’s First Report of Work Injury, regarding eighteen injuries that occurred in January and February 2003 which were medical only injuries, meaning no disability benefits were owing. The trial court affirmed the penalty. We find the petitioner was not afforded proper notice of the Department’s basis for issuing the penalty in violation of the petitioner’s due process rights under the UAPA, Tennessee Code Annotated § 4-5-307. We also find that the Department exceeded its authority by changing its “interpretation” of Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0800-2-1-.06, a rule that was unambiguous and, thus, not subject to interpretation. The trial court’s holding is reversed, and this matter is remanded with instructions to vacate the penalty assessed against the petitioner.

Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Chancery Court Reversed

F RANK G. C LEMENT, J R., J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which A NDY D. B ENNETT and R ICHARD H. D INKINS, JJ., joined.

Richard C. Mangelsdorf, Jr., and David B. Weatherman, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellants, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and Covenant Transport.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Joseph F. Whalen, Associate Solicitor General; and Joshua Davis Baker, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellee, Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development and Workers’ Compensation Division. OPINION

The Workers’ Compensation Division of the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (“the Department”) assessed a $59,050 civil penalty against Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. (“Liberty Mutual”), a workers’ compensation insurance carrier. The penalty was assessed by the Director of the Department’s Penalty Program in April 2008, for the stated reason that Liberty Mutual failed to file twenty-two Form C-20 First Reports of Work Injury (“Form C-20”) for workplace injuries occurring in January and February of 2003. Following a contested case hearing before the Designee of the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, the Department affirmed the Director’s decision with respect to eighteen of the twenty-two counts. Liberty Mutual then filed this Petition for Judicial Review in the Davidson County Chancery Court. The Chancellor affirmed the penalty, finding the Department’s decision to assess the penalty was within its statutory authority and was supported by substantial and material evidence.

S TANDARD OF R EVIEW

Judicial review of decisions of administrative agencies, when those agencies are acting within their area of specialized knowledge, experience, and expertise, is governed by the narrow standard contained in Tennessee Code Annotated § 4-5-322(h) rather than the broad standard of review used in other civil appeals. Willamette Indus., Inc. v. Tenn. Assessment Appeals Comm’n, 11 S.W.3d 142, 147 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1999) (citing Wayne County v. Tenn. Solid Waste Disposal Control Bd., 756 S.W.2d 274, 279-80 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1988)).

Although judicial review is constrained, the reviewing court may reverse or modify the decision of the agency if the petitioner’s rights have been prejudiced because the administrative findings, inferences, conclusions or decisions are:

(1) In violation of constitutional or statutory provisions; (2) In excess of the statutory authority of the agency; (3) Made upon unlawful procedure; (4) Arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion; or (5)(A) Unsupported by evidence which is both substantial and material in the light of the entire record.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-5-322(h)(1)-(5)(A).

-2- A NALYSIS

Our analysis shall focus on the unequivocal language of the regulation at issue, Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0800-2-1-.06(2), the Notice of Potential Claim Form Filing Violations provided by the Department to Liberty Mutual, and the stated reason for the assessment of the penalty.

I.

Workers’ compensation insurance carriers are required, by statute and regulation, to file certain reports with the Tennessee Department of Labor following workplace injuries.1 The Department reviews the forms to ensure compliance with workers’ compensation rules and statutes, and to compile and analyze statewide claims statistics in order to make accurate and reliable reports and recommendations to the Tennessee General Assembly. The specific reporting requirements are set forth in Rule 0800-2-1-.06, which went into effect in 1987:

Each employer, self-insured employer, and/or insurance company shall file with the Director an accident report, Form C-20 (Tennessee Employer’s First Report of Work Injury), which records each and every accident resulting in a work-related death or personal injury as defined in T.C.A. § 50-6-102.

(1) When the injured person does not return to employment within seven (7) days after the occurrence of such accident or if there is permanent disability regardless of the number of days of lost work, Form C-20 must be filed. Form C-20 shall be submitted to the Director as soon as possible, but not later than fourteen (14) days after the accident. (2) Reports of all accidents causing seven (7) days of disability or less and/or causing no permanent impairment shall be submitted to the Director on or before the 15th day of the month following the month covered by the report. Such reports shall be submitted on Form C-21.

1 See Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 50-6-118, -415; The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1972, Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-3-101 et. seq.; Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0800-2, Division of Workers’ Compensation.

-3- Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0800-2-1-.06.2

Subpart (1) of Rule 0800-2-1-.06 expressly provides that Form C-20 shall be filed to report an injury for which the employee missed more than seven days of work or sustained a permanent disability. Such claims are referred to as “loss time” claims for which the injured employee would be entitled to receive disability benefits in addition to medical benefits. Form C-20 is one full page, providing sufficient space for the insurer to provide a detailed report of the injuries sustained by the employee and the incident leading to the injury. Each C-20 covers one incident of injury to one employee.

By contrast, as subpart (2) of Rule 0800-2-1-.06 expressly provides, Form C-21 shall be filed to report an injury for which the employee missed seven days of work or less and is not permanently disabled.

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Bluebook (online)
Liberty Mutual Insurance Company v. Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development and Workers' Compensation Division, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/liberty-mutual-insurance-company-v-tennessee-depar-tennctapp-2012.