Malone v. United Zinc & Smelting Corp.

1936 OK 119, 54 P.2d 360, 175 Okla. 643, 1936 Okla. LEXIS 74
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedFebruary 4, 1936
DocketNo. 26537.
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 1936 OK 119 (Malone v. United Zinc & Smelting Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Malone v. United Zinc & Smelting Corp., 1936 OK 119, 54 P.2d 360, 175 Okla. 643, 1936 Okla. LEXIS 74 (Okla. 1936).

Opinion

GIBSON, J.

The plaintiff in error and defendant in error will be referred to herein as plaintiff and defendant, respectively.

On April 28, 1934, plaintiff was injured while in the employ of the defendant. The ease was one coming within the exclusive jurisdiction of the State Industrial Commission. Claim was filed with the commission *644 and plaintiff; received compensation until October 20, 1984. At that time the parties filed a joint petition with the commission pursuant to the provisions of section 13391, O. S. 1931, seeking final settlement of plaintiff’s claim.

' After a consideration of the joint petition together with the evidence submitted therewith, and. in pursuance of the agreement of the parties as expressed in said petition, the commission made final award to plaintiff in the sum of $700, and the case was closed. No appeal, as provided in section 13391, supra, was taken from the final order.

On March 16, 1935, plaintiff commenced this action in the district court of Ottawa county to recover damages for the injuries so received, and seeking to avoid the final order of the Industrial Commission on the ground of fraud. From the order and judgment of the trial court sustaining defendants’ demurrer to the petition, the plaintiff has appealed.

The demurrer raised the question of the court’s jurisdiction over the subject-matter of the action, and the question of the sufficiency of the petition. Demurrer was sustained on both grounds, and these questions are brought here by this appeal.

Plaintiff takes the position that the final award of the commission was procured by fraud on the part of the defendant, and that he may have the same set aside in this action ; that by reason, of said award being invalid as to him, he is now entitled to recover damages for liis injuries at common law. In this behalf it is contended, that plaintiff .may no longer seek relief through the commission for the reason that said commission is precluded from assuming further jurisdiction of said claim by the provisions of section 13391, supra, to the effect that where such an award is made on joint petition, “thereafter the commission shall not have jurisdiction over any claim for the same injury or any results arising from same.”

It is conceded that the Industrial Commission had original jurisdiction of plaintiff’s claim.. Its order of final award thereon became final, since review was not commenced in 30 days. Sections 13363, 13391, O. S. 1931; Union Indemnity Co. v. Saling, 166 Okla. 133, 26 P. (2d) 217. In that case we said:

“The State Industrial Commission is an administrative body exercising quasi judicial powers, and its jurisdiction is limited ta those matters which are expressly or by necessary implication delegated to it by prop-ot legislative enactment.” McKeever Drilling Co. v. Egbert, 170 Okla. 259, 40 P. (2d) 32.

The orders and judgments of inferior1 tribunals, boards, or commissions exercising quasi judicial powers, made when acting within their powers and upon matters over which their jurisdiction has been duly invoked. are as free from collateral impeachment as are the orders and judgments of courts of superior and general jurisdiction. State v. Sinclair Prairie Oil Co., 171 Okla. 498, 41 P. (2d) 876.

There is no method provided by statute whereby a final order of the Industrial Commission may be set aside after time for appeal has expired; and the commission is invested with no equitable powers sufficient to authorize investigation of the validity of itg| final orders. Where there exists no remedy at law, a final judgment may be annulled by direct attack in an equitable proceeding to set aside such judgment on the ground of fraud practiced by the opposing party in procuring the judgment where such fraud is extrinsic to the issues tried and determined by the court when rendering such judgment. (McIntosh v. Holtgrave, 79 Okla. 63, 191 P. 739), and where the fraud was such as to prevent the complaining party from having a trial of the issues (Vacuum Oil Co. v. Brett, 150 Okla. 153, 300 P. 632; Beatty v. Beatty, 114 Okla. 5, 242 P. 766).

In view of the foregoing decisions, it is our opinion that the district court of Ottawa county would have jurisdiction to set aside the order herein mentioned upon proper allegations and proof of extrinsic fraud practiced by defendant in procuring such order. If plaintiff’s petition stated sufficient grounds to justify a court of equity in avoiding the order of the commission, said petition was good as against general demurrer, and the district court had power to cancel said order.

We say, however, that in event plaintiffs should succeed in avoiding the order, he would not then be entitled to maintain a common-law action for damages resulting from his injuries. The Workmen’s Compensation Laws of this state abrogated the common-law right of action for accidental injuries not resulting in death by persons employed in certain hazardous occupations, and substituted therefor the remedy embraced in said compensation laws, and made such remedy exclusive. Adams v. Iten Biscuit Co, 63 Okla. 52, 162 P. 938; Henly v. Okla. Union Ry. Co. 81 Okla. 224, 197 P. 488; *645 New Amsterdam Casualty Co. v. Reinhart & Donovan Co., 124 Okla. 227, 255 P. 587; Smith v. Baker, 157 Okla. 155, 11 P. (2d) 132. This statement subject, however, to cases where the employer has not complied with certain provisions of law. Section i.3352, O. S. 1931. In all cases coming within the jurisdiction of the commission and over which its jurisdiction has been duly invoked, the commission retains jurisdiction thereof until the cause is validly closed. Capitol Iron & Metal Co. v. Rogers, 161 Okla. 137, 17 P. (2d) 433. If the order closing the cause was voidable, the claim of plaintiff then pending in the commission was st'ill pending therein at the option of plaintiff, and upon the cancellation of said order by a court of competent jurisdiction, the powers of the commission interrupted by a voidable order, reattached and continued until a valid order was issued closing the case. The provisions of section 13391, O. S. 1931, supra, were not intended to destroy the commission’s jurisdiction in a case where the final order therein mentioned was invalid and did not serve as a final settlement of the Issues.

The allegations of fraud relied upon by plaintiff to vitiate the order are to the effect that he was examined and treated for his injuries by certain physicians employed by defendant; that after several weeks’ treatment he failed to regain his health; he was a helpless cripple at all times prior to the filing of the joint petition. He was advised by defendant’s superintendent to settle his claims; that he was approached by certain other alleged employees of the defendant advising him to settle. He was kept in complete ignorance of the seriousness of his condition by the reports of defendant’s employees. He saw none of the reports of the physicians, except the one rendered by Dr Aisenstadt which he recently obtained from the commission. He was overreached by defendant by reason of his own ignorance and his serious and immediate need of financial aid, and on account thereof he yielded to defendant’s demands and accepted settlement before the commission.

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Bluebook (online)
1936 OK 119, 54 P.2d 360, 175 Okla. 643, 1936 Okla. LEXIS 74, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/malone-v-united-zinc-smelting-corp-okla-1936.