Reil v. State Compensation Mutual Insurance Fund

837 P.2d 1334, 254 Mont. 274, 49 State Rptr. 734, 1992 Mont. LEXIS 254
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 18, 1992
Docket92-027
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 837 P.2d 1334 (Reil v. State Compensation Mutual Insurance Fund) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Reil v. State Compensation Mutual Insurance Fund, 837 P.2d 1334, 254 Mont. 274, 49 State Rptr. 734, 1992 Mont. LEXIS 254 (Mo. 1992).

Opinions

JUSTICE WEBER

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

Kenneth Reil, claimant, appeals from a judgment by the Workers’ Compensation Court ordering him to reimburse the insurer for all benefits and attorney fees. The State Compensation Mutual Insurance Fund (State Fund) filed a cross-appeal from the Workers’ Compensation Court order denying its motion to join an additional party defendant. We affirm.

The parties raise the following issues for our review:

1. Is the State Fund entitled to restitution of all compensation and medical benefits paid pursuant to a judgment of the Workers’ Compensation Court which was subsequently reversed on appeal?

2. Is the claimant entitled to an award of attorney fees and costs?

3. Did the Workers’ Compensation Court improperly deny joinder of claimant’s attorney as a third party defendant?

On March 20, 1987, the Workers’ Compensation Court (WCC) ruled that Mr. Reil was entitled to benefits under Montana’s Workers’ Compensation Act for injuries suffered while employed at Billings Processors, Inc. The State Fund appealed the judgment of the WCC to this Court on April 23, 1987. On July 21, 1987, pending a final decision on appeal, we issued an interim order denying the stay of execution of judgment and ordered the State Fund to pay all benefits accrued by the claimant pursuant to the WCC’s judgment. The State Fund paid Mr. Reil approximately $13,750 in benefits, of which $3,000 was retained by Mr. Reil’s counsel for costs and attorney fees.

[276]*276On December 3, 1987, this Court reversed the judgment of the WCC finding that Mr. Reil failed to provide his employer with timely notice of his injury. Reil v. Billings Processors, Inc. (1987), 229 Mont. 305, 746 P.2d 617. Subsequently, the State Fund sought reimbursement for the amount paid to the claimant and his attorney in compliance with this Court’s order of July 21, 1987. In a declaratory action, the WCC denied joinder of Mr. Reil’s counsel as a third party defendant and ruled that restitution was proper. The WCC ordered Mr. Reil to reimburse the State Fund for all compensation benefits and medical expenses received.

I

Is the State Fund entitled to restitution of all compensation benefits and medical expenses paid pursuant to a judgment of the Workers’ Compensation Court which was subsequently reversed on appeal?

Mr. Reil contends the WCC improperly ordered restitution. He claims that restitution is a common law remedy which is not applicable under Montana’s Workers Compensation Act. Mr. Reil further contends that the Act, as of his date of injury, precluded the application of common law remedies to cases involving workers’ compensation claims. Finally, Mr. Reil argues that the State Fund cannot recoup these benefits under the Act when the Act, which is the exclusive remedy for injured workers as well as the insurer, does not provide for restitution as a remedy.

The State Fund claims that § 39-71-411, MCA (1985), did not provide that the Act would be an exclusive remedy for insurers. Further, it contends that even if the Act was exclusive, Mr. Reil’s injury was not covered under the Act. Thus, the exclusivity provisions of § 39-71-411, MCA (1985), do not apply.

The WCC concluded that Mr. Reil could not take refuge under the Act where he had no entitlement under the Act as a result of his failure to give timely notice of his injury to his employer. In ordering restitution the WCC stated:

The [Workers’ Compensation Court’s] original judgment for the claimant was reversed on appeal. The effect of the reversal was a determination that claimant had no entitlement to benefits under the Act and never had such an entitlement. [Mr. Reil’s] claim was void at the outset. The fact that the sums were paid pursuant to a trial court ruling does not vest the claimant with an entitlement that never existed.

[277]*277This Court has held that it will uphold the result reached by the Workers’ Compensation Court if that result was correct, regardless of the reasons given for the conclusion. Rath v. St. Labre Indian School (1991), 249 Mont. 433, 439, 816 P.2d 1061, 1064. As above set forth, the WCC concluded that the claimant had no entitlement to benefits and never had such an entitlement and that his claim was void at the outset. That reasoning is not totally correct. The employee here worked for an employer where there was coverage under the Act. As a result, bis claim was not void at the outset. Had he filed his claim on time, it could have become a valid claim. It became a non-compensable claim because the claimant failed to provide timely notice as required under the Act. While we do not agree with all of the foregoing statements of the WCC, we do agree with the conclusion that the exclusivity provisions of the Act do not preclude restitution.

Claimant argues that § 39-71-411, MCA (1985), provides the exclusivity which prohibits restitution. In pertinent part § 39-71-411, MCA (1985), provides:

For all employments covered under the Workers’ Compensation Act ... the provisions of this chapter are exclusive. Except as provided in part 5 of this chapter for uninsured employers and except as otherwise provided in the Workers’ Compensation Act, an employer is not subject to any liability whatever for the death of or personal injury to an employee covered by the Workers’ Compensation Act or for any claims for contribution or indemnity asserted by a third person from whom damages are sought on account of such injuries or death....

It is true that the foregoing section mentions that the provisions of this Chapter are exclusive. However, the section is addressed to the elimination by the Act of employer liability for death or personal injury to an employee covered by the Act or for claims for contribution or indemnity asserted by a third person because of such injuries or death. We conclude this section has no specific application in the present controversy.

With regard to notice of injury, § 39-71-603, MCA (1985), provides in pertinent part:

No claim to recover benefits under the Workers’ Compensation Act ... maybe considered compensable unless, within 60 days after the occurrence of the accident which is claimed to have caused the injury, notice of the time and place where the accident occurred and the nature of the injury is given to the employer or the employer’s insurer....
[278]*278As above-mentioned, this Court reversed the judgment of the WCC because the claimant failed to provide his employer with timely notice of injury. As a result, we may properly state that under the above section, the claim could not “be considered compensable” because of the failure to give notice.

With regard to the liability of insurers, § 39-71-407, MCA (1985), provides:

Every insurer is liable for the payment of compensation, in the manner and to the extent hereinafter provided, to an employee of an employer it insures who receives an injury arising out of and in the course of his employment....

The facts of this case establish that the insurer was not liable for payment of compensation as a result of the failure to give the required notice.

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Reil v. State Compensation Mutual Insurance Fund
837 P.2d 1334 (Montana Supreme Court, 1992)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
837 P.2d 1334, 254 Mont. 274, 49 State Rptr. 734, 1992 Mont. LEXIS 254, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/reil-v-state-compensation-mutual-insurance-fund-mont-1992.