Texas Employers' Ins. v. Shilling

279 S.W. 865
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 27, 1925
DocketNo. 37. [fn*]
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 279 S.W. 865 (Texas Employers' Ins. v. Shilling) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Texas Employers' Ins. v. Shilling, 279 S.W. 865 (Tex. Ct. App. 1925).

Opinion

RIDGELL, J.

Appellee brought this suit to set aside a final ruling and decision of the Industrial Accident Board.

We adopt the statement of the nature and result of the suit as set forth in the brief of appellant, to wit:

“Appellee claimed to have had his foot injured by a piece of pipe falling on same July 27, 1920, while in the employment of the Texas Pipe Line Company. Upon the eighth day after the injury the appellant, insurance carrier for the pipe line company, began the payment to him of the compensation provided by the act, and continued said payments up to and until October 26, 1920, when, upon information that his incapacity for work resulting from said injury had ceased, it discontinued same. Dissatisfied with this action on the part of appellant, the appellee applied to the Industrial Accident Board for additional compensation, and said board, on the 9th day of December, 1920, entered its order to the effect: ‘That the incapacity, both total and partial, suffered, by said Charles Shilling consequent upon the Infliction of said injury on said 27th day of July, 1920, had wholly terminated on said 26th day of October, 1920, and that, therefore, the said Texas Employers’ Insurance Association had fully discharged its obligation under said Texas Employers’ Liability Act [Vernon’s Ann. Civ. St. Supp. 1918, art. 5246—1 et seq.] to the said Charles Shilling on his said claim for compensation, and is entitled to be acquitted and discharged from further liability "on account of same. It is therefore ordered, adjudged, and decreed by the Industrial Accident Board that the claim for additional compensation made herein by Charles Shilling against the said Texas Employers’ Insurance Association be and the same is hereby in all things denied and refused and the Texas Employers’ Insurance Association is fully acquitted and discharged from all further liability on account of said claim.’
“In May, 1921, long after the 20 days for giving notice of unwillingness to abide said *866 award, and long after the 20 days within which to file suit in some court of competent jurisdiction to set aside award had expired, said Industrial Accident Board entered an order of date of May 4, 1921, reviewing its order made December 9, 1920, reciting that its finding of date December 9, 1920, that' the incapacity of said Shilling had ceased on October 26, 1920, was a mistake, and reformed its said order of December 9, 1920, so as to read, amongst other things, as follows:
“ ‘The board further finds that ensuing from and after said 27th day of October, 1920, the said Charles Shilling continued to labor under a handicap of total incapacity for performance of labor down to this 4th day of May, 1920, embracing the period of 27 weeks for which he is entitled to recover compensation on account of and for total incapacity at the rate of $15 per week, and aggregating the total sum of $305 in full and final settlement and satisfaction of his claim for compensation against said Texas Employers’ Insurance Association. The board further finds that said Charles Shilling has been represented in the presentation to and prosecution of his claim for compensation by H. T. Cooper, an attorney at Port Worth, Tex., and that his services rendered in said connection have been of the reasonable value of $45.75.
“ ‘It is therefore ordered, adjudged, and decreed by the Industrial Accident Board that the Texas Employers’ Insurance Association pay to Charles Shilling the sum of $305, less the sum of $45.75 hereinafter ordered and directed paid to H. T. Cooper for legal services rendered in connection with this claim for compensation.
“ ‘It is further ordered, adjudged, and decreed by the .board that, when this award has been paid and satisfied in accordance with its terms and provisions, the Texas Employers’ Insurance Association will be fully and finally acquitted and discharged from liability on account of this claim for compensation.’
“May 12, 1921, the board entered a further order correcting its order of May 4, 1921, as follows: ‘That in paragraph IV of said order of December 9, 1920, reviewed as aforesaid, it was stated that total incapacity obtained in the said Charles Shilling for the performance of labor done to and including the 4th day of May, 1920, and that, as a matter of fact, the intent and purpose was to fix the year as 1921, and in order to correct said mistake here now orders that said 1920 in said paragraph IV of said order be changed and made to read 1921, and, as so corrected, changed, and reformed, the said order of May 4, 1921, which reviewed the said order of December 9, 1920, be reaffirmed in all particulars.’
■“Appellee refused to accept said additional sum of $305 so awarded him, and notified appellant that he was unwilling to abide by said award of May 4, 1921; that he did not accept said award and that he. would not be bound thereby; that he had discharged H. T. Cooper, his former attorney, and had employed Estes & Compton of Fort Worth, 708% Houston street, as his attorneys.
v “Thereafter upon the 10th day of June, 1921, he filed his suit herein in the court below, praying that all said orders of said Industrial Accident Board be set aside and that he be paid compensation in a lump sum of $15 per week for 400 weeks.
“Appellant answered by (1) plea to the jurisdiction, upon the ground that notice of un-, willingness to abide the final ruling and decision of December 9, 1920, and suit to set same aside, was not given and 'filed within 20 and 40 days from the date of said final ruling and decision, said board having no authority to enter said order of May 4, 1921, reviewing and correcting said order of December 9, 1920, and, if it had, that said order of May1 4, 1921, was a nunc pro tunc order, and on its face related back to said date of December 9, 1920; (2) demurrer to the jurisdiction, upon the ground that its codefendant, H. T. Cooper, had never given notice of dissatisfaction with the award of the board of May 4, 1921, and had never filed suit to set same aside, nor had Shilling ever given Cooper notice of dissatisfaction with said award, nor had he ever filed suit' to set same aside as to Cooper, whereby the same had become final as to all parties; (3) general and special demurrers; (4) general denial.
“H. T. Cooper filed a demurrer to the jurisdiction setting out that he had never given notice of dissatisfaction with the award of the board of May 4, 1921, and had never filed suit to set same aside; that Shilling had never given him notice of dissatisfaction with said award and had never, until the filing of his third amended petition, April 7, 1924, filed suit against him to set said award aside, whereby as to him said award was final and conclusive.
“The case was tried to a jury in Stephens county district -‘court, September 10, 1924. The court overruled the demurrers to the jurisdiction and all the demurrers and submitted the case to the jury upon special issues.

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Glenn v. Industrial Accident Board
184 S.W.2d 302 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1944)
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289 S.W. 996 (Texas Commission of Appeals, 1927)

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Bluebook (online)
279 S.W. 865, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/texas-employers-ins-v-shilling-texapp-1925.