Volusia Memorial Park v. White

549 So. 2d 1114, 1989 WL 117119
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedOctober 5, 1989
DocketBR-325, BR-386
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 549 So. 2d 1114 (Volusia Memorial Park v. White) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Volusia Memorial Park v. White, 549 So. 2d 1114, 1989 WL 117119 (Fla. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

549 So.2d 1114 (1989)

VOLUSIA MEMORIAL PARK and Nationwide Insurance Company, Appellants,
v.
Freddie WHITE, Appellee.
VOLUSIA MEMORIAL PARK and Royal Insurance Company of America, Appellants,
v.
Freddie WHITE, Appellee.

Nos. BR-325, BR-386.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

October 5, 1989.

*1115 John A. Leklem of Sparks, Cooper & Leklem, P.A., Orlando, for appellant, Nationwide Ins. Co.

Daniel C. Shaughnessy and John J. Schickel of Coker, Myers & Schickel, P.A., Jacksonville, for appellants, Volusia Memorial Park and Royal Ins. Co.

Bill McCabe of Shepherd, McCabe & Cooley, Orlando, for appellee.

ZEHMER, Judge.

Freddie White, an employee of Volusia Memorial Park, suffered a compensable injury to his neck and low back on February 9, 1981. Nationwide Insurance Company was the workers' compensation carrier for the employer from the date of the accident to February 1984, at which time Royal Insurance Company of America succeeded Nationwide as the carrier. Pursuant to section 440.34(3)(b), Florida Statutes (1985), the deputy commissioner ordered "the employer/carrier" to pay a $35,000 fee to White's attorney. Nationwide and Royal have filed separate appeals from the order finding both carriers guilty of bad faith in handling the claim. Claimant cross-appeals, contending that the deputy commissioner erred in departing from the statutory formula guideline fee. For the reasons discussed hereafter, we reverse.

Nationwide paid temporary total disability (TTD) benefits to claimant from the date of the accident until November 11, 1982, when it independently determined that claimant had reached maximum medical improvement (MMI) with a 30 percent permanent impairment and stopped the TTD benefits. It was not, however, until March 8, 1983, that Nationwide notified claimant, through a BCL-4 form, that it had removed claimant from temporary disability status and had reclassified claimant to permanent partial disability and wage loss status. Because he had not been receiving any benefits, claimant employed attorney Edward H. Hurt, Sr., to represent him in connection with his claim. On March 23, 1983, Mr. Hurt filed a claim for TTD benefits from November 11, 1982, to date and demanded costs, interest, penalties, and attorney's fees. On April 18, 1983, a notice of hearing *1116 issued scheduling a hearing for June 23, 1983. On April 21, 1983, Nationwide agreed to reinstate TTD benefits because, "per Dr. Harr's report of 11-11-82," claimant had not reached MMI with respect to his back injury. Nationwide issued claimant a check for $903, representing the total overdue payments, and the scheduled hearing was canceled because claimant's attorney withdrew his application for hearing.

On September 8, 1983, claimant's attorney again filed a claim for benefits, this time seeking permanent total disability (PTD) benefits, costs, interest, penalties, and attorney's fees. On October 20, 1983, claimant's attorney withdrew his application for hearing on this claim.

On February 8, 1984, Royal became the workers' compensation carrier for employer and assumed responsibility for White's claim. In April, claimant's attorney obtained a $9.00 per week increase in claimant's compensation rate from Royal in settlement, without a hearing, of a dispute over claimant's average weekly wage.

On January 31, 1985, claimant's attorney filed another application for hearing on the September 8 claim for PTD benefits. A hearing was set for March 6, 1985, and on February 26 the parties entered into a pretrial stipulation agreeing (1) that claimant was seeking PTD benefits, costs, interest, penalties, and attorney's fees; (2) that Nationwide was seeking reimbursement from Royal; (3) that Royal had paid all benefits due; (4) that claimant was not yet at MMI, and (5) that Royal was unable to investigate and handle the claim for permanent benefits. The scheduled hearing was subsequently canceled at the request of claimant's attorney.

Royal continued paying TTD benefits until October 10, 1985, when it inadvertently caused claimant's case to be taken off its diary and as a result ceased paying such benefits. The benefits were reinstated on November 21, however, and all overdue benefits were paid. Thereafter, Royal continued paying TTD benefits through July 30, 1986, at which time it voluntarily accepted claimant as permanently totally disabled. Royal has paid claimant PTD benefits since that date.

A hearing was held on December 5, 1986, on the entitlement to and amount of attorney's fees for claimant's attorney. Both Royal and Nationwide were parties to the hearing. Nationwide stipulated with claimant that on November 11, 1982, Nationwide determined that claimant had reached MMI with a 30 percent permanent impairment and had changed claimant's benefit status from TTD to permanent disability wage loss, and that this erroneous determination and conversion of benefits constituted bad faith under the attorney's fee statute. Royal stipulated with claimant that it had inadvertently suspended claimant's benefits from October 10, 1985, to November 21, 1985. Claimant's attorney, Mr. Hurt, testified to these facts and submitted an affidavit scheduling the time expended in representing the claimant. He expended 41.2 hours on the claim. Hurt further explained that the expected future benefits amount to $362,667, and that the statutory fee calculated under the formula in section 440.34(1) equals $55,150. Affidavits of three other attorneys submitted by the parties opined a reasonable fee would be $55,000, $55,156, and $14,190, respectively.

In the order under review, the deputy commissioner found that Mr. Hurt expended 41.2 hours as claimed, although this was "an extremely conservative estimate of his time." She further found that (1) Nationwide acted in bad faith, as stipulated, causing claimant to suffer economic loss from November 11, 1982, to April 22, 1983; (2) Royal acted in bad faith and without good cause in allowing claimant's benefits to terminate from October 10, 1985, to November 21, 1985, causing claimant to suffer economic loss; (3) past and future benefits to claimant amount to $362,707; (4) but for the intervention of claimant's attorney, claimant would not have recovered any of these benefits, "and, therefore, claimant's attorney is entitled to have his fee, based on the amount of benefits set out in Finding # 3 above"; and (5) the statutory fee calculated under the formula in section 440.34(1) is $55,149. The order then recited that the deputy commissioner had considered *1117 the attorney fee affidavits, the time involved, the attorney's skill, the nature of the legal questions presented, the fact that the attorney's acceptance of this case precluded him from representing insurance companies generally, the amount of benefits involved, the attorney's reputation and experience, and that the case was taken on a contingent fee basis. After applying these factors pursuant to section 440.34(1) and Lee Engineering Construction Co. v. Fellows, 209 So.2d 454 (Fla. 1968), the deputy commissioner determined a reasonable fee to be $35,000, and ordered "employer/carrier" to pay it. The order made no apportionment of this amount between the two carriers.

Each carrier appealed from this order. Both take issue with the deputy commissioner's finding that claimant would not have recovered past and future benefits amounting to $362,707 absent the intervention of claimant's attorney, and her use of that figure as the basis of the fee award.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

ANTUNEZ v. Whitfield
980 So. 2d 1175 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2008)
Florida Power Corp. v. Ussery
652 So. 2d 886 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1995)
Cooley v. Certified Grocers of Florida
629 So. 2d 273 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1993)
Smith v. US Sugar Corporation
624 So. 2d 315 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1993)
City of Daytona Beach v. Ashley
616 So. 2d 608 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1993)
Wackenhut Corp. v. Schisler
606 So. 2d 1250 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1992)
Doctor's Hospital of Sarasota v. Taylor
576 So. 2d 1364 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1991)
Wiseman v. AT & T TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
569 So. 2d 508 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1990)
Monterey Builders v. Garcia
566 So. 2d 1364 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1990)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
549 So. 2d 1114, 1989 WL 117119, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/volusia-memorial-park-v-white-fladistctapp-1989.