Blacke v. Industrial Com'n

• Decision Date: 28 November 1994
• Docket Number: No. 3-93-0733WC,3-93-0733WC
• Parties: , 205 Ill.Dec. 807 Edward BLACKE, Appellant, v. THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION et al. (Limestone Township Fire Protection District, Appellee.)
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

Page 23

644 N.E.2d 23 268 Ill.App.3d 26, 205 Ill.Dec. 807 Edward BLACKE, Appellant,
v.
THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION et al. (Limestone Township Fire
Protection District, Appellee.) No. 3-93-0733WC. Appellate Court of Illinois,
Third District,
Industrial Commission Division. Nov. 28, 1994.
Rehearing Denied Jan. 18, 1995.

Page 24

[268 Ill.App.3d 27] [205 Ill.Dec. 808] Michael R. Schneider, Roseanne Loftus, Cohn, Lambert, Ryan & Schneider, Ltd., Chicago, for Edward Blacke.

David D. Zeglis, Zeglis & Zeglis, Kankakee, for Limestone Tp. Fire Protection Dist.

Presiding Justice McCULLOUGH delivered the opinion of the court:

On March 4, 1993, claimant, Edward Blacke, filed an application for judgment in the circuit court of Kankakee County against his employer, Limestone Township Fire Protection District (employer), for payment of benefits and penalties awarded under the Workers' Compensation Act (Act) (820 ILCS 305/1 et seq. (West 1992)). The circuit court denied claimant's application on the basis that it was time-barred by the five-year limitation provisions of section 13-205 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Code) (735 ILCS 5/13-205 (West 1992)). Claimant appeals, alleging the court erred in applying any limitation period to actions for collection of unpaid workers' compensation benefits and, alternatively, if any limitation period does apply, it is the 10-year period of section 13-206 of the Code (735 ILCS 5/13-206 (West 1992)). We affirm.

The present controversy stems from employment-related injuries sustained by the claimant in June 1978. Following a hearing in June 1982, the arbitrator awarded claimant approximately 37 weeks of benefits based on a finding of both temporary total and permanent partial disability. In January 1984 the Industrial Commission (Commission) affirmed the award and no further appeal was taken. The employer never made any payments on the award. In October 1992, pursuant to a petition filed by the claimant, the Commission awarded him additional compensation, based on penalties assessed against the employer for nonpayment of the award pursuant to sections 19(k) and (l ) of the Act (820 ILCS 305/19(k), (l ) (West 1992)).

[268 Ill.App.3d 28] In March 1993, claimant filed an application for judgment in the circuit court pursuant to section 19(g) of the Act (820 ILCS 305/19(g) (West 1992)), seeking payment of both benefits and penalties awarded. The court denied the application as untimely pursuant to section 13-205 of the Code as to both the original award and subsequent penalties assessed.

Faced with an employer's failure or refusal to pay a final award determined by an arbitrator or affirmed by a decision of the Commission from which no further appeal is taken, section 19(g) of the Act provides a statutory remedy for a claimant to reduce the award to an enforceable judgment in the circuit court. The award itself is not a judgment. A judgment is "the final consideration and determination of a court upon matters submitted to it in an action or proceeding * * * [and] is the judicial act of the court." (Blakeslee's Storage Warehouses, Inc. v. City of Chicago (1938), 369 Ill. 480...