Continental Cas. Co. v. Rivera

• Citation: 124 S.W.3d 705
• Decision Date: 06 November 2003
• Docket Number: No. 03-03-00177-CV.,03-03-00177-CV.
• Parties: CONTINENTAL CASUALTY COMPANY, Appellant, v. Esther RIVERA; Texas Workers' Compensation Commission; and Leonard Riley in his Official Capacity, Appellees.
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

124 S.W.3d 705

CONTINENTAL CASUALTY COMPANY, Appellant, v. Esther RIVERA; Texas Workers' Compensation Commission; and Leonard Riley in his Official Capacity, Appellees.

No. 03-03-00177-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Austin.

November 6, 2003.

David L. Brenner, Amanda Lewis, Burns, Anderson, Jury & Brenner, LLP, Austin, for appellant.

Tonia L. Lucio, Hance, Scarborough, Wright, Ginsbert & Bruislow, Austin, for Esther Rivera.

Bradley D. McClellan, Asst. Atty. Gen., Austin, for TWCC/Riley.

Before Justices KIDD, JAN P. PATTERSON and PURYEAR.

OPINION

JAN P. PATTERSON, Justice.

Continental Casualty Company appeals from the district court's dismissal for want of jurisdiction of Continental's suit for judicial review. Continental sought review of the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission's decisions that (i) Continental did not file a timely appeal with the Commission's appeals panel and (ii) claimant, Esther Rivera, sustained a compensable injury. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the district court's order of dismissal.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The pertinent facts of this case are not in dispute. In the underlying Commission proceedings, Continental contested Rivera's entitlement to workers' compensation benefits. After a contested case hearing in El Paso, a Commission hearing officer determined that Rivera was entitled to benefits. Continental received the hearing officer's decision on January 11, 2000. On January 21, 2000, Continental mailed to the Commission a request for review of the decision, with a copy of the request mailed to Rivera on the same day. Rivera received the request on January 26, 2000, and the Commission received the request on February 1, 2000. The Commission appeals panel determined that Continental's request for review was untimely because it arrived at the Commission one day after the twenty-day deadline to file the request. See 28 Tex. Admin. Code § 143.3 (2003).¹ The appeals panel further determined that, as a result of the untimely filing, the decision and order of the hearing officer became final. Tex. Lab.Code Ann. § 410.169 (West 1996).

Continental requested judicial review in an El Paso County district court, seeking a judgment that Rivera was not entitled to benefits. The court dismissed the case for want of jurisdiction, with leave to refile the case within sixty days "in a court of proper jurisdiction." Continental then filed suit in a Travis County district court. In the Travis County case, Continental sought a declaration that it had timely filed its request for review with the appeals panel, a mandate that the appeals panel consider the merits of the request for review, or, in the alternative, a determination that Rivera did not sustain a compensable injury. Rivera and the Commission filed pleas to the jurisdiction on the ground that the court had no jurisdiction over a decision of the hearing officer that was not timely appealed.

The district court initially granted the pleas to the jurisdiction in part but denied the pleas as to Continental's causes of action for judicial review under the labor code and declaratory judgment under section 2001.038 of the government code. Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 2001.038 (West 2000). Continental filed a motion for clarification of the court's order on the ground that it was unclear whether the court would determine the merits of the case or only the issue of whether Continental timely filed its request for review with the appeals panel. The district court then set aside its order, granted Rivera's and the Commission's pleas to the jurisdiction in full, and dismissed the case. In the order of dismissal, the court determined that the Commission had correctly interpreted and applied rule 143.3 concerning deadlines for filing a request for review. 28 Tex. Admin. Code § 143.3. Continental appeals by two issues, contending that, because the appeals panel erred in its determination that Continental's request for review was untimely, the district court erred in granting the pleas to the jurisdiction.

ANALYSIS

Timeliness of Request for Review

Continental contends in its first issue that the appeals panel erred in determining that Continental's request for review was untimely. Because our examination of the appeals panel ruling involves interpretation of an administrative rule, we employ well-settled principles of statutory construction. Statutory construction is a question of law, which we review de novo. Bragg v. Edwards Aquifer Auth., 71 S.W.3d 729, 734 (Tex.2002). We construe the text of an administrative rule under the same principles as if it were a statute. Texas Gen. Indem. Co. v. Texas Workers' Comp. Comm'n, 36 S.W.3d 635, 641 (Tex.App.-Austin 2000, no pet.). We bear in mind that an administrative agency has the power to interpret its own rules, and its interpretation is entitled to great weight and deference. Id. The agency's construction of its rule is controlling unless it is plainly erroneous or inconsistent. Id.

Continental argues that this matter "involves interpretation of Texas Worker's Compensation Rule 143.3(c)." 28 Tex. Admin. Code § 143.3(c). But we may not view a part of a rule in isolation when interpreting its meaning. Rather, we must consider the rule as a whole, not just a single phrase, clause, or sentence thereof. See Southwestern Life Ins. Co. v. Montemayor, 24 S.W.3d 581, 583 (Tex.App.-Austin 2000, pet. denied) (citing Morrison v. Chan, 699 S.W.2d 205, 208 (Tex.1985)). We must also ensure that the Commission has interpreted the rule to be in harmony with its enabling statute. Gulf States Utils. Co. v. Public Util. Comm'n, 784 S.W.2d 519, 527 n. 5 (Tex.App.-Austin 1990), aff'd, 809 S.W.2d 201 (Tex.1991).

The statute governing the deadline to request review by the appeals panel states in pertinent part:

To appeal the decision of a hearing officer, a party shall file a written request for appeal with the appeals panel not later than the 15th day after the date on which the decision of the hearing officer is received from the division and shall on the same date serve a copy of the request for appeal on the other party.

Act of May 22, 1993, 73d Leg., R.S., ch. 269, § 1, 1993 Tex. Gen. Laws 987, 1208 (amended 2001) (current version at Tex. Lab.Code Ann. § 410.202(a) (West Supp.2003)). Rule 143.3 adds a five-day "mailbox rule" to the fifteen-day filing deadline:

(a) ... The request shall: ...

(3) be filed with the commission's central office in Austin not later than the 15th day after receipt of the hearing officer's decision; and

(4) be served on the other party on the same day filed with the commission.

* * *

(c) A request made under this section shall be presumed to be timely filed or timely served if it is:

(1) mailed on or before the 15th day after the date of receipt of the hearing officer's decision, as provided in subsection (a) of this section; and

(2) received by the commission or other party not later than the 20th day after the date of receipt of the hearing officer's decision.

28 Tex. Admin. Code § 143.3(a), (c) (emphasis added).

Continental, reading rule 143.3(c)(2) in isolation, argues that the language "received by the commission or other party not later than the 20th day" must be read to mean that timely receipt of the request by the claimant satisfies all deadlines. Under Continental's reasoning, Rivera's receipt of the request for review in El Paso would impute notice to the Commission in Austin. We reject this reading of the rule. Rule 143.3(a) clearly delineates between filing the request for review with the Commission in Austin and serving a copy of the request on another party. See id. § 143.3(a). Rule 143.3(c) repeats the delineation: "timely filed or timely served." Id. § 143.3(c). Construing these provisions together, we conclude that timely receipt by the claimant alone does not suffice to perfect the appeal. Instead, rule 143.3 requires that Continental's request for review must be filed with and received by the Commission no later than the twentieth day after the date that Continental received the hearing officer's decision.

Here, the parties agree that Continental received the hearing officer's decision on January 11, 2000. The parties further agree that the Commission did not receive Continental's request for review until February 1, 2000, twenty-one days after Continental received the decision. Construing rule 143.3 as a whole, we conclude that Continental's request for review was untimely because the Commission received the request one day after the twenty-day deadline for receipt. Accordingly, we overrule Continental's first issue.

Plea to the Jurisdiction

Continental contends in its second issue that the district court erred in granting the appellees' pleas to the jurisdiction. A plea to the jurisdiction contests the district court's subject matter jurisdiction. Bland Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Blue, 34 S.W.3d 547, 554 (Tex.2000); see also Texas Dep't of Transp. v. Jones, 8 S.W.3d 636, 638 (Tex.1999). Because subject matter jurisdiction poses a question of law, we review rulings on a plea to the jurisdiction de novo. See May hew v. Town of Sunnyvale, 964 S.W.2d 922, 928 (Tex.1998).

The plaintiff bears the burden of pleading facts that show the district court has subject matter jurisdiction; therefore, to determine whether a plaintiff has affirmatively demonstrated the court's jurisdiction to hear the cause, we should "consider the facts alleged by the plaintiff and, to the extent it is relevant to the jurisdictional issue, the evidence submitted by the parties." See Texas Dep't of Crim. Justice v. Miller, 51 S.W.3d 583, 587 (Tex.2001) (quoting Texas Natural Res. Conservation Comm'n v. White, 46 S.W.3d 864, 868 (Tex.2001)); Brannon v. Pacific Employers Ins. Co., 148 Tex. 289, 224 S.W.2d 466, 469 (1949). The nature of the issues raised in the plea determines the scope of the court's focus; this means we may look beyond the pleadings and are required to do so when...