Corn v. New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union, 14553
| Decision Date | 02 December 1994 |
| Docket Number | No. 14553,14553 |
| Citation | 1994 NMCA 161,889 P.2d 234,119 N.M. 199 |
| Parties | Lisa CORN, Claimant-Appellant, v. NEW MEXICO EDUCATORS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION and CIGNA Property and Casualty Companies, Respondents-Appellees. |
| Court | Court of Appeals of New Mexico |
Worker appeals the workers' compensation judge's compensation order limiting her award of attorneys' fees to $12,500 as required by NMSA 1978, Section 52-1-54(G) (Repl.Pamp.1991) (Effective until January 1, 1991). Worker contends that the attorneys' fees cap in Section 52-1-54(G) is unconstitutional because (1) it violates her right to due process of law, (2) it violates her right to equal protection under the law, and (3) it violates her right to petition for redress. We requested amicus curiae briefs addressing Worker's equal protection challenge from the Workers' Compensation Administration (Administration), the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association (NMTLA), and the New Mexico Defense Lawyers Association (NMDLA). Amicus participation has been very helpful. Because we find the equal protection challenge dispositive in this case, we do not address the other constitutional challenges raised by Worker. We reverse and remand.
Worker was injured on August 16, 1989, in a one-car accident while working as a courier for New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union (Employer). Worker suffered a head injury in the accident, resulting in deficits in cognitive function. She filed her complaint after benefits were terminated and in due course was awarded compensation benefits for temporary total disability, vocational rehabilitation, and medical expenses. The matters of permanent disability and impairment were reversed.
The judge then heard Worker's request for attorneys' fees. Due to the complexity of Worker's psychological injuries and the results thereof, the judge found that Worker's attorney reasonably expended 156.3 hours on the case. The judge also found that a reasonable rate for Worker's attorney was $125 per hour; that the issues in the case were seriously contested and were above average in complexity; and that the activities of Worker's counsel were related to the ultimate benefits Worker has received. Consequently, the judge found that a reasonable fee would be $19,537.50 plus tax. However, because of the attorneys' fees cap in Section 52-1-54(G), the judge limited Worker's attorneys' fees award to $12,500. The judge also entered several conclusions regarding the cap's effects. They are:
3. The fee limitation contained in Section 52-1-54(G) places workers at an unfair disadvantage compared to employers and insurers who are not constrained by a fee cap.
4. The fee limitation contained in Section 52-1-54(G) has contributed to the reduction in the number of attorneys willing to handle workers['] compensation cases on behalf of injured workers.
5. The fee limitation contained in Section 52-1-54(G) has significantly reduced the number of experienced competent attorneys who practice workers['] compensation law before the Administration.
. . . . .
7. The statutory limit established by Section 52-1-54(G) has had a chilling effect on workers' ability to retain counsel in this workers' compensation claim.
Worker mounts a facial challenge to the statute and contends that the application of the $12,500 attorneys' fees cap in this case violates the equal protection clause of the state and federal constitutions in two ways. First, Worker argues that by only applying the attorneys' fees cap against Worker and not Employer, Section 52-1-54(G) puts Worker at a competitive disadvantage. Second, Worker suggests that the cap improperly discriminates against workers whose claims are complex and time-consuming, as opposed to those workers whose claims are relatively simple and quickly resolved. Although Worker asserts her equal protection claim under the state and federal constitutions, her arguments appear based primarily on the New Mexico Constitution. Our discussion is limited to article II, Section 18 of the New Mexico Constitution. We first address two preliminary matters: Worker's standing and this Court's jurisdiction.
Because Employer's brief suggested that Worker did not have standing to raise her claims, our invitation to amici requested that they address the issue of standing. In response to our request, NMDLA and the Administration assert that Worker does not have standing to raise an equal protection challenge because she is still represented by counsel. Essentially, they maintain that Worker lacks standing because she cannot demonstrate a real risk of future injury resulting from the application of the attorneys' fees cap in this case. We disagree.
We believe that the Administration and NMDLA take the concept of standing too far by suggesting that Worker must actually proceed without counsel, and suffer prejudice as a result, before she can raise a constitutional challenge to the attorneys' fees cap. As their position underscores, all that is required for standing is that Worker demonstrate a real risk of future injury due to the attorneys' fees cap. See De Vargas Sav. & Loan Ass'n v. Campbell, 87 N.M. 469, 473, 535 P.2d 1320, 1324 (1975) (); Ramirez v. City of Santa Fe, 115 N.M. 417, 420-22, 852 P.2d 690, 693-95 (Ct.App.1993) (discussing De Vargas ). The extent of injury required is "slight." Ramirez, 115 N.M. at 420, 852 P.2d at 693.
The Rules of Professional Conduct contemplate allowing attorneys to withdraw if they are not being paid for their services. See SCRA 1986, 16-116(B)(5) (Repl.Pamp.1991) (). The judge has characterized the issues in this case as seriously contested and of above-average complexity. Worker may be required to pursue matters of impairment and permanent disability without the aid of counsel because the cap prohibits her from compensating counsel any further. Under these circumstances, we believe Worker has demonstrated a real risk of future injury from the cap. Thus, we hold that Worker has standing to raise the constitutional claims she asserts in this appeal. See De Vargas Sav. & Loan Ass'n, 87 N.M. at 473, 535 P.2d at 1324; Ramirez, 115 N.M. at 422, 852 P.2d at 695.
Our resolution of the standing issue raises an issue of this Court's jurisdiction. That is, if there are issues remaining to be decided, is the order from which Worker has appealed final? See generally Principal Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Straus, 116 N.M. 412, 413-14, 863 P.2d 447, 448-49 (1993) (). Our answer is that there are no issues presently remaining to be decided in this case. The case is over for all practical purposes unless one of the parties seeks to resurrect it, for example by alleging that the temporary disability is ended. Cf. Thornton v. Gamble, 101 N.M. 764, 768, 688 P.2d 1268, 1272 (Ct.App.1984) ().
As the first step in embarking on an equal protection analysis, courts usually decide the level of scrutiny to apply to the challenged statute. We recently identified four levels of scrutiny afforded by the cases, and we adopted a four-tiered analysis in evaluating challenges presented under the New Mexico Constitution. See Alvarez v. Chavez, 118 N.M. 732, 886 P.2d 461 (Ct.App.1994). We recognize that the Supreme Court more recently decided an equal protection case that applied the traditional three standards of review. See Marrujo v. New Mexico State Highway Dep't, 118 N.M. 753, 757-58, 887 P.2d 747, 750-51 (1994). Nonetheless, because the Supreme Court did not mention Alvarez, we do not interpret the Marrujo opinion to be a rejection of concepts set forth in Alvarez. In particular, we continue to believe that a four-tiered analysis based expressly on the New Mexico Constitution is a useful framework for consideration of equal protection issues in this state and is consistent in approach with prior New Mexico Supreme Court cases. We therefore use it in this case. In determining the appropriate level to afford in this case, we look to the classification made and the interest affected. Alvarez, 118 N.M. at 738-39, 886 P.2d at 467-68.
In this case, the legislature has separated workers' compensation claimants from all other litigants before either courts or agencies and has also drawn a distinction between workers and employers under the Workers' Compensation Act. As in Alvarez, id. at 737, 886 P.2d at 466, and Richardson v. Carnegie Library Restaurant, Inc., 107 N.M. 688, 696, 763 P.2d 1153, 1161 (1988), on which Alvarez relied, we need not examine higher standards of scrutiny if we find that the challenged classification fails under a lower standard. We believe that the classifications and interests at issue here call for scrutiny under at least the heightened rational-basis test, and for the reasons explained in the next section of this opinion the...
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