Grubbs v. Treas. of Mo. Second Injury Fund

• Decision Date: 01 December 2009
• Docket Number: No. ED 92457.,ED 92457.
• Parties: Mark GRUBBS, Respondent, v. TREASURER OF MISSOURI AS CUSTODIAN OF the SECOND INJURY FUND, Appellant.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

298 S.W.3d 907

Mark GRUBBS, Respondent, v. TREASURER OF MISSOURI AS CUSTODIAN OF the SECOND INJURY FUND, Appellant.

No. ED 92457.

Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, Division Two.

December 1, 2009.

Chris Koster, Attorney General, Sarah E. Reichert, Asst. Attorney General, St. Louis, MO, for Appellant.

Steven K. Brown, St. Louis, MO, for Respondent.

ROBERT G. DOWD, JR., Judge.

The Second Injury Fund ("the Fund") appeals from the decision of the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission ("the Commission") in favor of Mark Grubbs ("Employee") on his claim for workers' compensation benefits. The Fund argues the Commission erred in failing to find Employee's claim was barred by the statute of limitations in Section 287.430, RSMo 2000,¹ and in failing to find that Employee released the Fund from liability regarding his July 30, 2003 accident. We affirm.

On July 30, 2003, Employee was injured in the course of his employment when he slipped on oil on the floor of the property of his employer, Paulo Products ("Employer"), and lost his footing, twisted his knee, and felt a pop. Employer admitted liability and paid Employee $10,498.16 in medical expenses and $4,233.60 in temporary disability.

On November 15, 2004, Employee entered into a Stipulation for Compromise Settlement according to which Employee would receive from Employer a lump sum of $13,881.60 based upon approximate disability of twenty-five percent of his right knee.

Then on September 29, 2005, Employee filed a claim for compensation checking the box stating it was against the Fund only. The Fund filed an answer in which it argued that the claim was time-barred based on Section 287.430 because Employee did not file a claim against the Fund within two years after his injury or within one year after filing a claim against Employer.

The administrative law judge ("the ALJ") made findings of fact and ruling of law, and found Employee's claim was time-barred under Section 287.430 because Employee did not file a "Form WC-21 Claim for Compensation" against his Employer in the allotted time. Thus, the ALJ denied Employee's claim.

Employee subsequently filed an application for review with the Commission. The Commission determined Section 287.430 does not require the filing of "Form WC-21 Claim for Compensation" against Employer as a prerequisite for a claim against the Fund. The Commission noted the portion of the statute reading "no proceeding for compensation under this chapter shall be maintained unless a claim therefore [is] filed," has remained unchanged since the law was originally enacted in 1926, and the Commission found it highly improbable that those passing this law then were concerned with a particular form. Further, the Commission noted that if the term "claim" only refers to the "Form WC-21 Claim for Compensation," accepted meanings of other provisions of law are called into question. For example, the Commission cited Section 287.390, which presently provides "[p]arties to claims hereunder may enter into voluntary agreements in settlement thereof."² Thus, Section 287.390 provides the ALJ can only approve settlements entered into between "parties to claims." The Commission found if "claim" only referred to the "Form WC-21 Claim for Compensation," then an ALJ could only approve a settlement entered into between parties to a dispute for which a Form WC-21 had been filed, which would not have included this case at the point when the ALJ approved the settlement. The Commission then relied on O'Malley v. Mack International Truck Corp., 225 Mo.App. 1, 31 S.W.2d 554, 558 (1930) to support its finding that a settlement was in effect the filing of a claim for compensation. The Commission reversed the award and decision of the ALJ. The Commission found the Fund was liable to Employee for $17,894.77 in permanent partial disability benefits. This appeal follows.

In its first point, the Fund argues the Commission erred in awarding Employee permanent partial disability benefits from the Fund because Employee did not timely file a "claim for compensation" against the Fund "within two years after the date of injury or within one year after a claim was filed against an employer" in that Employee never filed a "claim for compensation" against Employer and the Stipulation for Compromise Settlement ("Settlement") executed by Employee and Employer did not constitute a "claim for compensation" for the purposes of Section 287.430. We disagree.

Our review in this case is governed by the provisions of Section 288.210. Clement v. Kelly Services, Inc., 277 S.W.3d 327, 329 (Mo.App. E.D.2009). Section 288.210 provides, in pertinent part:

The findings of the commission as to the facts, if supported by competent and substantial evidence and in the absence of fraud, shall be conclusive, and the jurisdiction of the appellate court shall be confined to questions of law. The court, on appeal, may modify, reverse, remand for rehearing, or set aside the decision of the commission on the following grounds and no other:

(1) That the commission acted without or in excess of its powers;

(2) That the decision was procured by fraud;

(3) That the facts found by the commission do not support the award; or

(4) That there was no sufficient competent evidence in the record to warrant the making of the award.

Thus, under Section 288.210, the factual findings of the Commission are conclusive if, absent fraud, they are supported by competent and substantial evidence, and review of the Commission's decision by this court is confined to questions of law. Clement, 277 S.W.3d at 329. We are not bound by the Commission's conclusions of law or its application of law to facts, and questions of law are reviewed independently. Id.

Section 287.430 provides, in pertinent part "a claim against [the Fund] shall be filed within two years after the date of injury or within one year after a claim is filed against an employer or insurer pursuant to this chapter, whichever is later." Here, the claim against the Fund was filed over two years after the date on which the injury occurred so the statute of limitations would bar the claim on this basis. However, it was filed less than one year after the Stipulation for Compromise Settlement was entered into with Employer. Thus, the question before us is whether the Stipulation for Compromise Settlement constitutes a claim against Employer for the purposes of Section 287.430.

The Fund argues the Commission's decision is inconsistent with present statutory and regulatory authority and case law. Section 287.630 provides, in relevant part, that the Division of Workers' Compensation ("the Division") and the Commission "shall prepare and furnish free of charge blank forms of all notices, claims, reports, proofs, and other blank forms and literature which they may deem proper and requisite to the efficient administration of this chapter." Pursuant to this authority, the Division created Form 21, entitled "Claim for Compensation." C.S.R. 8 Section 50-5.070 sets forth the forms an employee, an employer, and an insurer are required to file with the Division, and "Form 21, Claim for Compensation" is included among these forms. The Fund claims that by not addressing Section 287.630 and CSR 8 Section 50-5.070 in its award, the Commission ignored the Division's authority to create standard forms and to direct agency procedure. The Fund maintains that these sections make clear that Form 21 constitutes the only way to make a "claim for compensation" even if that exact term is not specifically defined in Chapter 287.

The primary rule of statutory analysis is to ascertain the intent of the legislature, as expressed in the words of the statute, and to give effect to that intent whenever possible. In re G.F., 276 S.W.3d 327, 329 (Mo.App. E.D.2009). In order to discern the intent of the General Assembly, we look to statutory definitions or, if none are provided, the text's plain and ordinary meaning. Id. When the intent of the legislature cannot be ascertained from the plain and ordinary meaning of the statutory language, the statute is considered ambiguous and only then can we apply the rules of statutory construction. Id. The construction of statutes is not to be hyper-technical, but instead is to be reasonable and logical and to give meaning to the statutes. Id.

The phrase "claim for compensation" is...