Hawkins v. State Compensation Ins. Authority, 89CA0785

Decision Date01 March 1990
Docket NumberNo. 89CA0785,89CA0785
Citation790 P.2d 893
PartiesPaul HAWKINS, Petitioner, v. STATE COMPENSATION INSURANCE AUTHORITY, The Industrial Claim Appeals Office of the State of Colorado, Director, Division of Labor, and Lashley's Drywall Products, Respondents. . IV
CourtColorado Court of Appeals

Richard T. Goold, Denver, for petitioner.

Zarlengo, Mott, Zarlengo and Winbourn, Reed L. Winbourn, Denver, for respondents State Compensation Ins. Authority and Lashley's Drywall Products.

Duane Woodard, Atty. Gen., Charles B. Howe, Chief Deputy Atty. Gen., Richard H. Forman, Sol. Gen., and Karen E. Leather, Asst. Atty. Gen., Denver, for respondents Indus. Claim Appeals Office and Director, Div. of Labor.

Opinion by Judge HUME.

Paul Hawkins, claimant, seeks review of a final order of the Industrial Claim Appeals Office (Panel) terminating temporary disability benefits after claimant reached maximum medical improvement. We set aside the order.

I.

Respondents initially contend that this court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to review the Panel's order because claimant filed a notice of appeal rather than a petition for review. We disagree.

Section 8-53-119, C.R.S. (1986 Repl.Vol. 3B) provides that any party dissatisfied with a final order of the Panel may bring an "action" in this court to modify or vacate such order. The statute further provides that such actions for review shall be commenced by service of a copy of the petition upon the Industrial Claim Appeals Office and filing of the same with the Court of Appeals, that the petition shall state the grounds upon which review is sought, and that it shall be served upon all other parties.

In Trujillo v. Industrial Commission, 31 Colo.App. 297, 501 P.2d 1344 (1972), we construed this statute to mean that the filing of a petition for review was a jurisdictional requisite for review proceedings. We also noted that the then applicable appellate rule neither required nor authorized the filing of a notice of appeal. Hence, we concluded that the notice of appeal filed in Trujillo was a nullity and could not serve to invoke the jurisdiction of this court.

However, C.A.R. 3.1 was amended, effective January 1, 1988, to provide for the filing of a "notice of appeal" from the Industrial Claim Appeals Office Directly to the Court of Appeals and to specify the contents of such notice of appeal. C.A.R. 3.1(d).

The document filed by claimant complied with the requirements of C.A.R. 3.1(d), and it met all of the substantive requirements of § 8-53-119(3), C.R.S. (1986 Repl.Vol. 3B). The only deficiency claimed by respondents was the document's failure to bear the caption "Petition for Review." Respondents were served with the notice of appeal, have fully participated in the review proceedings, and have neither claimed nor demonstrated any prejudice occasioned by the alleged deficiency.

A pleading or court document should not stand or fall on the appellation it is...

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5 cases
  • Estates in Eagle Ridge v. Valley Bank, No. 03CA2270.
    • United States
    • Colorado Court of Appeals
    • July 28, 2005
    ...We are not persuaded. Colorado law looks to the substance of a pleading and not to the form of its caption. Hawkins v. State Comp. Ins. Auth., 790 P.2d 893, 894 (Colo.App.1990)("A pleading or court document should not stand or fall on the appellation it is given by a litigant. It is the sub......
  • People v. Sims
    • United States
    • Colorado Court of Appeals
    • May 9, 2019
    ...not hinge on the particular appellation used by the prosecutor to describe a legal document. See, e.g. , Hawkins v. State Comp. Ins. Auth. , 790 P.2d 893, 894 (Colo. App. 1990) ("A pleading or court document should not stand or fall on the appellation it is given by a litigant. It is the su......
  • EAGLE PEAK FARMS v. GROUND WTR. MGT. DIST.
    • United States
    • Colorado Court of Appeals
    • September 30, 1999
    ...of an action within its discretion, but such failure does not divest the court of such jurisdiction. See Hawkins v. State Compensation Insurance Authority, 790 P.2d 893 (Colo.App.1990) (defect in document timely filed does not deprive appellate court of jurisdiction); Katz Park Avenue Corp.......
  • Owners Ins. Co. v. Dakota Station II Condo. Ass'n, Inc.
    • United States
    • Colorado Court of Appeals
    • July 27, 2017
    ...a "motion" to vacate, rather than a "petition," the substance of the pleading, and not its title, governs. Hawkins v. State Comp. Ins. Auth. , 790 P.2d 893, 894 (Colo. App. 1990). We conclude that Owners' petition satisfied the statutory requirement for a timely motion to vacate the award.I......
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