Kavalinakis v. Industrial Commission of Utah

• Decision Date: 11 May 1926
• Docket Number: 4337
• Citation: 246 P. 698,67 Utah 174
• Court: Utah Supreme Court
• Parties: KAVALINAKIS v. INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION OF UTAH et al

246 P. 698

67 Utah 174

KAVALINAKIS v. INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION OF UTAH et al

No. 4337

Supreme Court of Utah

May 11, 1926

Application by Konstantinos Kavalinakis for writ to review an order of the Industrial Commission of Utah denying compensation for the death of Gust Calivas while employed by the Utah Fuel Company.

ORDER AFFIRMED.

James H. Wolfe, of Salt Lake City, for plaintiff.

Harvey H. Cluff, Atty. Gen., and J. Robert Robinson, Asst. Atty Gen., for defendant Industrial Commission.

Ferdinand Erickson, of Salt Lake City, for defendant Fuel Co.

FRICK J. THURMAN and CHERRY, JJ., STRAUP, J, concurring. GIDEON, C J. concurring in part and dissenting in part.

OPINION

FRICK, J.

The plaintiff, hereinafter called applicant, a nonresident alien residing in Greece, through an attorney in fact, made application to the Industrial Commission hereinafter called commission, for compensation as a dependent of his son, familiarly known in this country as Gust Valivas, who was killed March 8, 1924, in a mine explosion at Castle Gate, Utah, while employed in the coal mine of the Utah Fuel Company, one of the defendants, hereinafter called company.

There is no question respecting any jurisdictional facts. After a number of hearings before the commission, it rendered a decision denying the application for compensation. Within proper time, the applicant applied to this court for writ of review, which was granted, and pursuant thereto the record of the proceedings had before the commission has been certified to this court.

It is strenuously insisted by counsel for the applicant that in view of the evidence in the record the commission disregarded the law, and hence acted in excess of its powers in denying compensation. In other words, the contention is that the applicant was entitled to compensation as a matter of law, and that it was the duty of the commission to make an award in his favor. The commission, after several hearings, made findings, which are stated in the form of a conclusion, that Gust Calivas "did not leave, at the time of his fatal injury, any one dependent upon him either wholly or partially for maintenance or support, and that therefore the application of the father should be denied." Pursuant to such finding or so-called conclusion, the company was required to pay the sum of $ 998.40 into the special fund provided for in the Workmen's Compensation Act (Comp. Laws 1197, §§ 3061-3165) for permanently injured employees who may require compensation after the regular period of time has elapsed for which compensation may be made at the time of the initial application.

The question that is now presented for decision is: To what extent may this court control the findings or decision of the commission in cases where it finds and decides that the applicant was not a dependent upon the deceased employee at the time of the latter's injury, where, as here, it is contended that the evidence of dependency is without conflict? In view of the provisions and the object and purpose of our Workmen's Compensation Act, and the express limitations that are placed upon the powers of this court by that act, the foregoing question is not one that can be answered offhand, nor is it entirely free from difficulty.

Our Workmen's Compensation Act, after providing for writs of review, etc., provides:

"The findings and conclusions of the commission on questions of fact shall be conclusive and final and shall not be subject to review; such questions of fact shall include ultimate facts and the findings and conclusions of the commission. The commission and each party to the action or proceeding before the commission shall have the right to appear in the review proceeding. Upon the hearing the court shall enter judgment either affirming or setting aside the award.

"* * * No court of this state (except the Supreme Court) shall have jurisdiction to review, reverse, or annul any award of the commission, or to suspend or delay the operation or execution thereof; provided that a writ of mandamus shall lie from the Supreme Court in all proper cases." Comp. Laws Utah 1917, § 3148, subds. (c) and (d), as amended by chapter 67, Laws Utah 1921."

Comp. Laws Utah 1917, § 3149, also provides:

"The commission shall not be bound by the usual common law or statutory rules of evidence or by any technical or formal rules of procedure, other than as herein provided; but may make the investigation in such manner as in its judgment is best calculated to ascertain the substantial rights of the parties and to carry out justly the spirit of this title."

In addition to the foregoing, section 3144 reads as follows:

"The powers and jurisdiction of the commission over each case shall be continuing, and it may from time to time make such modification or change with respect to former findings or orders with respect thereto as in its opinion may be justified."

The foregoing provisions are not only proper to be considered but they perform very important and essential functions in carrying out the full intent and purpose of the Workmen's Compensation Act. It is likewise of the utmost importance to keep in mind that, if the provision that "the commission shall not be bound by the usual common-law or statutory rules of evidence or by any technical or formal rules of procedure" is to be given any effect, then it must logically follow that the findings and conclusions of the commission on questions of fact must be conclusive and not reviewable by this court. To confer upon the commission the latitude to make findings and arrive at conclusions of fact without regard to the rules of law or procedure would be utterly useless and illogical if this court were permitted to review such findings and conclusions by applying to them the usual tests of law and procedure in determining their correctness or soundness. To do that would authorize the commission to arrive at a conclusion independently of the usual rules of law and procedure, while this court would approve them if they conformed to the ordinary rules of law and procedure but would disapprove them if they failed to do so. In view, therefore, that this, like all other courts, is bound by the usual rules of law and procedure in determining whether a fact is established or not, while the commission is not thus bound, the Legislature had no alternative except to make the findings and conclusions of the commission upon questions of fact conclusive upon this court. Nor is there any doubt that the Legislature had ample authority to so provide. That such is the law is too well settled to require the citation of authority. It is, however, suggested that to grant to the commission such a power would permit that body to act arbitrarily and in the very teeth of the facts established by the evidence. As a matter of course, that does not necessarily follow, but the same argument could be leveled against any tribunal from whose findings and judgment there is no right of review or appeal. Finality must of necessity be lodged somewhere, and in the absence of constitutional provisions, the power to determine where it shall be lodged, at least respecting rights created by the Legislature, such as we are now dealing with, is necessarily vested in that body and not in the courts. It might just as well be urged that finality ought not to be vested in this or in any court, because to do so might result in arbitrary or capricious action without regard to the evidence or the law. No one would at this late day pay the slightest attention to such a contention. Nor is there any great danger that any tribunal will unlawfully and arbitrarily exercise the powers vested in it. Should it do so, public criticism and condemnation would soon overtake it and thrust it from power. During the nine years that the Workmen's Compensation Act has been in force and has been administered by the commission, there have come before this court a large number (more than 100) of applications for review, all of which have been granted and reviewed by this court. All of these cases have been officially published and are thus accessible to all persons. A mere cursory perusal of those cases will demonstrate that the commission in administering the law has uniformly acted carefully and conscientiously, and has always construed and applied the law most liberally in favor of the injured employee and his unfortunate dependents. Indeed, in nearly all of the cases the complaint has been, not that the commission has decided against the employee or his dependents, but that it had done so against the employer or the insurance carrier. True, this court in a few cases has been compelled to disagree with the commission upon questions of law, as well as upon jurisdictional grounds. This is, however, the first case in which complaint is made that the commission has arbitrarily disregarded the evidence and has found the facts against a meritorious claim. We could subserve no good purpose in attempting to set forth the evidence in detail. It must suffice to state that nearly all of the evidence is found in the deposition of the claimant, which was taken in Greece, pursuant to a commission issued by the commission, on interrogatories and cross-interrogatories. It should be stated, however, that the record is more or less fragmentary and the evidence is not in all respects very satisfactory or convincing. There is also some documentary evidence in the form of letters and similar documents, including the written application for employment by the deceased, which he made at the time he was employed, which was about one month before the accident resulting in his death. The application for employment contained this question: "Is your father living?" The answer is, "No." The application...