Lawson v. Capital City Contracting Co.

• Decision Date: 20 November 1931
• Docket Number: 30829
• Parties: William Lawson v. Capital City Contracting Company, Employer, and Maryland Casualty Company, Insurer, Appellants
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

43 S.W.2d 775

329 Mo. 19

William Lawson v. Capital City Contracting Company, Employer, and Maryland Casualty Company, Insurer, Appellants

No. 30829

Supreme Court of Missouri

November 20, 1931

Appeal from Cole Circuit Court; Hon. Henry J. Westhues Judge.

Transferred to Kansas City Court of Appeals.

Otto & Potter for appellants.

Irwin & Bushman for respondent.

OPINION

Frank J.

This is an appeal from a judgment of the Circuit Court of Cole County, which affirmed an award made by the Workmen's Compensation Commission in favor of respondent. The amount of the award being less than $ 7,500, we have no jurisdiction unless there is a constitutional question in the case.

The case was first heard by one member of the commission and this hearing was later reviewed by the entire commission. At the beginning of the first hearing the commissioner made the following announcement:

"Gentlemen I suppose you know the commission has but one rule of evidence, and that is all evidence is admissible at the peril of the parties that offer it, for that reason we entertain no objection to evidence, so therefore, it will be unnecessary to make objections."

Appellants contend here that this ruling of the commissioner was a denial of their right to object to incompetent evidence and deprived them of their property without due process of law in violation of Section 30 of Article II of the State Constitution and paragraph 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

The second reason advanced by appellants in support of their contention that there is a constitutional question involved in this appeal grows out of the following facts. At the time of plaintiff's injuries he was in the employ of the Capital City Contracting Company. That company, pursuant to a contract between it and the Capital City Water Company, was making improvements and additions to the water plant at Jefferson City, in accordance with plans prepared by the J N. Chester Engineers, a concern of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Appellant was in the employ of the Capital City Contracting Company as one of its foremen to oversee this work. He was injured on December 2, 1926, and filed his claim for compensation on May 13, 1928, which was one year, five months and eleven days after the injury. The statute, Section 3337, Revised Statutes 1929, provides that no proceeding for compensation shall be maintained unless a claim therefor be filed with the commission within six months after the injury, or in case payments have been made on account of the injury, within six months from the date of the last payment. There was oral evidence that payments had been made to respondent on account of his injuries. Appellants contend that respondent's claim is barred by limitation because not filed with the commission within six months from the date of the injury, while respondent asserts that his claim is not barred because it was filed within six months from the date of the last payment made to him on account of his injuries. At the hearing before the commissioner, appellants contended that the checks by which payments were made to respondent were the only competent evidence of such payments, and insisted that such checks be filed with the commission in order to determine the amount of each check, to whom it was payable, and by whom and when such payments were made. Finally, at the conclusion of the hearing before the commissioner it was agreed between the parties that L. W. Helmreich, superintendent of the water company, should write to a Mr. Chester of the J. H. Chester Engineers, a concern located at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and get the check representing the last payment for November,...