Moore v. North Dakota Workmen's Compensation Bureau, 10920
Decision Date | 04 September 1985 |
Docket Number | No. 10920,10920 |
Citation | 374 N.W.2d 71 |
Parties | Dale H. MOORE, Appellant, v. NORTH DAKOTA WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION BUREAU, Appellee. Civ. |
Court | North Dakota Supreme Court |
Wheeler, Wolf, Peterson, Schmitz, McDonald & Johnson, Bismarck, for appellant; argued by Steven L. Latham, Bismarck.
Dean J. Haas, Asst. Atty. Gen., North Dakota Workmen's Compensation Bureau, Bismarck, for appellee.
Dale H. Moore appeals from a district court judgment affirming an order of the North Dakota Workmen's Compensation Bureau [Bureau] which denied his request for a lump sum settlement under Sec. 65-05-25, N.D.C.C., and also denied his request for payment of attorney fees for legal representation before the Bureau in seeking the lump sum settlement. Moore's sole contention on appeal is that the Bureau erred in denying his request for attorney fees. We agree, and accordingly reverse the judgment insofar as it denies his request for attorney fees for both representation before the Bureau and on the appeal. 1
On November 21, 1980, Moore injured his back during the course of his employment with Scott Drilling, Inc. Moore has been unable to return to work, and he has received workmen's compensation medical and disability benefits since the date of his injury.
During September 1982, Moore retained legal counsel to assist him in negotiating with the Bureau for payment of a lump sum representing the present value of all future payments of compensation, or a lump sum stipulation pursuant to Sec. 65-05-25, N.D.C.C. Ultimately, by order dated June 6, 1984, the Bureau denied Moore's request for a lump sum settlement, determining that a lump sum payment would not be in his "best interests." The Bureau also denied Moore's request for attorney fees, concluding that Moore's claim had not been "denied or reduced," a prerequisite for payment of attorney fees under Sec. 92-01-02-11 of the North Dakota Administrative Code. The Bureau reasoned that because Moore continues to receive periodic benefits, and because a lump sum payment would be equal to the present value of all future benefits Moore would have received, it has not in effect "denied or reduced" Moore's claim.
It is unnecessary for us to determine whether or not Moore's claim has been "denied or reduced" within the meaning of Sec. 92-01-02-11, N.D.A.C., because we conclude that the Bureau has no statutory authority to impose such a restriction on the payment of attorney fees to a claimant seeking a lump sum settlement under Sec. 65-05-25, N.D.C.C.
Section 65-02-08, N.D.C.C., which authorizes payment of a claimant's attorney fees for proceedings before the Bureau, provides:
[Emphasis added.]
Under the authority granted by Sec. 65-02-08, N.D.C.C., the Bureau has promulgated Sec. 92-01-02-11, N.D.A.C., which provides:
[Emphasis added.]
It is a basic rule of administrative law that an administrative regulation may not exceed statutory authority or supersede a statute, and that a regulation which goes beyond what the Legislature has authorized is void. Steele v. North Dakota Workmen's Compensation Bureau, 273 N.W.2d 692, 701 (N.D.1978); Medical Properties v. North Dakota Board of Pharm., 80 N.W.2d 87, 89 (N.D.1956). The rationale for this principle is that allowing an administrative agency to promulgate rules which include substantive matters not included in the statute under which it is acting constitutes an improper delegation of legislative power. Medical Properties, supra.
In Medical Properties, supra, 80 N.W.2d at 90, this court stated:
" " [quoting 42 Am.Jur. Public Administrative Law Sec. 53, at pp. 358-360 (1942) ].
Section 65-02-08, N.D.C.C., provides that the Bureau shall pay a claimant's attorney fees incurred "in proceedings before the bureau...." The statute does not differentiate between types of proceedings in which attorney fees are authorized, nor can it be interpreted to limit the claimant's right to attorney fees to situations in which the Bureau has either "denied or reduced" a claim.
The Bureau appears to find aid and comfort in this court's decision in Wallace v. Workmen's Compensation Bureau, 70 N.D. 193, 293 N.W. 192 (1940). In Wallace, supra, 70 N.D. at 200, 293 N.W. at 195, the court held that, under Sec. 396a17 of the Compiled Laws of North Dakota, the predecessor statute to Sec. 65-10-03, N.D.C.C., reasonable attorney fees are allowable only to a claimant who prevails on appeal in "cases where the 'final action of such Bureau denies the right of the claimant to participate at all in the Workmen's Compensation Fund.' "
Wallace provides no support for the Bureau's position not only because it addressed the statutory scheme for assessing attorney fees on an appeal from a Bureau decision, but because the form of the statute at issue in that case is no longer in existence. Attorney fees on an appeal from a decision of the Bureau are currently authorized by Sec. 65-10-03, N.D.C.C, and under its terms they can be denied only if "the appeal is determined to be frivolous." Under our present statutory scheme, Wallace does not provide the Bureau the authority to deny attorney fees in cases where it has neither denied or reduced a claim.
The Bureau also asserts that the terms of the lump sum settlement statute support its denial of attorney fees in this case. Section 65-05-25, N.D.C.C., provides in pertinent part:
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