Plymouth Citrus Products Co-op. v. Williamson

Decision Date16 March 1954
Docket NumberCO-OP
Citation71 So.2d 162
PartiesPLYMOUTH CITRUS PRODUCTSv. WILLIAMSON et al.
CourtFlorida Supreme Court

J. Thomas Gurney, Orlando, for petitioner.

Lester Harris, Orlando, Rodney Durrance and Burnis T. Coleman, Tallahassee, for respondents.

MATHEWS, Justice.

This is a Workmen's Compensation case. Williamson was hurt on June 18, 1951. There was some conflicting evidence before the Deputy Commissioner but he found that the claimant did not suffer an accident under the decision in the case of McNeill v. Thompson, Fla., 53 So.2d 868. On an appeal the order of the Deputy was affirmed by the Full Commission and no appeal was taken from the order by the Full Commission.

At a later date an opinion in the case of Gray v. Employers' Mutual Liability Insurance Co., Fla., 64 So.2d 650, was handed down by this Court. Claimant filed a petition for modification and at the second hearing before the Deputy, the Deputy held that there was a mistake in determination of fact and awarded compensation. An appeal was prosecuted from this second award and the Full Commission made an order affirming the Deputy. In its order, now under review by the petition for certiorari, the Full Commission stated:

'The Commission is of the opinion that there was a mistake of law and not a mistake of fact in the original hearings before the Deputy and before the Commission. The petition for modification does not therefore appear to be the proper procedure in this matter, due to the failure of the petition to come within the provisions of [F.S.A.] Section 440.28 of the Workmen's Compensation Law. It is the commission's belief, however, that the same petition for modification can be accepted as the filing of a new claim by the claimant. The petition, or new claim as we choose to regard same, was filed in November of 1952. The two year limitation for the filing of a claim did not expire until June 18, 1953. It appears certain that if claimant had not filed his original claim at the time he did so, but had waited until November of 1952 to do so, claimant would have recovered compensation under the authority of Gray v. Employer's Mutual Liability Insurance Co. [Fla.], 64 So.2d 650.

'It is the opinion of the Commission that there are no formal requirements for the filing of a 'claim' in a compensation matter and, therefore, we consider the filing of claimant's petition in November, 1952, as the filing of a claim for compensation within two years of the date of injury.

'The contention has been advanced that the previous proceedings held in this matter, from which no appeal was taken, is res judicata to the present claim. It is the opinion of the Commission that res judicata is not a defense available to the parties to this present claim where there has been an intervening decision, such as Gray v. Employers Mutual Liability Insurance Co., changing the law or the legal...

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11 cases
  • Champlovier v. City of Miami, 93-710
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 12 Octubre 1995
    ...v. General Sand and Stone, 478 So.2d 396 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985), Yovan v. Burdines, 81 So.2d 555 (Fla.1955), and Plymouth Citrus Products Co-op v. Williamson, 71 So.2d 162 (Fla.1954). These cases stand for the important but inapposite 4 proposition that a final order awarding compensation bene......
  • Florida Power Corp. v. Garcia
    • United States
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • 1 Marzo 2001
    ...where (as here) such subsequent case law is not directly on point8 and irrefutably controlling. Cf. Plymouth Citrus Products Co-op. v. Williamson, 71 So.2d 162 (Fla.1954) (involving workers' compensation claim barred by prior determination that claimant had not suffered an accident based up......
  • Floyd v. State ex rel. LaVigne Elec. Co.
    • United States
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • 21 Marzo 1962
    ...of an issue once judicially decided and to accord finality to judgments. * * *' 49 C.J.S. Judgments § 272.Cf. Plymouth Citrus Prod. Co-Op. v. Williamson, Fla.1954, 71 So.2d 162. ...
  • Chavez v. Tower Hill Signature Ins. Co.
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 7 Agosto 2019
    ...the case up for the filing of a new claim under the same facts . Garcia, 780 So. 2d at 42–43 ( quoting Plymouth Citrus Prods. Co-op. v. Williamson, 71 So. 2d 162, 163 (Fla. 1954) ).The Garcia Court collects a plethora of controlling Florida law compelling this rule. See Garcia, 780 So. 2d a......
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