Threat v. Rogers
| Decision Date | 08 December 1983 |
| Docket Number | No. AR-345,AR-345 |
| Parties | Aaron THREAT, Appellant, v. J. Carlisle ROGERS and Glenn Gentry, Appellees. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Irvin A. Meyers and Sherry L. Davis of Meyers & Mooney, Orlando, for appellant.
Steven A. Rissman of Cooper & Rissman, Orlando, for appellees.
This cause is before us to review the order of the deputy commissioner vacating, within the 30-day period before it became final, a prior compensation order. We exercise our discretionary jurisdiction to review the order by certiorari, and affirm.
Claimant Aaron Threat injured his arm while pruning trees in a grove in Okahumpka, Florida. An amended claim for benefits was filed, naming J. Carlisle Rogers and Glenn Gentry as employers. Because of an apparent miscommunication between counsel for Mr. Rogers and the deputy commissioner's office, Mr. Rogers did not appear at the hearing held on the claim, subsequent to which the deputy issued his order, dated January 13, 1983, finding claimant entitled to TTD benefits, PTD benefits, and medical expenses, and awarding claimant's attorney a fee under the "bad faith" provision of Section 440.34(3), Florida Statutes. Within the 30-day period before this order became final, Mr. Rogers' attorney filed a motion to vacate the order, with supporting affidavits, asserting that Mr. Rogers' failure to appear at the compensation hearing was the result of miscommunication and excusable neglect, and that Mr. Rogers had a meritorious defense to the claim for compensation, in that he does not own the grove property in question and never employed claimant. On February 4, 1983, the deputy entered an order granting the motion to vacate and setting aside his prior order.
Although the deputy commissioner has no authority to vacate an order which has become final, Farrell v. Amica Mutual Insurance Co., 361 So.2d 408 (Fla.1978), we hold that the deputy has the authority, within the period before the order becomes final, to correct errors arising from inadvertence, mistake, or excusable neglect, as in the case at issue. See, Acosta Roofing Co. v. Gillyard, 402 So.2d 1321 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981), in which this court found such authority in Section 440.25(4)(a), Florida Statutes. See also, Morgan Yacht Corporation v. Edwards, 386 So.2d 883 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980), which found that Section 440.33(1), Florida Statutes, authorized the deputy to rescind his approval of settlement stipulations upon a finding of...
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...constitute excusable neglect, mistake or inadvertence, so as to support a motion to vacate a compensation order." Threat v. Rogers, 443 So.2d 149, 150 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983). "`[W]here inaction results from clerical or secretarial error, reasonable misunderstanding, a system gone awry or any o......
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Millinger v. Broward County Mental Health Div. and Risk Management, 93-2311
...Although Farrell involved the IRC and the present case involves a JCC, the same rationale applies here. See, e.g., Threat v. Rogers, 443 So.2d 149 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983), citing Farrell. In addition, a number of subsequent cases from this court have held, consistent with Farrell, that absent s......
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Drexel Properties, Inc. v. Brown, AQ-392
...set forth in Judge Robert Smith's dissent and need not be expounded upon here. Grounded upon this court's opinion in Threat v. Rogers, 443 So.2d 149 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983), the deputy commissioner's order of December 21, 1982 is AFFIRMED. BOOTH, J., concurs. ROBERT P. SMITH, Jr., J., dissents,......
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...an order. Drexel Props., Inc. v. Brown, 443 So.2d 150 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983), reaffirmed the rule this court applied in Threat v. Rogers, 443 So.2d 149 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983), where we approved a deputy commissioner's order vacating a prior compensation order within the 30-day period before it be......