Tony Grande, Inc. v. W.C.A.B. (Rodriguez)
| Decision Date | 04 February 1983 |
| Citation | 455 A.2d 299,71 Pa.Cmwlth. 566 |
| Parties | TONY GRANDE, INC., Petitioner, v. WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION APPEAL BOARD (Angelo M. RODRIGUEZ), Respondents. |
| Court | Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court |
John A. Goldstan, Goldstan & Goldstan, Reading, for petitioner.
James M. Potter, Donald F. Smith, Jr., Liever, Hyman & Potter, Reading, for respondents.
Before ROGERS, BLATT and CRAIG, JJ.
The petitioner, Tony Grande, Inc., appeals here from a decision of the Workmen's Compensation Appeal Board (Board) which dismissed its appeal and granted the motion to quash filed by the claimant (Rodriguez). The claimant argues that the appeal was not filed within the time period prescribed in Section 423 of The Pennsylvania Workmen's Compensation Act (Act) 1, and it is undisputed that the appeal was not filed within the 20 day period provided for by the Act.
The petitioner contends that it was an abuse of discretion for the Board to refuse to exercise its power to extend the time for appeal from a referee's determination beyond the 20 day period allowable here, and it argues that "cause was shown" for the delay in its documentation of the unpredicted and unavoidable hospitalization 2 of its attorney 10 days into the appeal period.
Section 423 of the Act, 77 P.S. § 853 provides in pertinent part:
Any party in interest may, within twenty days after notice of a referee's award or disallowance of compensation shall have been served upon him, take an appeal to the board.... The board may, upon cause shown, extend the time provided for in this article for taking such appeal or for the filing of an answer or other pleading.
While it is true that mere administrative oversight or negligence occurring in the office of the appellant's lawyer is not cause for allowing a late appeal, 3 we are faced in this case with a non-negligent failure to file a timely appeal due to the hospitalization of petitioner's counsel, a failure which was promptly corrected by the attorney's associate, immediately upon it being brought to his attention three days after the appeal period had lapsed. Our Supreme Court held in Bass v. Commonwealth, 485 Pa. 256, 401 A.2d 1133 (1979) where a factually similar situation was presented, that where no prejudice occurred, the petitioner should not lose his day in court due to the non-negligent act of his attorney.
Inasmuch as the failure to file a timely appeal was non-negligent, and any...
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Com. v. Stock
...v. Commonwealth of Pa., Unemployment Comp. Bd. of Review, 74 Pa.Commw. 388, 459 A.2d 1342 (1983)(same); Tony Grande, Inc. v. W.C.A.B. (Rodriguez), 71 Pa.Commw. 566, 455 A.2d 299 (1983)(same); Walker v. Commonwealth of Pa., Unemployment Comp. Bd. of Review, 75 Pa.Commw. 116, 461 A.2d 346 (19......
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City of Philadelphia v. Tirrill
...argument that their appeal was belatedly filed because of the illness of counsel: 1. Tony Grande, Inc. v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Rodriquez), 71 Pa.Cmwlth.566, 455 A.2d 299 (1983); 2. Lajevic v. Department of Transportation, 718 A.2d 371 (Pa.Cmwlth.1998); 3. Smith v. Department ......
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Dep't of Labor & Indus. v. Unemployment Comp. Bd. of Review
...Compensation Board of Review, 74 Pa.Cmwlth. 388, 459 A.2d 1342, 1343 (1983); Tony Grande, Inc. v. Workmen's Compensation Appeal Board (Rodriquez), 71 Pa.Cmwlth. 566, 455 A.2d 299, 300 (1983). However, this Court has denied relief to claimants for delays when the failure to timely file was c......
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Baum v. Com., 1768 C.D. 2007
...closing time, was a non-negligent happenstance for granting appeal nunc pro tunc); Tony Grande, Inc. v. Workmen's Compensation Appeal Bd. (Rodriquez), [71 Pa.Cmwlth. 566, 455 A.2d 299, 300 (1983)] (hospitalization of appellant's attorney for unexpected and serious cardiac problems ten days ......