Veal v. American Maintenance & Repair, Inc.
| Decision Date | 28 December 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. 2000 CA 2245.,2000 CA 2245. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
| Parties | Leo VEAL, Sr. v. AMERICAN MAINTENANCE & REPAIR, INC. and The Travelers Insurance Co. |
Dele A. Adebamiji, Felecia E. Adebamiji, Baton Rouge, LA, for plaintiff/appellee, Leo Veal, Sr.
L. Dean Fryday, Jr., Baton Rouge, LA, for defendants/appellants, American Maintenance & Repair, Inc. and The Travelers Insurance Company.
BEFORE: CARTER, C.J., PARRO, and CLAIBORNE,1 JJ.
The issue presented in this appeal is whether a judgment rendered on October 2, 1991, provided that a workers' compensation claimant would receive benefits beyond the date of his trial. This is the fourth time this matter has been before this court for review since the initial judgment was rendered.2
Leo Veal, Sr., was injured while repairing a diesel engine during his employment with American Maintenance & Repair, Inc. on May 25, 1988. Mr. Veal was diagnosed with a compound fracture of the third metacarpal with a partial laceration of the extensor tendon and a skin avulsion of the dorsum of the right hand.
Mr. Veal was treated for his injury for approximately six months and was released to return to work, subject to certain lifting restrictions, on November 30, 1988. Mr. Veal was paid workers' compensation, along with all related medical expenses, from the date of the accident until December 28, 1988, when his benefits were stopped. Thereafter, Mr. Veal filed suit in district court against American Maintenance & Repair, Inc. and its workers' compensation insurer, Aetna Casualty & Surety Company3 (collectively referred to as defendants), alleging he was totally and permanently disabled.
Following a trial on Mr. Veal's claims, the trial court rendered judgment on October 2, 1991, in Mr. Veal's favor and awarded weekly benefits and medical expenses from the date of the accident through the date of trial. The judgment of the trial court was affirmed by this court on December 23, 1992. Veal v. American Maintenance & Repair, Inc., 612 So.2d 1070 (La.App. 1st Cir.1992) (unpublished).
On February 1, 1993, Mr. Veal filed a "Motion to Clarify Judgment" in the trial court. According to the February 12, 1993 minutes contained in the record, the October 2, 1991 judgment was discussed, but no written order was issued. On March 23, 1993, defendants deposited funds awarded in the October 2, 1991 judgment, including workers' compensation payments for the period between December 28, 1988, through the trial date, September 18, 1991, into the registry of the court. The funds were disbursed to Mr. Veal on June 24, 1993. However, the defendants never paid any monies to Mr. Veal beyond the date of his trial.
On March 18, 1994, Mr. Veal filed a "Petition for Recertification of Workmen's Compensation" in the trial court, which included a claim for his continued compensation. The defendants filed peremptory exceptions raising the objections of res judicata and prescription, which were sustained by the trial court. Mr. Veal appealed the dismissal of his petition. In an opinion issued June 23, 1995, this court interpreted Mr. Veal's petition for recertification as a petition for modification and reversed the trial court. The matter was remanded to the Office of Workers' Compensation Administration (OWC), because the district court no longer had subject matter jurisdiction. See Veal v. American Maintenance & Repair, Inc., 94-2164 (La. App. 1st Cir. 6/23/95), 657 So.2d 732.
Apparently, when Mr. Veal tried to pursue his claim in the OWC, the defendants filed a declinatory exception to the OWC's subject matter jurisdiction. The exception was denied by the OWC, and the defendant applied for a supervisory writ to this court. Although the writ application is not in the record, this court's decision on the writ is in the record and shows the matter was transferred back to the district court. Veal v. American Maintenance & Repair, Inc., 99-0438 (La.App. 1st Cir. 5/7/99) (unpublished writ action).
On November 29, 1999, Mr. Veal filed a "Motion to Enforce Original Workers' Compensation Judgment" in the district court contending that defendants never paid everything they were ordered to pay in the original judgment. After hearing the arguments of Mr. Veal and defendants, the trial court found that the October 2, 1991 judgment provided that Mr. Veal was to continually receive workers' compensation benefits until that judgment was changed by a later determination.
Defendants appeal, urging that the trial court's ruling was a prohibited substantive change to a final written judgment and that a motion for enforcement of judgment is not a proper vehicle to amend a final written judgment.
The October 2, 1991 judgment provided the following, in pertinent part:
Defendants are to pay to Plaintiff the maximum amount of compensation benefits due from the date of accident on May 25, 1988, through this trial date, September 18, 1991, together with all related medical expenses, less a credit to Defendants for compensation paid from May 25, 1988 through December 28, 1988, reserving to Defendants all of their rights for review at a later time, depending on new medical evaluations. (Emphasis ours.)
The first issue to be resolved involves whether the October 2, 1991 judgment is ambiguous. If a judgment is ambiguous, it is susceptible to more than one meaning. The October 2, 1991 judgment awards Mr. Veal the maximum amount of compensation from the date of his accident through the trial date, September 18, 1991. Defendants argue that there is a defined time period that represents the period in which Mr. Veal was to receive payment. However, the judgment also expressly grants the defendants the right for review at a later time depending on new medical evaluations. The trial court concluded that if the judgment had awarded benefits for a defined period of time, there would be no need to reserve rights of review in the future. We agree with the trial court's finding that the judgment, as written, could mean two different things.
Our focus centers on the phrase in the October 2, 1991 judgment that awards workers' compensation benefits "due from the date of accident on May 25, 1988, through this trial date, September 18, 1991." The word "through" is subject to different meanings, including "without stopping for." It can also be used as a function word indicating a period of time, such as "from the beginning to the end of' or "to and including." See Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 1230 (10th ed.1997). Considering these different definitions, we find that the phraseology of the judgment as a whole creates some confusion as to whether the judgment awarded benefits beyond the date of trial.
In construing a judgment, the entire...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Veal v. American Maintenance and Repair
...benefits until another judgment finds a modification in plaintiff's disability status. In Veal v. American Maintenance & Repair, Inc., 00-2245 (La.App. 1 Cir. 12/28/01), 804 So.2d 889, 892 (hereafter referred to as "Veal IV"), we remanded the case to the district court for a determination o......
-
Nunez v. Tribe, No. 07-0424 (La. App. 10/31/2007)
... ... Tribe, Traco Production Services, Inc. (Traco Production), and Steadfast Insurance Company ... Nunez in attempt to repair her fractured ankle and foot bones. He suggested that three ... with a proper decree on the facts and law presented." Veal v. Am. Maint. & Repair, Inc., 00-2245, pp. 4-5 (La.App. 1 ... ...
-
Trahan v. Trahan
...to arrive at an interpretation consistent with a proper decree on the facts and law presented. Veal v. American Maintenance & Repair, Inc., 00–2245 (La.App. 1 Cir. 12/28/01), 804 So.2d 889, 891. When the trial court rendered the May 2015 judgment, the Trahans' community property partition l......