GILBERT DAVIS, APPELLANT,
v.
RAULERSON & SONS, INC., AND FLORIDA FARM BUREAU INSURANCE COMPANIES, APPELLEES

Fla. 1st DCA | 1981-12-29
No. YY-167
BOOTH and SHAW, JJ., concur.
407 So. 2d 1025 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1981) Caution
Cited by 2 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

In this workers' compensation appeal, the court addressed whether an employer/carrier must pay an attorney fee awarded to the claimant's counsel following a settlement agreement. The court affirmed the denial of appellate attorney fees but reversed the trial court's apportionment of the fee award, holding that the parties' stipulation agreement required the employer/carrier to bear the full cost of the attorney fee.


Holding

The court affirmed the denial of appellate attorney fees from the previous appeal but reversed the apportionment of the fee award. The parties' stipulation agreement and affidavit clearly provided that the employer/carrier would bear full responsibility for the attorney fee, and this contractual provision supersedes the statutory apportionment rule.


Headnotes

[1] A prior appellate decision, from which no rehearing was sought, is a final adjudication of the issues presented and cannot be revisited.

[2] A stipulation agreement, when read in conjunction with an affixed affidavit, can establish the parties' intent regarding the allocation of attorney fees.

Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“The terms of the stipulation agreement are plainly intended to be read in conjunction with the affixed affidavit. The parties accordingly agreed to an award of a reasonable fee for claimant's counsel, the reasonableness of which was to be determined by the deputy commissioner, and further agreed that the employer/carrier would bear full responsibility for that award.”

Establishes that the stipulation and affidavit must be read together and express the parties' clear intent for the employer/carrier to pay the full attorney fee.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

On May 25, 1979, an order increased the claimant's weekly compensation rate for temporary total disability benefits. The employer/carrier appealed and…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
WENTWORTH, Judge.

WENTWORTH, Judge.

Claimant appeals a workers’ compensation order by which (1) his attorney was denied fees for services rendered on a previous appeal arising out of the compensable industrial accident, and (2) the employer/carrier was required to pay only 75% of the attorney fee awarded to claimant’s counsel for benefits obtained. We affirm on the first issue and reverse on the second.

On May 25, 1979, an order was entered requiring employer/carrier to pay claimant an increased weekly compensation rate as to temporary total disability benefits. The employer/carrier appealed that order and this court affirmed per curiam. On February 13, 1980, the application for appellate attorney fees filed by claimant’s counsel was denied. No petition for rehearing was filed with respect to that denial. We accordingly decline to re-visit that previously adjudicated issue and conclude that the trial court properly refused to entertain claimant’s motion for appellate attorney fees.

We find merit in claimant’s contention with respect to the fee awarded claimant’s counsel, and conclude that the deputy commissioner erred in apportioning the award between the employer/carrier and the claimant pursuant to § 440.34, Florida Statutes (1978).

On September 12, 1980, the parties entered into a stipulation and joint petition for lump sum payment. Under the terms of that stipulation the employer/carrier was discharged from all present, past and future liability in consideration for which claimant was to receive $1,000 total compensation, which amount included future medical care. The parties further agreed that the deputy commissioner would determine the amount of a reasonable fee for claimant’s attorney. Affixed to the stipulation agreement was an affidavit signed by claimant. The pertinent provision of that affidavit provided as follows:

(7) I understand that the employer/carrier herein will pay my attorney a fee which is to be determined by the Deputy Commissioner. This fee does not come out of my $1,000.

The deputy commissioner found that counsel for claimant was entitled to a reasonable fee of $2,000, and ordered that seventy-five percent of that amount was to be paid by the employer/carrier and the remainder by claimant.

The terms of the stipulation agreement are plainly intended to be read in conjunction with the affixed affidavit. The parties accordingly agreed to an award of a reasonable fee for claimant’s counsel, the reasonableness of which was to be determined by the deputy commissioner, and further agreed that the employer/carrier would bear full responsibility for that award. We conclude that the statute states an apportionment rule subject to the contrary provision of the parties’ agreement in this case.

The order is therefore reversed insofar as apportionment of the fee is required, and the cause is remanded to the deputy commissioner for entry of an order consistent with this opinion. In all other respects, the order is affirmed.

BOOTH and SHAW, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Executive Motors, Inc. v. Strack, 527 So. 2d 286 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)
    …necessary function of the ultimate determination in which claimant finally prevailed. Compare Honeywell, Inc. v. Haley, 216 So. 2d 745, 747-748 (Fla.1968). Although the employer/carrier rely heavily on the opinion in Davis v. Raulerson & Sons, Inc., 407 So. 2d 1025 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981), we consider that case to be distinguishable. In Davis, the appeal involved a [*288] challenge to the deputy’s determination on the merits of the claim regarding an increased compensation rate and this Court affirmed, but denied…

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw