RAMER'S FEED INC., AND FLORIDA FARM BUREAU INSURANCE CO., APPELLANTS,
v.
BENJAMIN HOWARD FLEIG, DECEASED, HELEN LAVICKA, MOTHER & DEPENDENT, APPELLEE
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PER CURIAM.
The employer/carrier appeals an order finding that the claimant mother was a dependent of her son, who lived apart from his widowed mother and died in a compensable accident. There was evidence that the deceased son regularly contributed $107.00 per month to claimant and that two other children of the claimant contributed a like sum. These contributions, along with social security of approximately $200.00 per month, constituted claimant’s only income. There was also evidence that claimant, who is sixty-nine years old, suffers from a variety of illnesses and has been unable to work for a number of years. Applying the criteria of Panama City Stevedoring Co., Inc. v. Padgett, 149 Fla. 687, 6 So. 2d 822 (1942) and MacDon Lumber Co. v. Stevenson, 117 So. 2d 487 (Fla.1960), we see no error in the deputy’s finding of dependency.
AFFIRMED.
LARRY G. SMITH and SHAW, JJ., concur. MILLS, J., dissents with opinion.
MILLS, Judge,
dissenting.
I dissent.
Mrs. LaVicka received $821 monthly support. Social security contributed $200; a son contributed $107 plus a rent-free apartment valued at $300; a daughter contributed $107; and the deceased son contributed $107. The contribution of the deceased son amounted to 13% of the mother’s support.
The deputy’s finding of dependency was not supported by competent substantial evidence. The contribution of the deceased son was not substantial, rather, it was nominal. Mrs. LaVicka testified that her standard of living had not declined since she lost the support of her deceased son.
Under the criteria of MacDon Lumber Co. v. Stevenson, 117 So. 2d 487 (Fla.1960), this claim should have been dismissed because Mrs. LaVicka failed to prove that substantial contributions were made by her son that enabled her to maintain her accustomed standard of living.
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Citator
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Carrington Wise v. E.L. Copeland Builders & Aetna Life & Cas. Co., 435 So. 2d 339 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983)…was not actually dependent upon the deceased employee and was, therefore, not entitled to benefits. The test has been routinely, and properly, applied in subsequent cases where parents have sought dependency benefits. See Ramer’s Feed Inc. v. Fleig, 414 So. 2d 17 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982); Wright v. Commercial Metals Co., 429 So. 2d 826 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983); Cone Brothers Contracting v. Rogers, 432 So. 2d 812 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983). The inapplicability of the MacDon test to situations in which children claim to be dep…
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McCRAY v. Plantation, 437 So. 2d 764 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983)…might be unaffected by a 15% diminution in monthly income, a person with a total monthly income of $541 would almost certainly be unable to maintain his or her accustomed standard of living following a 15% diminution. In Ramer’s Feed Inc. v. Fleig, 414 So. 2d 17 (Fla. 1st DCA), rev. denied, 424 So. 2d 762 (Fla.1982), this court found that a 13% diminution in a mother’s income could support a finding of dependency where the mother’s total income was $821. Appellees argue that appellant’s standard of living…
Authorities Cited
- Panama City Stevedoring Co. v. MRS. Georgia Padgett, 149 Fla. 687 (Fla. 1942)
- MacDON Lumber Co. & Mass. Bonding & Ins. Co. v. Mrs. Fannie Mae Stevenson & Fla. Indus. Comm'n, 117 So. 2d 487 (Fla. 1960)