JACQUELINE ANTHONY, DECEASED, ETC., APPELLANT,
v.
COLLIER COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, ET AL., APPELLEES
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Claimant appealed dismissal of a workers' compensation claim for failure to prosecute. The court affirmed, holding that mailing of a claim acknowledgment letter by the Division of Workers' Compensation is a ministerial act that does not constitute a pleading or record activity under Florida Workers' Compensation Rules.
The mailing of a claim acknowledgment by the Division is a simple ministerial act that does not constitute a pleading or other record activity for purposes of tolling the statute of limitations. The claim acknowledgment merely recites receipt and retransmission of the claim and does not constitute service of process in the conventional sense.
[1] The mailing of a claim acknowledgment letter by the Division of Workers’ Compensation is a ministerial act and does not constitute a pleading or other record activity for…
[2] A claim acknowledgment letter, which merely recites the receipt and retransmission of a claim, does not constitute service of process.
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“the preparation and mailing of a claim acknowledgment by the Division is a simple ministerial act and does not constitute a pleading or other record activity so as to determine a period of the statute of limitation”
Establishes that claim acknowledgment is ministerial and does not affect the statute of limitations period
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe claimant filed a workers' compensation claim on November 15, 1979. The Division of Workers' Compensation mailed a claim acknowledgment on December…
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MILLS, Judge.
The claimant appeals an order dismissing her claim for failure to prosecute. We affirm.
The claim for compensation was filed 15 November 1979. The claim acknowledgment was mailed 4 December 1979. A motion to dismiss for failure to prosecute was filed 20 November 1981, more than two years after filing the claim but not two years from the mailing of the claim acknowledgment. No other activity took place, either on or off the record.
This raises for the first time the issue of whether the mailing of a claim acknowledgment letter by the Division of Workers’ Compensation is a filing of pleadings or actions “otherwise” within the meaning of Fla.W.C.R.P. 11(b).
We agree with the reasoning of the deputy commissioner:
I find that as a matter of law the preparation and mailing of a claim acknowledgment by the Division is a simple ministerial act and does not constitute a pleading or other record activity so as to determine a period of the statute of limitation.
The claim acknowledgment merely recites the receipt of the claim and its retransmission to the carrier of record and the named employer. This does not constitute service of process in the conventional sense. Due process of law and notice of the pending claim is provided for in the Statute and the Rules in that a certified notice of the final hearing with fifteen days notice must be sent by certified mail to the parties.
The Claimant also contends that the claim acknowledgment is ordinarily and routinely included in the records on appeal from workers’ compensation orders. While this is usual and customary, Rule 18 of the Workers’ Compensation Rules does not specifically list the claim acknowledgment as a document to be included mandatorily in the record on appeal. The Rule goes on to state that unless administrative or administerial papers are received specifically in evidence they shall not be included in the record on appeal. Thus, it seems the Rule contemplates the result advocated by the Employer/Carrier. We note that this result furthers the important goal of expeditious resolution of workers’ compensation disputes.
AFFIRMED.
ERVIN and WIGGINTON, JJ., concur.
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Regal Wood Prods., Inc. v. Raimundo Mendez, 432 So. 2d 141 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983)…not discretionary. See Tascano v. State, 393 So. 2d 540 (Fla.1981). The claimant made no showing of good cause for failure to prosecute and under the rule it is mandatory that the claim be dismissed. See also Anthony v. Collier County School Board, 420 So. 2d 895 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982); Handley v. Napoleon Steel Contractors, Inc., 417 So. 2d 295 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982). Under these circumstances it was an abuse of discretion for the deputy to deny the E/C’s motion to dismiss. See generally, Boeing Co. v. Merchant,…
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Orange Cnty. Sch. Bd. & Gallagher Bassett Servs., Inc. v. Perkins, 619 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993)…s within the one year period, but, also it is clear there was non-recorded [sic] activity occurring, pertaining to the outstanding issue of additional medical care for claimant, within the one year period. In Anthony v. Collier County School Board, 420 So. 2d 895 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982), we held that the mailing of a claim acknowledgment letter by the Division of Workers’ Compensation is not action within the meaning of former Rule 11(b), Florida Workers' Compensation Rules of Procedure. Likewise, in the present…