BARON TRANSPORT AND CLAIMS CENTER, APPELLANTS,
v.
TEDDY R. RILEY, APPELLEE
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The court affirmed the temporary total disability award but reversed the attorney's fee award because the deputy commissioner failed to establish that the employer acted in bad faith as to TTD benefits and did not adequately address statutory fee-setting factors.
An attorney's fee award in workers' compensation must be supported by a prior determination of bad faith and must adequately address all statutory factors; absent these, the fee order must be reversed and remanded.
[1] An attorney's fee award in workers' compensation proceedings must be supported by a prior determination of bad faith and must adequately address all statutory fee-setting…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe employer/carrier appealed a deputy commissioner's order awarding the claimant temporary total disability benefits and a $5,200 attorney's fee for …
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MILLS, Judge.
The employer/carrier (e/c) in this consolidated workers’ compensation appeal contend that the deputy commissioner erred in awarding the claimant’s attorney a $5,200 fee and in awarding the claimant temporary total disability (TTD) benefits. We affirm the TTD award without further discussion. As to the fee award, we find the order deficient and reverse.
The order purports to award the fee for services rendered by claimant’s attorney in procuring TTD benefits and certain remedial medical treatment.
However, the basis of the award, the e/c’s bad faith, has never been determined as to TTD benefits. The order awarding TTD benefits, entered on the same day as the order awarding the attorney’s fee, specifically provides that the responsibility for and the amount of claimant’s attorney’s fee will be determined at a subsequent hearing.
Moreover, the fee order does not state the dollar amount of benefits obtained for which it had been determined in a previous order that the e/c acted in bad faith. Nor does the order adequately address all the statutory factors. In such a case, the order should be reversed and the cause remanded because meaningful review is impossible. School Board of Collier County v. Salter, 457 So. 2d 1132 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); Commercial Carrier Corp. v. Porter, 452 So. 2d 125 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services/Division of Blind Services v. Bean, 435 So. 2d 967 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983). The order awarding attorney’s fees is REVERSED and the cause REMANDED for further proceedings. The order awarding TTD benefits is AFFIRMED.
SHIVERS and WIGGINTON, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Shop & GO, Inc. v. Copeland, 549 So. 2d 803 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989)…ing proceeding on the issue of bad faith, and we have repeatedly enforced that provision. See Fleetwood Homes of Florida v. Biagiano, 543 So. 2d 459 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989); Haas v. Seekell, 538 So. 2d 1333 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989); Baron Transport v. Riley, 526 So. 2d 1028 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988). For this reason, we find it necessary to vacate the award of attorney’s fees and remand for a separate hearing on the bad faith issue. AFFIRMED IN PART AND REVERSED IN PART. WENTWORTH, J., concurs; NIMMONS, J. specially conc…
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HRS Dist. I & Div. of Risk Mgmt. v. Bedford, 767 So. 2d 667 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000)…nc. v. Copeland, 549 So. 2d 803 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989) (reversing an attorney fee award because section 440.34(3)(b) requires that a separate fact-finding hearing on the issue of bad faith be held before an award may be made); Baron Transport v. Riley, 526 So. 2d 1028 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988) (reversing an attorney fee award because section 440.34(3)(b) requires that the order awarding a fee contain findings of fact on the issue of bad faith). The order awarding an attorney fee is reversed, and the case is remanded fo…
Authorities Cited
- The Sch. Bd. OF Collier Cnty. v. Salter, 457 So. 2d 1132 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)
- Dep't OF Health & Rehabilitative Service/Division OF Blind Servs. & Div. of Risk Mgmt. v. Bean, 435 So. 2d 967 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983)
- Commercial Carrier Corp. v. Elliott L. Porter, 452 So. 2d 125 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)