VIRGINIA MCCALLUM, APPELLANT,
v.
PALM BEACH COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT AND F.A. RICHARD & ASSOCIATES, APPELLEES
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.
Virginia McCallum appeals an order denying her motion for attorney's fees in a workers' compensation settlement dispute. The court reversed, holding that the judge of compensation claims has jurisdiction to interpret the settlement agreement and determine whether the employer/carrier violated its terms regarding Medicare claim liability.
The court held that the judge of compensation claims has jurisdiction to interpret the settlement agreement and determine whether the employer/carrier failed to comply with its terms. The determination of settlement agreement terms presents a question of law within the judge's authority.
[1] A judge of compensation claims has jurisdiction to construe the terms of a settlement agreement for the purpose of ruling on a motion for attorney's fees.
[2] A settlement agreement's terms may require an employer/carrier to pay amounts sought by Medicare from a claimant.
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 determination of the terms of a settlement agreement presents a question of law”
Establishes that interpreting settlement agreements falls within the judge of compensation claims's jurisdiction
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMcCallum settled her workers' compensation claim with Palm Beach County School Board and its carrier F.A. Richard & Associates on November 19, 2003. T…
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.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Settlement Agreement Construction cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Claimant, Virginia McCallum, appeals an order in which the judge of compensation claims determined that she did not have jurisdiction to construe the parties’ settlement agreement for the purpose of ruling on claimant’s motion for attorney’s fees. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.
On November 19, 2003, claimant and Palm Beach County School Board, the employer, and F.A. Richard and Associates, the carrier, entered into a settlement agreement whereby the employer/carrier agreed to pay McCallum a lump sum and McCallum agreed to release the employer/carrier from any further claims. The parties agreed that the employer/carrier “will be responsible for payment of indemnity (if applicable) and for provision of authorized medical treatment and care through the date of the Judge of Compensation Claims’s approval of the attorney fee stipulation and that employer/carrier/servicing agent’s responsibility to provide Fla. Stat. § 440 benefits will cease on that date.” The parties also agreed that the employer/carrier “shall set up and fund a Medicare Set Aside Trust to indemnify the Claimant and her attorney from any medical liens asserted by Medicare.” On December 1, 2003, claimant filed a Petition for Benefits asking the employer/carrier to pay for her share of two bills Medicare had covered and was seeking from her: a $10.32 payment to Northridge Internal Medicine for treatment provided to her between May 28, 2002, and June 15, 2002; and a $50.12 payment to Long Beach Medical Center for treatment between August 19, 2003, and September 12, 2003.
On December 11, 2003, the judge of compensation claims approved the attorney’s-fee stipulation, thus finalizing the parties’ settlement agreement.
The employer/carrier disputed claimant’s entitlement to the two Medicare claims recited above, and the issue went to mediation, which was unsuccessful. Finally, however, the employer/carrier agreed to hold the claimant harmless against the Medicare claims. MeCallum thereafter filed a motion for attorney’s fees, seeking recovery from the employer/carrier for time expended in connection with the mediation and in securing the hold-harmless agreement. The judge of compensation claims denied the motion on January 23, 2007, concluding that she did not have jurisdiction to “adjudicate disputes arising from the Release Agreement” executed back in December 2003.
The judge of compensation claims erred as a matter of law. See, e.g., Cartaya v. Coastline Distrib., 937 So. 2d 700 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006) (observing that the determination of the terms of a settlement agreement presents a question of law). Nothing in the settlement agreement precludes the judge of compensation claims from determining whether its terms required the employer/carrier to pay the amounts that Medicare sought from MeCallum, and thus whether the employer/carrier failed to abide by the agreement. See, e.g., Cartaya v. Coastline Dist., 937 So. 2d 700 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006); Czopek v. Great Chems., 778 So. 2d 996 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000). We direct the judge of compensation claims on remand to determine the validity of McCallum’s motion for attorney’s fees.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
KAHN, PADOVANO, and HAWKES, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Ferreira v. Home Depot/Sedgwick CMS, 12 So. 3d 866 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009)…erms of a settlement agreement. See Jacobsen v. Ross Stores, 882 So. 2d 431, 433 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004). A JCC has jurisdiction to determine whether a party complied with the terms of a settlement agreement. See McCallum v. Palm Beach County Sch. Dish, 969 So. 2d 562 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007) (holding where settlement resolved all claims but also contained employer’s promise to indemnify employee for any liens filed by Medicare, JCC had jurisdiction subsequent to settlement to ensure employer complied with the agreeme…
-
Aracely M. Diaz-Llerena v. Spillis, 121 So. 3d 1086 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013)…tiary hearing and considered the terms of the parties’ settlement agreement to determine if the terms of the agreement, in fact, released all of [*1087] the E/C’s liability for the benefits now at issue. See McCallum v. Palm Beach County Sch. Dist., 969 So. 2d 562 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007). On remand, the JCC shall review the terms of the agreement, and hold an evidentiary hearing to determine whether Claimant has waived or released the claims now at issue and whether the E/C has complied with the terms of the agre…
Authorities Cited
- Czopek v. Great Chems. & GAB Bus. Servs., Inc., 778 So. 2d 996 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000)
- Hayward v. State, 937 So. 2d 700 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006)
- Pate v. State, 937 So. 2d 700 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006)