TRESSEY JONES, APPELLANT,
v.
SHADOW TRAILERS, INC./USIS, 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.
In a workers' compensation case, the claimant appealed an order denying his claim for medical-only attorney's fees payable by the employer/carrier under Florida Statute § 440.34(3)(a). The court affirmed the denial, holding that a 2002 statutory amendment establishing a 30-day waiting period for fee attachment supersedes the prior rule in Allen v. Tyrone Square and applies to the claimant's 2013 accident date.
The claimant is not entitled to employer/carrier-paid attorney's fees under section 440.34(3)(a) because a 2002 statutory amendment establishing a bright-line rule that attorney's fees cannot attach until 30 days after the carrier receives the petition supersedes the prior Allen rule and applies to accidents occurring after the amendment's effective date.
[1] Attorney's fees under section 440.34(3)(a), Florida Statutes, shall not attach until 30 days after the date the carrier or employer receives the petition for benefits.
[2] A 2002 amendment to section 440.34(3), Florida Statutes, which added a 30-day waiting period for attorney's fees, is substantive and applies to accidents occurring after…
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“[r]egardless of the date benefits were initially requested, attorney's fees shall not attach under this subsection until 30 days after the date the carrier or employer, if self-insured, receives the petition.”
The statutory language added in the 2002 amendment that created the bright-line 30-day rule for attorney's fee attachment.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe employer/carrier conceded the claimant's entitlement to benefits claimed in his petition for benefits eight days after receiving the petition. The…
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 Petition For Benefits cases and more on FLexlaw
In this workers’ compensation case, Claimant challenges an order of the Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) denying his motion for “medical-only” attorney’s fees, payable by the Employer/Carrier (E/C) as provided for in section 440.34(3)(a), Florida Statutes (2012). We affirm.
The parties agree that the E/C conceded Claimant’s entitlement to the benefits claimed in Claimant’s petition for benefits, eight days after it received the petition. Section 440.34(3)(a) allows for E/C-paid attorney’s fees where a claimant “successfully asserts a petition for medical benefits only.” Claimant argues that he is due E/C-paid fees under Allen v. Tyrone Square 6 AMC Theaters, 731 So.2d 699, 699 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999), wherein this court considered section 440.34(3)(a), and held that “[w]hen a specific request for reasonable and necessary medical care is made, the employer is under an obligation to provide the benefits within a reasonable time-whether a petition for medical benefits is ever filed, or not.”
Allen was decided before a 2002 amendment to section 440.34(3), which added the language that, “[r]egardless of the date benefits were initially requested, attorney’s fees shall not attach under this subsection until 30 days after the date the carrier or employer, if self-insured, receives the petition.” See Ch. 02-236, § 13, at 1736, Laws of Fla. This amendment is substantive, see Stolzer v. Magic Tilt Trailer, Inc., 878 So.2d 437, 438 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004), and applies to Claimant’s January 29, 2013, date of accident, see Leather Shop v. Mills, 592 So.2d 744, 745 n. 2 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992). To be clear, the amendment supersedes the rule announced in Allen, for dates of accident since the amendment went into effect; it creates a bright-line rule for the attachment of E/C-paid attorney’s fees under every sub-subsection of 440.34(3). See Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. v. Reddick, 954 So.2d 723, 728 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007) (“Florida’s well-settled rule of statutory construction [is] that the legislature is presumed to know the existing law when a statute is enacted, including ‘judicial decisions on the subject concerning which it subsequently enacts a statute.’ ”) (quoting, in a parenthetical, Seagrave v. State, 802 So.2d 281, 290 (Fla.2001)).
AFFIRMED.
PADOVANO, CLARK, and SWANSON, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Seagrave v. State, 802 So. 2d 281 (Fla. 2001)
- Brayan Rivera v. Dep't OF Revenue, 954 So. 2d 723 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007)
- Stolzer v. Magic Tilt Trailer, Inc., 878 So. 2d 437 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004)
- Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. v. David A. Reddick & James A. Stokes, 954 So. 2d 723 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007)
- Allen v. Tyrone Square 6 AMC Theaters & Travelers Ins. Co., 731 So. 2d 699 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)
- Leather Shop & Gen. Accident Grp. v. Mills, 592 So. 2d 744 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)