STEVEN BOX, APPELLANT,
v.
TALLAHASSEE FIRE DEPARTMENT/CITY OF TALLAHASSEE, APPELLEES

Fla. 1st DCA | 2015-03-31
No. 1D14-4591
LEWIS, C.J., MARSTILLER and RAY, JJ., concur..
160 So. 3d 133 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (2015)

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Synopsis

In this workers' compensation case, the Florida First District Court of Appeal reversed a summary final order denying the claimant's petition for impairment income benefits at the correct rate. The court held that the employer/carrier failed to establish the material facts necessary to determine whether the claimant's post-injury earnings met the statutory threshold for benefit reduction.


Holding

The court held that the employer/carrier failed to establish both required material facts and therefore the JCC erred in granting summary final order. The court determined that summary final order was inappropriate because genuine issues of material fact remained regarding whether the claimant earned income equal to or in excess of his average weekly wage, which triggers the 50% reduction in impairment income benefits.


Headnotes

[1] A summary final order in a workers' compensation proceeding may be rendered only if no genuine issue as to any material fact exists and the moving party is entitled to a…

[2] The moving party bears the burden of proving that no material factual dispute exists in a motion for summary final order.

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Key Quotes

“The moving party bears the burden to prove that no material factual dispute exists.”

Establishes the standard for summary final order and the burden on the moving party in workers' compensation proceedings.

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Facts & Procedural History

Claimant Steven Box sought payment of impairment income benefits at the correct statutory rate following an injury. The employer/carrier initiated pay…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

In this workers’ compensation proceeding, Claimant argues that the Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) erred in granting the Employer/Carrier’s (E/C’s) motion for summary final order. For the following reasons, we agree.

The workers’ compensation rules of procedure, found in the Florida Administrative Code, provide that “[a] summary final order shall be rendered if the judge determines from the pleadings and depositions, together with affidavits, if any, that no genuine issue as to any material fact exists and that the moving party is entitled as a matter of law to the entry of a final order.” Fla. Admin. Code R. 60Q-6.120(2). The moving party bears the burden to prove that no material factual dispute exists. See Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. Young, 978 So.2d 850, 852 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008). Our review of an order granting such a motion is de novo. See Moya v. Trucks & Parts of Tampa, Inc., 130 So.3d 719, 721 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013).

This litigation began when Claimant filed a petition for benefits seeking payment of impairment income benefits at the correct rate. Section 440.15(3)(c), Florida Statutes (2013), provides:

Impairment income benefits are paid biweekly at the rate of 75 percent of the employee’s average weekly temporary total disability benefit not to exceed the maximum weekly benefits under s. 440.12; provided, however, that such *135benefits shall be reduced by 50 percent for each week in which the employee has earned income equal to or in excess of the employee’s average weekly wage.

The E/C responded to the petition, asserting that it initiated payment of impairment income benefits at the rate of $268.54 per week effective March 10, 2014, the date Claimant reached maximum medical improvement. On that basis, the E/C filed a motion for summary final order, alleging there was no genuine issue as to any material fact in regards to Claimant’s claim for payment of impairment income benefits and the claim for the same should be summarily denied. Following a hearing on the E/C’s motion, the JCC agreed there was no genuine issue as to any material fact and that Claimant’s post-maximum medical improvement income was at least equal to his average weekly wage.

Impairment income benefits are paid at one of two possible rates — either 75% of a claimant’s compensation rate (“average weekly temporary total disability benefit”) or, alternatively, where it is established that “the employee has earned income equal to or in excess” of his or her average weekly wage, such benefits are reduced by 50%. The determining factor is whether a claimant is earning 100% of his or her average weekly wage. Logic dictates that here the E/C was required to offer evidence of two values in order to make the necessary comparison — the average weekly wage and the amount Claimant earned on a weekly basis during the weeks he was entitled to impairment income benefits.

A review of the evidence submitted to the JCC reveals that neither number was established or proven. Consequently, it cannot be said that “the facts are so crystallized that nothing remains but questions of law.” Thomas v. Eckerd Drugs, 987 So.2d 1262, 1263 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008). The JCC erred in granting the E/C’s motion for summary final order. Accordingly, this matter is REVERSED and REMANDED for further proceedings.

LEWIS, C.J., MARSTILLER and RAY, JJ., concur..


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