ROSA ORTEGA GRILLO, PETITIONER,
v.
BIG "B" RANCH ET AL., RESPONDENTS
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.
Florida Supreme Court granted certiorari and quashed the Industrial Relations Commission's reversal of a workers' compensation decision, holding that the Commission exceeded its authority by reassessing witness credibility rather than deferring to the trial judge's factual findings.
The Industrial Relations Commission cannot usurp the trial judge's role as fact-finder by reassessing witness credibility in workers' compensation proceedings.
[1] The Industrial Relations Commission lacks authority to reassess witness credibility or make independent factual determinations in workers' compensation appeals and must d…
Previewing 1 of 1 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“It is clear that the Commission is not permitted to be a trier of fact in proceedings before it.”
Court explaining the Commission's limited appellate role in workers' compensation cases.
In a workers' compensation case involving the special employer doctrine, the respondent's manager admitted in a deposition that he had power to discha…
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 Trier Of Fact cases and more on FLexlaw
ENGLAND, Justice.
Pursuant to Article V, § 3(b)(3) of the Florida Constitution, we have before us a workmen’s compensation case involving the special employer doctrine explained in Berrier v. Associated Indemnity Co., 142 Fla. 351, 196 So. 188 (1940) and Stuyvesant Corp. v. Waterhouse, 74 So. 2d 554 (Fla. 1954). The respondent’s manager admitted in a deposition introduced in evidence that he had the power to discharge the petitioner from his employment, but attempted in his oral testimony to explain away this admission. The Judge of Industrial Claims chose to believe the admission. However, the Industrial Relations Commission rejected this choice and reversed the order of the Judge.
It is clear that the Commission is not permitted to be a trier of fact in proceedings before it. Adams v. Wagner, 129 So. 2d 129 (Fla.1961). By usurping the role of the Judge in making a determination of credibility the Commission ignored the essential requirements of law. Therefore the writ of certiorari is granted, the order of the Commission is quashed and this case is remanded with instructions to reinstate the order of the Judge of Industrial Claims.
ADKINS, C. J., and OVERTON, SUND-BERG and HATCHETT, JJ., concur. ROBERTS and BOYD, JJ., dissent.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (13 total)
-
John Caves Land Dev. Co. v. Suggs, 352 So. 2d 44 (Fla. 1977)…this case. Questions regarding credibility of witnesses are solely within the province of the Judge of Industrial Claims and his resolution of those questions will not be reversed unless clearly arbitrary and unreasonable. Grillo v. Big “B” Ranch, 328 So. 2d 429 (Fla.1976). The Commission recognized that the order of the Judge in this case “implies some doubts” and it determined on its own evaluation that the Suggs’ testimony “was not of the highest order”. Nonetheless, the Commission reversed the decision…
-
Holly Hill Fruit Prods., Inc. v. Krider, 473 So. 2d 829 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985)…le....” The record provides competent substantial evidence in support of these determinations, and to the extent that they encompass issues of credibility they are within the ambit of the deputy’s fact-finding authority. See Grillo v. Big “B” Ranch, 328 So. 2d 429 (Fla.1976). An employer-condoned off-premises refreshment break of insubstantial duration is generally not such a deviation as to remove a claimant from the course and scope of the employment. See Cunningham v. Scotty’s Home Builders, 9 FCR 1 (197…
-
Clay Hyder Trucking v. Persinger, 416 So. 2d 900 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982)…this point is essentially one of competent substantial evidence, and the record presents numerous issues as to credibility and weight of the evidence,2 which issues can properly be resolved only by the deputy commissioner. See Grillo v. Big B Ranch, 328 So. 2d 429 (Fla.1976). Indeed, the adequacy of a claimant’s work search is itself a factual issue within the ambit of the deputy’s fact-finding authority, and the deputy’s conclusion in this regard will be upheld if the record provides any competent substantia…
Previewing 3 of 13 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Berrier v. Associated Indem. Co., 142 Fla. 351 (Fla. 1939)
- Stuyvesant Corp. v. Waterhouse, 74 So. 2d 554 (Fla. 1954)
- Adams v. Emerson F. Wagner & Fla. Indus. Comm'n, 129 So. 2d 129 (Fla. 1961)