Louisiana Workers Compensation Corporation v. Louisiana Workers' Compensation Second Injury Board (Andre F. Baudoin) ( 2020 )

STATE OF LOUISIANA
COURT OF APPEAL
FIRST CIRCUIT
2019 CA 0672
LOUISIANA WORKERS' COMPENSATION CORPORATION
VERSUS
LOUISIANA WORKERS' COMPENSATION SECOND INJURY BOARD
Decision Rendered JAN 1 o- 2020
ON APPEAL FROM
THE 19th JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT
EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH, LOUISIANA
DOCKET NUMBER 651, 033, DIVISION - D-
HONORABLE JANICE CLARK, JUDGE
Jeff Landry Attorneys for Defendant/ Appellant
Attorney General Louisiana Workers' Compensation
Karl L. Scott Second Injury Board
Shane Veade
Claudia I. Rush
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Paul -Michael Fryday Attorney for Plaintiff/ Appellee
Baton Rouge, Louisiana Louisiana Workers' Compensation
Corporation
BEFORE: McDONALD, THERIOT, and CHUTZ, JJ.
McDONALD, J.
In this appeal, the Louisiana Workers' Compensation Second Injury Board
Board) challenges a judgment ordering it to grant the Louisiana Workers'
Compensation Corporation ( LWCC) authority to settle an injured employee's workers'
compensation claim in a certain monetary amount. We affirm.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
In 1999, Andre F. Baudoin suffered a work- related injury while employed by
Canterbury Associates. LWCC, Canterbury' s workers' compensation insurer, began
paying benefits to Mr. Baudoin. In 2000, LWCC filed a claim with the Board for
reimbursement of benefits it had paid and would pay to Mr. Baudoin. In 2001, the
Board approved LWCC' s claim and specifically notified LWCC that, in the event of a
future settlement of Mr. Baudoin' s claim, the Board reserved the right to reimburse
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LWCC " on a lump sum, quarterly[,] or semi- annual basis ... ."
In July 2016, LWCC requested that the Board approve a proposed lump sum
settlement to Mr. Baudoin in the amount of $ 256, 663. 90. After reviewing LWCC's
request, the Board refused to approve the settlement, stating the file material LWCC
submitted did not support its request. The Board informed LWCC that it would pay the
claim as an ' ongoing claim." LWCC then filed a petition in the 19th Judicial District
Court appealing the Board' s denial of its lump sum settlement. The Board answered
the appeal, the matter was set for trial, and the parties filed briefs with the district
court.
A bench trial was held on June 13, 2017, at which time the district court took the
matter under advisement. On February 19, 2019, the district court issued the following
ruling":
The Court has previously reviewed the documentary evidence
introduced in this matter together with the argument of counsel and the
law there unto. After careful review, the court is of the opinion that
plaintiff provided by defendant, LWCC, in support of its settlement
authority request was sufficient and preponderates in its favor. [ sic] The
defendant' s denial without any specific explanation or reason was
unreasonable. Accordingly, the court hereby grants judgment as prayed
1 It is undisputed that LWCC qualified for reimbursement from the Board under La. R. S. 23: 1378.
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for by petitioner in the amount of $ 256, 663. 90. Judgment to be signed
accordingly upon presentation after filing with the clerk and circulation
among counsel. Notify counsel.
On April 9, 2019, the district court signed a judgment stating:
IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the [ Board]
shall grant settlement authority to [ LWCC] in the amount of [$ 256, 663. 90]
concerning the Second Injury Fund accepted workers' compensation claim
of Andre F. Baudoin resulting from his work-related accident which
occurred on ... July 9, 1999 ... .
The Board appeals the judgment, claiming the district court erred in finding that:
1) LWCC had settlement authority, and ( 2) LWCC could demand that the Board
reimburse it by lump sum, rather than by periodic payments.
DISCUSSION
On appeal, the Board does not dispute the $ 256, 663. 90 settlement amount that
LWCC proposes for Mr. Baudoin' s claim. Rather, the Board objects to the district court's
order requiring that it give LWCC settlement authority and interprets the district court's
judgment as requiring that it reimburse LWCC for the settlement amount in a lump
sum, rather than periodically. In opposition, LWCC contends the judgment simply
orders the Board to give LWCC settlement authority for the amount sought, and does
not order how the Board must reimburse LWCC for the settlement, i. e., in a lump sum
or through periodic payments.
Under La. R. S. 23: 1271- 741 if the Office of Workers' Compensation approves a
lump sum settlement, an insurer may settle an employee' s workers' compensation claim
for a lump sum payment, in exchange for a full and final discharge and release of the
insurer. La. R. S. 23: 1271A. However, for an accident occurring on or after October 1,
1995, as is the case here, the insurer must obtain written approval from the Board of
any lump sum payment or compromise settlement of an approved claim before
submitting the lump sum settlement for approval to a workers' compensation judge
under La. R. S. 23: 1271- 74. La. R. S. 23: 1378A( 6)( a)( i). If the Board issues a written
denial of the lump sum settlement, the insurer may appeal the denial to the 19th
Judicial District Court, where the appeal shall be tried de novo. La. R. S. 23: 1378A( 6)( d)
and E.
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Under the above statutory scheme, the district court gives de novo consideration
to the Board' s denial of a lump sum settlement and has the power to order the Board to
approve a lump sum settlement. La. R. S. 23: 1378E. In this case, although the district
court's judgment orders the Board to grant LWCC " settlement authority" of the Baudoin
claim for $ 256, 663. 90, the judgment does not specifically order the Board to reimburse
LWCC in a lump sum. Thus, regardless of what the district court may have intended
when it signed the judgment, the judgment does not order the Board to reimburse
LWCC in a lump sum; thus, LWCC cannot seek approval of a lump sum settlement of
the Baudoin claim from the Office of Workers' Compensation under La. R. S. 23: 1271-
74. A district court' s written judgment controls even though the district court may
have intended otherwise. Starnes v. Asp/undh Tree Expert Co., 94- 1647 ( La. App. 1
Cir. 10/ 6/ 95), 670 So. 2d 1242, 1246.
CONCLUSION
We affirm the district court' s judgment insofar as it ordered the Louisiana
Workers' Compensation Second Injury Board to grant the Louisiana Workers'
Compensation Corporation settlement authority of the Baudoin claim for $ 256, 663. 90.
Our affirmance of the judgment does not require that the Louisiana Workers'
Compensation Second Injury Board reimburse any such future settlement in a particular
manner. We assess costs of this appeal in the amount of $ 610. 50 equally between the
parties, such that each party is assessed $ 305. 25.
AFFIRMED.