Jose Alonzo Flores v. Tito Contractors ( 1995 )

COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
Present: Judges Koontz, Bray and Senior Judge Hodges
JOSE ALONZO FLORES
v. Record No. 0029-95-4 MEMORANDUM OPINION *
PER CURIAM
TITO CONTRACTORS MAY 30, 1995
AND
LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY
FROM THE VIRGINIA WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION
(Atiq R. Ahmed, on brief), for appellant. Appellant
submitting on brief.
No brief for appellees.
Atiq R. Ahmed, attorney for Jose Alonzo Flores, deceased,
and his beneficiaries, appeals a decision of the Workers'
Compensation Commission which denied Ahmed's petition for
attorney's fees of $12,000. Finding no error, we affirm the
decision.
"Code § 65.1-102 [now Code § 65.2-714] provides that the
fees of attorneys shall be subject to the approval and award of
the Commission." Hudock v. Industrial Comm'n, 1 Va. App. 474,
477, 340 S.E.2d 168, 171 (1986). 1 In assessing Ahmed's petition,
the commission properly considered, inter alia, the absence of
significant dispute among the parties, the absence of any
*
Pursuant to Code § 17-116.010 this opinion is not
designated for publication.
1
As the commission correctly noted, Ahmed had been awarded
$600 in attorney's fees at the time the award for death benefits
was entered by the commission on June 17, 1994.
appreciable benefit to Flores or his beneficiaries resulting from
Ahmed's services, and the substantial time expended by Ahmed on
non-legal matters. See id. at 478-79, 340 S.E.2d at 171. These
factors, together with the entire record, provide ample support
for limiting the award of attorney's fees to $500.
Accordingly, for the reasons set forth in the commission's
opinion, we find no abuse of discretion by the commission and
affirm the decision.
Affirmed.
2