Keaney v. Treasurer of Missouri
2013 Mo. App. LEXIS 1475
| Mo. Ct. App. | 2013Background
- In July 1995 the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission awarded permanent total disability benefits to an employee and imposed a 25% attorney-fee lien; Keaney (employee’s counsel) was awarded 33.75% of that lien, to be paid in installments. Keaney did not appeal and received periodic payments from 1995–2012.
- Keaney died in 2012; his estate moved the Commission to commute the remaining periodic attorney-fee payments to a present-value lump sum.
- In April 2013 the Commission ordered the Second Injury Fund to pay the estate a lump sum of $17,251.42, citing § 287.260 (allowing fees to be paid lump sum or installments).
- The Treasurer (custodian of the Second Injury Fund) appealed, arguing the Commission lacked authority to amend a final 1995 fee award.
- The court framed the core legal question as whether the Commission could commute an attorney-fee lien after the underlying award became final and declined to reach other statutory-authorization arguments once it resolved that issue.
Issues
| Issue | Estate's Argument | Treasurer (Fund)'s Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the Commission had statutory authority in 2013 to convert previously-ordered periodic attorney-fee payments (1995 award) into a lump-sum payment | § 287.260 allows attorney fees to be ordered paid in lump sum or installments, so the Commission may commute periodic fee payments to a lump sum | The 1995 fee award became final under § 287.495 (no appeal within 30 days); the Commission lacks statutory authority to modify a final award years later | Commission lacked jurisdiction to amend the final 1995 fee award; reversal and remand ordered |
Key Cases Cited
- Pierce v. BSC, Inc., 207 S.W.3d 619 (Mo. banc 2006) (questions of law reviewed de novo)
- Nance v. Maxon Elec., Inc., 395 S.W.3d 527 (Mo. Ct. App. W.D. 2012) (Commission cannot reconsider or modify a final award except by statutory exception)
- Buescher v. Missouri Highway & Transp. Comm’n, 254 S.W.3d 105 (Mo. Ct. App. W.D. 2008) (administrative tribunals only have statutory authority conferred by legislature)
- Page v. Green, 758 S.W.2d 173 (Mo. Ct. App. S.D. 1988) (attorneys may directly appeal an unreasonable attorney-fee lien)
- Honer v. Treasurer of State, 192 S.W.3d 526 (Mo. Ct. App. E.D. 2006) (interpret statutes by plain meaning; workers’ compensation is statutory)
- Edwards v. Hyundai Motor Am., 163 S.W.3d 494 (Mo. Ct. App. E.D. 2005) (construe provisions of an act together and avoid unreasonable results)