STEWART v. MERCY HEALTH CENTER, INC., 2014 OK 101

Stewart filed a bad-faith claim in district court on Feb 11, 2014 for employer’s failure to pay benefits previously ordered.
Mercy moved to dismiss on Mar 12, 2014 asserting lack of a Workers' Compensation Court certification/order required by 85 O.S. Supp. 2014 §79.
Trial court initially declined to dismiss; order filed on Jul 18, 2014.
Mercy sought reconsideration or an order certifying immediate interlocutory appeal; request denied but interlocutory appeal certified on Aug 29, 2014.
The Supreme Court granted certiorari; it held the lack of a certified order is a jurisdictional defect and remanded to dismiss without prejudice so Stewart can obtain proper certification/order.
Opinion states the case is reversed and remanded for dismissal without prejudice.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether district court has jurisdiction without WC order/certification under §79	Stewart did not obtain the required certification; argues statutory framework governs jurisdiction	Mercy contends lack of certification deprives district court of jurisdiction	No jurisdiction; dismiss without prejudice to allow correction

Fischer v. Farmers Ins. Exchange, 1972 OK 130, 501 P.2d 1105 (OK. 1972) (petition for certiorari sufficient even with Rule 1.52 deficiencies)
Sizemore v. Continental Casualty Co., 2006 OK 36, 142 P.3d 36 (OK. 2006) (jurisdictional prerequisite for bad-faith claim remains valid)
Summers v. Zurich American Ins. Co., 2009 OK 33, 213 P.3d 565 (OK. 2009) (certainty of jurisdictional requirements in bad-faith actions)
Rogers v. QuikTrip Corp., 2010 OK 3, 230 P.3d 853 (OK. 2010) (de novo review standard on jurisdictional question")
Samson Resources Co. v. Newfield Exploration Mid-Continent, Inc., 2012 OK 68, 281 P.3d 1278 (OK. 2012) (jurisdictional issue reviewed de novo)