Miss. Ins. Guar. Ass'n v. Blakeney
| Docket Number: | 2008-WC-01840-COA Linked Case(s): 2008-WC-01840-COA ; 2008-CT-01840-SCT ; 2008-CT-01840-SCT |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 12-08-2009 Opinion Author: IRVING, J. Holding: AFFIRMED |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Workers' compensation - Insolvent insurer - Controlling law - Section 83-23-123 - Section 71-3-71 - Credit for uninsured motorist proceeds - Reduction for costs of collection Judge(s) Concurring: KING, C.J., LEE AND MYERS, P.JJ., GRIFFIS, BARNES, ISHEE, ROBERTS, CARLTON AND MAXWELL, JJ. Procedural History: Admin or Agency Judgment Nature of the Case: CIVIL - WORKERS’ COMPENSATION |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 10-27-2008 Appealed from: Jones County Circuit Court Judge: Billy Joe Landrum Disposition: AFFIRMED DECISION OF THE WORKERS’ COMPENSATION COMMISSION, WHICH FOUND THAT THE MISSISSIPPI INSURANCE GUARANTY ASSOCIATION IS NOT ENTITLED TO A SETOFF FOR CLAIMANT’S UNINSURED MOTORIST INSURANCE PROCEEDS Case Number: 2008-942-CV08 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | MISSISSIPPI INSURANCE GUARANTY
ASSOCIATION |
CLIFFORD C. WHITNEY III |
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| Appellee: | BRIDGETTE BLAKENEY | JOHN RAYMOND TULLOS, S. WAYNE EASTERLING | ||
Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Workers' compensation - Insolvent insurer - Controlling law - Section 83-23-123 - Section 71-3-71 - Credit for uninsured motorist proceeds - Reduction for costs of collection |
| Summary of the Facts: | Bridgett Blakeney was employed by the Laurel Housing Authority when she was injured in a work-related car accident. Blakeney initially received workers’ compensation payments for her injuries. After the LHA’s workers’ compensation insurance company went bankrupt, Blakeney’s workers’ compensation payments became the responsibility of the Mississippi Insurance Guaranty Association. MIGA filed a motion with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission requesting permission to suspend benefit payments to Blakeney. MIGA sought suspension of benefits until it had received credit for a total of seventy thousand dollars which was the amount that Blakeney had received from solvent insurance companies. The administrative law judge found that MIGA was entitled to the full setoff of seventy thousand dollars minus Blakeney’s costs and expenses incurred in recovering the seventy thousand dollars. Both Blakeney and the LGA appealed to the Commission. The Commission determined that MIGA was only entitled to credit for the ten thousand dollars, minus costs and expenses incurred by Blakeney, paid by the third party tortfeasor’s insurance company. MIGA appealed the Commission’s decision to circuit court which affirmed. MIGA appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Issue 1: Controlling law MIGA argues that the exhaustion provision found in section 83-23-123 should control over section 71-3-71 of the Workers’ Compensation Act. Essentially, section 71-3-71 gives a carrier the right to intervene in a related lawsuit and also prevents a covered employee from gaining a “double” recovery if the employee receives benefits from a third party. However, the ability of a workers’ compensation carrier to recover insurance proceeds has been limited by case law which holds that a workers’ compensation carrier has no claim to uninsured motorist benefits received by an injured employee. MIGA steps into the shoes of an insolvent carrier. Thus, there is no error with the Commission’s finding that MIGA is not entitled to the sixty thousand dollars that Blakeney has received from the LHA’s uninsured motorist coverage. MIGA’s contentions that it should be bound only by the exhaustion provision of MIGAL are without merit. Nothing in the language of section 83-23-123(1) indicates that the exhaustion provision supercedes any other law regarding a carrier’s right to recovery. MIGA claims that the broad language of section 83-23-123(1) should apply in every case in which MIGA becomes involved, regardless of what sort of claims are at issue and regardless of whether the insolvent carrier would have been entitled to a similar offset had it not become insolvent. However, in the context of workers’ compensation claims handled by MIGA, section 83-23-123(1) and section 71-3-71 deal with similar subject matter such that they must be considered together. Issue 2: Credit MIGA argues that it is in fact entitled to suspend benefits until the entire face amount of the one hundred thousand dollars in available benefits have accrued. One hundred thousand dollars is the total amount of solvent insurance benefits available to Ms. Blakeney (ten thousand dollars in benefits from the driver’s policy, plus ninety thousand dollars in UM benefits). This issue is moot, as MIGA is not entitled to a setoff for the uninsured motorist proceeds received by Blakeney. Issue 3: Reduction for costs of collection MIGA argues that Blakeney is not entitled to reduce MIGA’s credit by the costs of collection. MIGA stepped into the shoes of Legion, the insolvent insurer. As such, it is bound by section 71-3-71. Therefore, there is no error with the Commission’s decision to reduce the amount of MIGA’s setoff by Blakeney’s collection expenses. |
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