Omnova Solutions, Inc. v. Lipa
| Docket Number: | 2008-CT-00500-SCT Linked Case(s): 2008-WC-00500-COA ; 2008-WC-00500-COA ; 2008-CT-00500-SCT |
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| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 08-12-2010 Opinion Author: Randolph, J. Holding: Reversed and remanded. |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Workers' compensation - Wage-earning capacity - Causation Judge(s) Concurring: Waller, C.J., Carlson, P.J., Dickinson, Lamar and Chandler, JJ. Dissenting Author : Pierce, J., Dissents With Separate Written Opinion Dissent Joined By : Graves, P.J., and Kitchens, J. Procedural History: Admin or Agency Judgment Nature of the Case: CIVIL - WORKERS’ COMPENSATION Writ of Certiorari: yes Appealed from Court of Appeals |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 02-27-2008 Appealed from: LOWNDES COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT Judge: Lee J. Howard Disposition: Following a hearing, an administrative judge concluded that Lipa had sustained a “loss of wage-earning capacity due to her work injury[,]” and ordered, inter alia, that Omnova pay Lipa “[p]ermanent disability benefits of $30.02 . . . for a period of 450 weeks as compensation for the disability [Lipa] sustained from her work injuries.” The Commission Order of the MWCC affirmed the Order of the administrative judge, which the Circuit Court of Lowndes County, Mississippi, subsequently affirmed. Thereafter, the Mississippi Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the circuit court. Case Number: 2007-0094-CV1 |
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| Note: | This opinion reverses and remands a previous decision by the Court of Appeals. See the COA opinion at: http://www.mssc.state.ms.us/Images/Opinions/CO53995.pdf | |
| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | Omnova Solutions, Inc. |
CHRISTOPHER RAY FONTAN, STEPHEN J. CARMODY |
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| Appellee: | Theresa Lipa | ROGER K. DOOLITTLE |
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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 - Wage-earning capacity - Causation |
| Summary of the Facts: | Theresa Lipa, an eighteen-year employee of Omnova Solutions, Inc., suffered a work-related injury. Lipa returned to work at Omnova in her preinjury position, at her preinjury wage rate, after first filing a Petition to Controvert with the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission asserting total loss of wage-earning capacity. A rebuttable presumption existed that Lipa had suffered no loss of wage-earning capacity, as she continued to work in her preinjury position, at her preinjury wage rate. It was not until four or five months later that layoffs at Omnova prompted a coworker with seniority to “bump” Lipa to a lower-paying position. An administrative judge concluded that Lipa had sustained a loss of wage-earning capacity and ordered Omnova to pay Lipa permanent disability benefits of $30.02 for a period of 450 weeks. The Commission affirmed the order of the administrative judge. The circuit court also affirmed the order. On appeal, the Mississippi Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the circuit court. The Supreme Court granted certiorari. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | There is no dispute that Lipa suffered an on-the-job injury and that she experienced a wage reduction following that injury. The issue is whether substantial evidence was presented that her wage-earning capacity had been diminished as a result of that work-related injury. In determining wage-earning capacity in the situation where an injured employee returns to work and receives the same or greater earnings as those prior to his injury, there is created a rebuttable presumption that he has suffered no loss in his wage-earning capacity. That presumption may be rebutted by evidence independently showing incapacity or explaining away the post-injury earnings as an unreliable basis for estimating capacity. Unreliability of post-injury earnings may be due to a number of things: increase in general wage levels since the time of accident; claimant’s own greater maturity or training; longer hours worked by claimant after the accident; payment of wages disproportionate to capacity out of sympathy to claimant; and the temporary and unpredictable character of post-injury earnings. It is undisputed that Lipa returned to Omnova as a let-off operator at her preinjury wage rate. Accordingly, the rebuttable presumption was that she had suffered no loss in her wage-earning capacity. However, Lipa claims that she was able to perform these duties only with the aid of a coworker. Four or five months later, Lipa was “bumped” from that position due to layoffs. This “bump” was entirely unrelated to Lipa’s injury and, under the collective bargaining agreement, she could have done nothing to avoid it. The administrative judge’s finding that Lipa “was placed in the factory trucker position due to a lay-off by [Omnova] and then was unable to return to her pre-injury position[,]” is not in accord with the conclusion that Lipa had “sustained a loss of wage-earning capacity due to her work injury.” The unrefuted evidence presented by all reflects that the “bump” (and attending decrease in pay) was caused by, and related to, the collective bargaining agreement, as opposed to her work-related injury. |
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