DeRice v. S.D. Warren Co. - 1997 ME 84, 694 A.2d 450

Rule:

A reviewing court gives deference to decisions of the Maine Workers' Compensation Board interpreting the Maine Workers' Compensation Act of 1992, 1991 Me. Laws ch. 885, and the court will not vacate that decision unless the language or the purpose of the Act plainly compels the court to do so.

Facts:

The present case involved a consolidated case involving an injury that occurred before 1993. In both cases, petitions for relief were filed and submitted to mediation after the effective date of title 39-A. Maine Workers' Compensation Act of 1992, P.L. 1991, ch. 885 (effective January 1, 1993). The employers in both cases were represented by counsel at the mediation session. The Workers' Compensation Board granted the employees' motions for fees and the parties have conceded that a portion of those fees were for services rendered prior to mediation. Applying the former Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 39, § 110 (1989), the Board concluded that the employers were required to pay fees for the period prior to mediation because mediation had replaced the former informal conference between the parties and because the employers were represented by counsel at the mediations. The employers contended on appeal that the employees with pre-1993 injuries were not entitled to fees for services rendered prior to mediation. 

Issue:

Did the Workers' Compensation Board err in ruling that the employers were required to pay fees for the period prior to mediation? 

Answer:

No.

Conclusion:

On review, the court held that the Board's interpretation of the statutory language was most consistent with the legislative intent not to alter the entitlement to attorney fees for employees with pre-1993 injuries. The requirement for the payment of pre-conference fees under the former § 110 was a safeguard to encourage informal, nonbinding discussion of the issues and to equalize the playing field between employer and employee. Although the informal conference procedure was repealed and replaced with mandatory mediation, Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 39-A, § 313 (Supp. 1996), there was no evidence of a legislative intent to alter the balance between the parties regarding attorney fees for cases involving pre-1993 injuries.