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Bryson v. Phil Cline Trucking6/18/2002
8.1. Plaintiff therefore argues that the Commission abused its discretion in making its award. We disagree.
As emphasized heretofore, an award under section 97-88.1 is "in the sound discretion of the Commission" and we may not overturn such a decision unless it is "manifestly unsupported by reason or is so arbitrary that it could not have been the result of a reasoned decision." Long, 137 N.C. App. at 465, 528 S.E.2d at 635. Although defendants' behavior in denying plaintiff's medical treatment was unreasonable, there were no findings to indicate that defendants' actions were otherwise particularly egregious or outrageous. Based on these facts, we are not prepared to hold that the Commission's decision to award plaintiff approximately one quarter of his reasonable attorney expenses as a punitive measure against defendants was, as a matter of law, completely without basis or reason. We therefore overrule this assignment of error.
Finally, plaintiff argues that the Commission erred in denying his request for attorneys' fees pursuant to section 97-88 for the costs of the appeal from the deputy commissioner to the Full Commission. Section 97-88 of the General Statutes, entitled "Expenses of appeals brought by insurers," provides that:
If the Industrial Commission at a hearing on review or any court before which any proceedings are brought on appeal under this Article, shall find that such hearing or proceedings were brought by the insurer and the Commission or court by its decision orders the insurer to make, or to continue payments of benefits, including compensation for medical expenses, to the injured employee, the Commission or court may further order that the cost to the injured employee of such hearing or proceedings including therein reasonable attorney's fee to be determined by the Commission shall be paid by the insurer as a part of the bill of costs. N.C. Gen. Stat. ยง 97-88 (2001) (emphasis added).
As clearly indicated in the statute, the decision to award attorneys' fees attributable to the appeal rests within the discretion of the Commission, and its decision must be upheld unless there is an abuse of that discretion. See Taylor v. J.P. Stevens, 57 N.C. App. 643, 648, 292 S.E.2d 277, 280 (1982), modified and affirmed, 307 N.C. 392, 298 S.E.2d 681 (1983). An award of attorneys' fees is proper where the Commission finds that the defendant had no reasonable basis for appealing the decision of the deputy commissioner to the Full Commission. See Mullinax v. Fieldcrest Cannon, Inc., 100 N.C. App. 248, 253, 395 S.E.2d 160, 163 (1990). In the case at bar, the Commission found that, although defendants' unreasonable refusal to authorize plaintiff's medical treatment forced the issue to a hearing and therefore constituted unfounded litigiousness, "Defendant had reasonable grounds to appeal the deputy commissioner's award of attorney's fees." The Commission also found that, "Defendant has prevailed, in part, on the attorney's fees issue[.]" The Commission therefore concluded that "Plaintiff is not entitled to attorney's fees for the current appeal to the full Commission pursuant to G.S. 97-88, because defendant has prevailed, in part, on the sole issue on appeal." Whether defendants were liable for attorneys' fees as a punitive measure for their unfounded litigiousness concerning their refusal to authorize plaintiff's medical treatment was clearly a separate issue from whether defendants had reasonable grounds to appeal the $10,500.00 in attorneys' fees initially awarded by the deputy commissioner. Where the Commission found that defendants had reasonable grounds to appeal the issue of attorneys' fees, we discern no abuse of discretion by the Commission in denying plaintiff'
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