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CYR v. DOMINO'S PIZZA5/20/1997
The plaintiff's attorney Steven H. St. Clair appeals from the decision of the compensation review board of the workers' compensation commission dismissing his appeal to that board. On appeal to this court, St. Clair claims that the review board improperly determined that his appeal was jurisdictionally defective because it was not timely filed pursuant to General Statutes ยง 31-301 (a). He further asserts that the workers' compensation commissioner was without jurisdiction to enter the orders that he entered.
The following facts, as found by the commissioner and adopted by the review board, are relevant to this appeal. Attorney Lawrence S. Brick represented the plaintiff, James Cyr, in a workers' compensation claim that arose out of an injury that Cyr sustained on February 26, 1990, in the course of his employment. Through Brick's efforts, Cyr received an award of $23,000 and the commissioner approved a legal fee for Brick in the amount of 20 percent of the award, to which Cyr agreed. On January 7, 1994, the insurer sent a settlement check to Brick. Brick turned the entire check over to Cyr. Although Cyr had agreed to pay the legal fees once the
settlement check cleared, he did not do so. Instead, Cyr hired St. Clair and placed the legal fees in an escrow account at the advice of St. Clair. St. Clair contacted Brick and asked him to explain the basis of his fees. Brick did so and informed St. Clair that the fee had been approved by a commissioner. Despite receiving detailed and comprehensive explanations, Cyr did not pay Brick, and Brick requested an informal hearing to resolve the issue. The day before the hearing, St. Clair informed the commissioner and Brick that he would not attend due to scheduling conflicts. St. Clair did not respond to the commissioner's telephone calls on the day of the hearing and did not answer a letter written by the commissioner. A properly noticed hearing was held two weeks later, and, despite the notice to Cyr and St. Clair, no one appeared on Cyr's behalf.
By decision dated August 15, 1994, the commissioner concluded that the failure to pay the legal fees without an explanation amounted to an inexcusable and unreasonable delay. He ordered Cyr to pay $4600 to Brick within ten days of the order, together with interest at the rate of 12 percent from the date that the original settlement check was received by Brick. He further found that the conduct of St. Clair was unconscionable and unbecoming an officer of the court and a member of the Connecticut bar. On the basis of that finding, the commissioner ordered St. Clair to pay Brick $2500 in attorney's fees together with interest at the rate of 12 percent from the date of the order if payment was not made within ten days of the order. The commissioner further recommended that Brick file a complaint against St. Clair with the Connecticut Statewide Grievance Committee.
On October 5, 1994, St. Clair appealed the commissioner's August 15 decision to the review board, claiming that (1) the commissioner had no statutory authority to enter the orders as to him, (2) he was not provided
adequate notice of the subject matter of the hearing as it related to his behavior, (3) he had no appearance in the case on behalf of Cyr, and (4) there was insufficient evidence to sustain the commissioner's findings regarding communications between Brick and St. Clair as to the fees. Brick filed an objection to the appeal on the ground that it was untimely. The review board determined that the appeal was untimely and found that its ruling on the timeliness issue divested the board of jurisdiction over the remaining claims of error. The review board dismissed the appeal. This appeal followed.
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