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Appeal of New Hampshire Department of Transportation2/25/1999
NOTICE: This opinion is subject to motions for rehearing under Rule 22 as well as formal revision before publication in the New Hampshire Reports. Readers are requested to notify the Clerk/Reporter, Supreme Court of New Hampshire, Supreme Court Building, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, of any errors in order that corrections may be made before the opinion goes to press. Opinions are available on the Internet by 9:00 a.m. on the morning of their release. The direct address of the court's home page is: http://www.state.nh.us/courts/supreme.htm
Compensation Appeals Board
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (State) appeals a decision of the New Hampshire Compensation Appeals Board (board) awarding attorney's fees to the respondent, State Employees Association of New Hampshire (SEA), under RSA 281-A:44, I (Supp. 1998). We affirm in part.
The SEA, through its general counsel, represented Murray Howlett, a New Hampshire Department of Transportation employee, in his workers' compensation claim before a department of labor hearing officer and then, on appeal, before the board. See RSA ch. 281-A (Supp. 1998) (amended 1998). Howlett was a member of the SEA, a labor union that provides its members with legal assistance in pursuing workers' compensation claims against the State. Howlett's only expenses incurred as a result of the SEA's representation were his SEA dues and any costs associated with his claim. After losing before the department of labor hearing officer, Howlett received a favorable decision from the board on appeal awarding him benefits in the amount of $886.60.
Following this decision, the SEA filed a petition with the board requesting that the State pay the SEA $1,185.00 in attorney's fees pursuant to RSA 281-A:44. The petition itemized 7.9 hours of attorney time at a rate of $150.00 an hour. The board approved the SEA's request for attorney's fees, and this appeal followed.
The State argues that RSA 281-A:44, I, authorizes the award of attorney's fees only when the employee has actually incurred legal expenses. The employee in this case did not incur any legal expenses because he received free legal representation as a benefit of his SEA membership. Thus, the State argues that neither he nor the SEA is eligible to receive attorney's fees. "We will overturn the board's decision only for errors of law, or if we are satisfied by a clear preponderance of the evidence before us that the order is unjust or unreasonable." Appeal of Newcomb, 141 N.H. 664, 666, 690 A.2d 562, 564 (1997).
RSA 281-A:44, I, provides: "In any dispute over the amount of the benefit payable under this chapter which is appealed to the board or supreme court or both, the employee, if such employee prevails, shall be entitled to reasonable counsel fees and costs as approved by the board or court . . . ." The State argues that the statute authorizes the award of attorney's fees only when the employee actually incurs legal expenses; however, the statute is silent on this issue.
When the language of a statute is ambiguous, " ur goal is to apply statutes in light of the legislature's intent in enacting them, and in light of the policy sought to be advanced by the entire statutory scheme." Appeal of Mascoma Valley Reg. School Dist., 141 N.H. 98, 100, 677 A.2d 679, 681 (1996) (citations omitted). The legislature enacted this statute to "provide proper protection to the working man," N.H.S. Jour. 537 (1969), by reimbursing employees for their legal expenses. Additionally, the legislature intended to discourage appeals by employers in workers' compensation cases. See Seppala & Aho Constr. Co. v. Elton, 119 N.H. 634, 636, 406 A.2d 460, 462 (1979). T
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