Flynn v. Uninsured Employers' Fund10/31/2005
Submitted on Briefs: August 30, 2005
Petitioner William H. Flynn appeals from the Order of the Montana Workers' Compensation Court denying both his Petition for Hearing and Motion for Reconsideration. We affirm.
We consider the following issue on appeal:
Does Rule 6(e), M.R.Civ.P., add three extra days to the ninety-day period provided by § 39-71-520, MCA (2001), for a claimant to request mediation following a determination by the Uninsured Employers' Fund that is mailed to the claimant?
BACKGROUND
On July 25, 2002, Petitioner William H. Flynn (Flynn) injured his back while lifting his employer, Dean Casterline (Casterline), out of a wheelchair. As Casterline did not have workers' compensation insurance, Flynn filed a claim with the Uninsured Employers' Fund (UEF).
Following review, UEF Claims Adjuster Bernadette Rice (Rice) issued a determination denying Flynn's claim, concluding that his injury resulted from household and domestic services, tasks which are statutorily exempted from the requirements of coverage under the Workers' Compensation Act. UEF's determination was dated November 21, 2002, and the mailing to Flynn was post-marked November 25, 2002, four days after the determination had been actually made.
The letter of determination cited § 39-71-520, MCA (2001), of the Workers' Compensation Act, explaining Flynn's option to "appeal to mediation" within ninety days of Rice's decision under that statute. The letter also explained that if Flynn did not request mediation within ninety days, the matter would be deemed closed.
Flynn contacted Rice by phone on December 10, 2002, to discuss her determination, but he did not request mediation until February 22, 2002--ninety-three days after UEF's determination of November 21, 2002. Nevertheless, the Mediation Unit undertook Flynn's claim, opining that the ninety-day time limit did not begin until either the date of the determination's mailing, or the date that Flynn received the determination. Since the UEF's determination was mailed on November 25, 2002, use of that date allowed Flynn's February 22, 2003, request for mediation to be considered timely.
The Mediation Unit issued its report on May 7, 2003. In addition to its recommendations for resolution of the matter, it noted that Flynn's mediation request could only be timely if the ninety-day time period ran from his receipt of UEF's determination, rather than the date the determination had been issued.
Dissatisfied with the mediation report, Flynn filed a Petition for Hearing with the Workers' Compensation Court on May 12, 2004, over one year after the May 7, 2003, issuance of the mediation report. That court denied the petition, and Flynn's subsequent Motion for Reconsideration on the grounds that the request for mediation was untimely because it had been filed more than ninety days after the UEF's determination. The court concluded that, as a result, it lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.
Flynn appealed to this Court on November 19, 2004.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
The Workers' Compensation Court's order relied on conclusions of law. This Court reviews that tribunal's conclusions of law de novo, the standard being whether the interpretation of law was correct. Stordalen v. Ricci's Food Farm (1993), 261 Mont. 256, 258, 862 P.2d 393, 394.
DISCUSSION
The State of Montana created the Uninsured Employers' Fund (UEF) in 1977 to protect workers employed by uninsured employers. The UEF claims process begins when an injured employee files a First Report of Injury, which is assigned to a UEF c
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