No. 85-584 

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA 

1987 

KENNETH K. KOMEOTIS, 

Claimant and Appellant, 

-vsWILLIAMSON FENCING, Employer, 

and 

STATE COMPENSATION INSURANCE FUND, 

Defendant and Respondent. 

APPEAL FROM: The Workers' Compensation Court, The Honorable 

Timothy Reardon, Judge presiding. 

COUNSEL OF RECORD: 

For Appellant: 

Bottomly & Gabriel; Joe Bottomly, Great Falls, Montana 

For Respondent: 

Marra, Wenz, Johnson & Hopkins; Thomas A. Marra, Great 

Falls, Montana 

Submitted on Briefs: April 17, 1986 

Decided: February 18, 1987 

Clerk 
3Tontana Supr :me ('ourt 

Justi c:c Rui ' 1; r~q 

215 Nor+:h Sal~?.e:-~; 

Helena, P:T 59620 

Date Februarv 19, 1987 

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT 

West Publishing Co., P.O. Box 3526, St. Paul, MN 55165 

Please make the following correction in the opinion in the case of: 

Title: KOBfEOTIS V . FJITtTJTAP~SON FENCTNG and 

STATE COP4PEfJSATIOPJ IQS. FUYD, NO. 35-5 34, 

Vol. Rptr. (Decided 2/17/57) Page 

first column, line In second top from bottom. 

(Page 2, line 4 from the top) 

. . . appeal whether the District Court 

erred in applyinq - . . , . 

should read . . . appeal whether the court erred 

in applyinq . . . . 

- - 

Signed 

The expense of making changes is such that we cannot undertake it for 

items of mere!y typographical style. 

West Publishing Co. 

N 182c 
Mr. Justice L. C. Gulbrandson delivered the Opinion of the 

Court. 

Kenneth Komeotis appeals from that part of a Workers' 

Compensation Court order which denies him a lump-sum payment 

of workers' compensation benefits. The dispositive issue on 

appeal is whether the District Court erred in applying 

S 39-71-741, MCA, retroactively to appellant's request for a 

lump-sum payment. We reverse and remand this case for 

proceedings consistent with this Court's decision in Buckman 

v. State Comp. Insurance Fund (Mont. 1.986), P.2d I 

43 St.Rep. 2216. 

In February 1984, appellant suffered a work related 

injury which aggravated his degenerative arthritis. The 

respondent State Compensation Insurance Fund (State Fund) 

accepted liability and paid temporary total disability 

benefits to appellant. In May 1985, the State Fund converted 

appellant's benefits to permanent total disability benefits. 

Appellant requested that the Workers' Compensation Court 

grant him a lump-sum payment of a large part of his 

anticipated benefits. 

The 1985 Montana Legislature amended S 39-71-741, MCA, 

the statute governing the lump-sum conversion of workers' 

compensation benefits. The amendments codified prior Montana 

case law on lump-sum conversions. The Workers' Compensation 

Court, in this case, found that the 1985 amendments enacted 

new, stricter guidelines for the granting of lump-sum 

payments. The court found that the amendments profound1.y 

changed the substantive law on such payments. The court then 

applied the new criteria from the 1985 amendments 

retroactively to appellant's case and denied him a lump-sum 

payment. 
This Court handed down the Buckman decision (cited 

above) after the Workers' Compensation Court's ruling in the 

instant case. In Buckman, this Court specifically held that 

the statutory guidelines in the 1985 amendment to 

§ 39-71-741, MCA, could not he applied retroactively. Thus, 

the Workers' Compensation Court erred in applying the new 

statute to appella.ntls claim. 

We decline to address the other issues appellant 

raises. Reversed and remanded for further pro5@ings. 

We concur: