Case Name: Donna Jean SHELL v. WAL-MART STORES, INC.
Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 2001-03-21
Citations: 782 So. 2d 1155
Docket Number: No. 00-0997
Parties: Donna Jean SHELL v. WAL-MART STORES, INC.
Judges: Court composed of YELVERTON, THIBODEAUX, DECUIR, PETERS, and SULLIVAN, Judges.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 782
Pages: 1155–1165

Head Matter:
Donna Jean SHELL v. WAL-MART STORES, INC.
No. 00-0997.
Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.
March 21, 2001.
John K. (Mike) Anderson, Leesville, LA, Counsel for Donna Jean Shell.
Eric J. Waltner, Allen & Gooch, Lafayette, LA, Counsel for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Court composed of YELVERTON, THIBODEAUX, DECUIR, PETERS, and SULLIVAN, Judges.

Opinion:
hDECUIR, Judge.
After a judgment awarding past due supplemental earnings benefits became final and remained unpaid for thirty days, plaintiff, Donna Shell, filed a petition for penalties and attorney fees. The Office of Workers' Compensation awarded Ms. Shell $2,500.00 in attorney fees and $3,000.00 in penalties pursuant to La.R.S. 23:1201(G) against her employer, Wal-Mart. Ms. Shell appeals and contends that the Office of Workers' Compensation misinterpreted La.R.S. 23:1201(G) by failing to award as a penalty twenty-four percent of the total judgment for each day the judgment remains unpaid. She also entreats us to increase her award of attorney fees. Wal-Mart also appeals, asking us to reverse the supplemental earnings benefits award of $85.00 per week because the Office of Workers' Compensation misinterpreted this Court's previous opinion and judgment in an unpublished opinion, Shell v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 98-738 (La.App. 3 Cir. 12/9/98), 735 So.2d 132. Additionally, Wal-Mart claims the award of attorney fees was manifestly erroneous.
ISSUES
The issues presented for review are:
(1) whether the calculation of supplemental earnings benefits was correct;
(2) whether the workers' compensation judge properly applied La.R.S. 23:1201(G) when calculating the correct amount of penalties owed to Ms. Shell;
(3) whether the workers' compensation judge committed manifest error in awarding attorney fees to Ms. Shell; and,
(4) whether she is entitled to additional attorney fees for work done on appeal.
\ ¿FACTS
On March 11, 1994, Donna Shell, an employee of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., injured her back while lifting a microwave oven onto a shelf during the course and scope of her employment. Ms. Shell subsequently filed a claim for workers' compensation benefits, and a trial was held on April 1, 1997. Judgment was rendered in favor of Ms. Shell on August 20, 1997.
The workers' compensation judge held that Ms. Shell was entitled to back due supplemental earnings benefits (hereinafter "SEB"), medical benefits, modifications to her work environment, and medical treatment as recommended by Dr. Randall Lea, the independent medical examination doctor. Wal-Mart appealed the judgment to this Court which amended in part and affirmed, as amended, in an unpublished opinion. The judgment was amended so as to delete the requirement that Wal-Mart provide a place for Ms. Shell to he down and rest while working. This Court also amended the SEB award, continuing it until Ms. Shell's wages equaled ninety percent of her pre-accident wages or until the maximum 520 week time limit, provided by statute, elapsed.
On December 23, 1998, the judgment of this Court became final. However, no payments were made by Wal-Mart on the judgment. The judgment should have been paid on or before January 22, 1999, thirty days subsequent to the date it became final. See La.R.S. 23:1201(G). Finally, on March 11, 1999, Wal-Mart paid $1,827.33, and thereafter began paying $11.33 to Ms. Shell as supplemental earnings benefits. Ms. Shell subsequently filed a petition for penalties and attorney fees for failure to pay the judgment in a timely fashion, and judgment in her favor was rendered on January 31, 2000. That judgment interpreted our Court's 1998 decision as awarding Ms. Shell SEB beginning the week of May 15, 1996, through the finality of the judgment of this LCourt on December 23, 1998, in the amount of $85.00 per week, subject to a credit for the amounts previously paid. The judgment also assessed penalties against Wal-Mart at the rate of $100.00 per day for the maximum amount allowable, $3,000.00, as a result of the delinquent payment of the judgment. Both parties have appealed.
LAW AND DISCUSSION
Standard of Review
Factual findings in a workers' compensation case are subject to the manifest error or clearly wrong standard of appellate review. Banks v. Industrial Roofing & Sheet Metal Works, Inc., 96-2840 (La.7/1/97), 696 So.2d 551, 556. An appellate court questions whether there is a reasonable factual basis in the record for the finding of the trial court and whether the record further establishes that the finding is not manifestly erroneous. Mart v. Hill, 505 So.2d 1120 (La.1987). Thus, if there is no reasonable factual basis in the record for the trial court's finding, no additional inquiry is necessary. However, if a reasonable factual basis exists, an appellate court may set aside a trial court's factual findings only if, after reviewing the record in its entirety, it determines the trial court's finding was clearly wrong. Stobart v. State through Dep't of Transp. and Dev., 617 So.2d 880 (La.1993). Even though an appellate court may feel its own evaluations and inferences are more reasonable than the fact finder's, an appellate court should not disturb reasonable evaluations of credibility and reasonable inferences of fact where conflict exists in the testimony. Where there are two permissible views of the evidence, the fact finder's choice cannot be manifestly erroneous or clearly wrong. Id. at 880; Morris v. Norco Constr. Co., 632 So.2d 332 (La.App. 1 Cir.1993), writ denied, 94-0591 (La.4/22/94), 637 So.2d 163.
[4The interpretation of a statute is a question of law, which is not governed by the manifest error standard. The appellate court's review of a legal issue hinges on whether the trial court's decision is legally correct or incorrect. Ducote v. City of Alexandria, 95-1269 (La.App. 3 Cir. 7/17/96); 677 So.2d 1118.
Supplemental Earnings Benefits
Wal-Mart argues that the workers' compensation judge erred in awarding Ms. Shell SEB in the amount of $85.00 per week because the evidence established Ms. Shell was able to perform part-time sedentary work. We disagree. The purpose of SEBs is to compensate the injured employee for the wage earning capacity he has lost as a result of his accident. Banks, 696 So.2d 551, 556. Under La.R.S. 23:1221(3)(a), an employee is entitled to receive SEB if he sustains a work-related injury that results in his inability to earn ninety percent or more of his average pre-injury wage. The injured employee bears the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the injury resulted in his inability to earn wages equal to ninety percent or more of the wages he earned at the time of injury. The determination is made by reference to the facts and circumstances of each individual case. Smith v. Louisiana Dep't of Corrections, 93-1305 (La.2/28/94); 633 So.2d 129.
If the employee meets his burden, the burden of production then shifts to the employer to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the employee is physically able to perform a certain job and that the job was offered to the employee or was available to the employee in either the employee's or the employer's community or reasonable geographic region. Seal v. Gaylord Container Corp., 97-0688 (La.12/2/97), 704 So.2d 1161. The amount of SEB is based upon the difference between the claimant's pre-injury average monthly wage and the claimant's proven post-injury monthly earning capacity. La. R.S. 23:1221(3)(a).
IsThis is the second time this Court has reviewed this case. In this review, we find that the workers' compensation judge correctly interpreted our previous opinion entitling Ms. Shell to SEB in the amount of $85.00 per week commencing on May 15, 1996, and continuing through December 23, 1998, which is the date this Court's judgment became final. This amount totals $11,475.00 plus interest. We clearly affirmed the workers' compensation judge's conclusion that Ms. Shell was entitled to back due supplemental earnings benefits for the full amount to which she was entitled, $85.00 per week, less any amount actually earned, from the date of termination and ongoing until modified employment was provided. In our opinion dated December 9, 1998, we unambiguously stated that the workers' compensation judge did not err in awarding Ms. Shell SEB. The only amendment made to the original judgment of the Office of Workers' Compensation was the duration of the benefits:
However, we do find that the workers' compensation judge erred in awarding these benefits only until Wal-Mart meets Dr. Lea's modifications and restrictions. Even if Wal-Mart meets those requirements, Ms. Shell will still earn less than ninety percent of her pre-accident wages. Accordingly, Ms. Shell is entitled to SEB until either her wages equal ninety percent of her pre-accident wages or the time limit for receiving such benefits has -voired pursuant to La.R.S. 23:1221(d).
Shell, 98-738, p. 15. Thus, to be clear in this matter, Wal-Mart is obligated to continue to pay supplemental earnings benefits in the amount of $85.00 per week to Ms. Shell until Ms. Shell is earning ninety percent of her pre-accident wages or until the time for receiving SEB has elapsed under La.R.S. 23:1221. The conditions justifying termination or modification of the amount of SEB have yet to be litigated and determined.
| sPenalties Under La.R.S. 23:1201(G)
Louisiana Revised Statutes 23:1201(G) governs the payment of a final nonap-pealable judgment under Louisiana Workers' Compensation Law and provides as follows:
If any award payable under the terms of a final, nonappealable judgment is not paid within thirty days after it becomes due, there shall be added to such award an amount equal to twenty-four percent thereof or one hundred dollars per day together with reasonable attorney fees, for each calendar day after thirty days it remains unpaid, whichever is greater, which shall be paid at the same time as, and in addition to, such award, unless such nonpayment results from conditions over which the employer had no control. No amount paid as a penalty under this Subsection shall be included in any formula utilized to establish premium rates for workers' compensation insurance. The total one hundred dollar per calendar day penalty provided for in this Subsection shall not exceed three thousand dollars in the aggregate.
The workers' compensation judge held that the twenty-four percent provision of La.R.S. 23:1201(G) did not apply in this case because that amount would be less than $3,000.00, which is the statutory $100.00 per diem maximum. Ms. Shell appeals this determination and contends that she is entitled to a per diem amount of twenty-four percent of the $11,475.00 SEB award, plus interest, for every day the judgment goes unpaid by Wal-Mart.
Ms. Shell argues that the penalty awarded by the trial court was incorrectly calculated. She asks this court to increase the $3,000.00 penalty awarded below to well over one million dollars, which is 24% of $11,475.00, multiplied by the number of days that payment of the judgment was delinquent. We decline to contravene well established jurisprudence, and we reject the interpretation of the penalty statute advocated by Ms. Shell, finding her interpretation to be legally unsound and fallacious.
17The alternative penalty provisions listed in La.R.S. 23:1201(G) allow the trial judge to award the greater of a twenty-four percent penalty or $100.00 per day for the late payment of a judgment. For the reasons which follow, we hold that a workers' compensation judge does not have the option to award a daily, or per diem, amount equal to twenty-four percent of the unpaid judgment.
The legislature amended the penalty provision in 1995. Although the penalty for late payment of a judgment was contained in subsection F of the statute in 1994, when Ms. Shell's accident took place, the provision was reenacted as subsection G in 1995 and the right to attorney fees was added. The judgment which gave rise to Ms. Shell's suit for penalties and attorney fees was issued in 1997; hence, the amended version of the statute, La.R.S. 23:1201(G), is applicable herein. See McCoy v. KMB Transport, Inc., 98-1018 (La.App. 1 Cir. 5/14/99), 734 So.2d 886, writ denied, 99-2295 (La.11/24/99), 750 So.2d 986, and Harrington v. Coastal Constr. & Eng'g, 96-681 (La.App. 3 Cir. 12/11/96), 685 So.2d 457, writ denied, 97-0109 (La.3/7/97), 689 So.2d 1375.
House Bill 1415, as originally filed, illustrates the changes made in 1995. The text which is struck out is that which the new law proposed to delete, and the text which is underlined is that which the new law proposed to add:
[Ft] G. If any [compensation or medical- benefits] award payable under the terms of a final, nonappealable judgment is not paid within 30 days after it becomes due, there shall be added to such [unpaid — compensation] award an amount equal to twenty-four percent thereof or one hundred dollars per day together with reasonable attorney fees, for each calendar day after thirty days it remains unpaid, whichever is greater, which shall be paid at the same time as, and in addition to, such [compensation] award, unless [the order is appealed as provided by law-o-r unlessjsuch nonpayment results from conditions over which the employer had no control. No amount paid as a penalty under this Subsection shall be included in any formula utilized to establish premium rates for worker's compensation insurance. The total one | ^hundred dollar per calendar day penalty provided for in this Subsection shall not exceed three thousand dollars in the aggregate.
The change which created the ambiguity upon which Ms. Shell bases her argument that the statute allows for a penalty of twenty-four percent per day is the insertion of the phrase "together with reasonable attorney fees." The phrase was inserted before the comma which originally separated "one hundred dollars per day" from its modifying clause, "for each calendar day after thirty days it remains unpaid." The arbitrary placement of the attorney fee provision was both inartful and injudicious; the provisions of the statute are muddled together in an excessively long and convoluted sentence, creating a lack of clarity and precision. We find, however, that the amendment did not change the substance of the penalty provision as it read prior to 1995. Our review of the legislative history pertaining to the amendment reveals very little discussion; the amendment was captioned "to allow for attorney fees," and there is no mention of a substantive change in the potential amount of penalties that could be awarded pursuant to the amendment.
In State v. Anderson, 540 So.2d 974 (La.App. 2 Cir.), writ denied, 544 So.2d 398(La.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 865, 110 S.Ct. 185, 107 L.Ed.2d 140 (1989), the court held that an inartistically placed comma does not require a statutory construction contrary to legislative intent and the plain meaning of the statute. "Punctuation cannot control a statute's construction against the manifest intent of the legislature, and the court will punctuate or disregard punctuation to ascertain and give effect to real intent." Id. at 977. Similarly, in McLaughlin v. French, 492 So.2d 254 (La.App. 3 Cir.1986), this court chose to disregard a typographical error in an ordinance and, instead, interpreted the law "in a manner that elucidates the statute's true meaning." 492 So.2d 254, 257.
1 flOur holding is supported by the jurisprudence of this state which consistently holds that the twenty-four percent penalty is a flat rate. See Borne v. St. John the Baptist Parish Sch. Bd., 97-1062 (La.App. 5 Cir. 3/11/98), 712 So.2d 921, writ denied, 98-0807 (La.5/8/98), 719 So.2d 52; Davis v. City of New Orleans, 97-1626 (La.App. 4 Cir. 1/28/98), 706 So.2d 669. The twenty-four percent penalty has never been awarded as a per diem penalty. In Singletary v. Asplundh Tree Expert Co., 96-0072, p. 5 (La.App. 1 Cir. 9/27/96), 681 So.2d 70, writ denied, 96-2581 (La.12/13/96), 692 So.2d 374, the court awarded a penalty that it described as "24 percent per day." The case does not recite the amount of the judgment in dispute; the dates and the amounts mentioned in the opinion, however, indicate that the penalty may not have been calculated as a per diem award. In any event, we disagree with the language used in Singletary, finding it to be contrary to the clear intent of the penalty statute.
We find no error in the trial court's calculation of the statutory penalty assessed against Wal-Mart in this case. This conclusion is in accord with the jurisprudence of this state which has uniformly found that these penalty provisions must be strictly construed. Albe v. Albe, 97-1042 (La.App. 4 Cir. 11/19/97), 703 So.2d 756, writ denied, 97-3048 (La.2/13/98), 709 So.2d 752; Augustus v. St. Mary Parish Sch. Bd., 95-2498 (La.App. 1 Cir. 6/28/96), 676 So.2d 1144; Ball v. Dawsey Corp., 95-669 (La.App. 5 Cir. 11/28/95), 665 So.2d 566; Stevens v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 27,977 (La.App. 2 Cir. 11/1/95), 663 So.2d 543; Ferrier v. Jordache-Ditto's, 94-1317, 94-1318 (La.App. 3 Cir. 5/17/95), 662 So.2d 14, writ denied, 95-2865 (La.2/2/96), 666 So.2d 1100. Moreover, it supports the clear intent of the legislature.
ho Attorney Fees
Our review of the record reveals no manifest error in the trial court's award of attorney fees pursuant to La.R.S. 23:1201(G), and we affirm the award of $2,500.00. Considering Ms. Shell's request for an increase of attorney fees for work done on appeal, we acknowledge that Ms. Shell successfully defended her right to compensation in the amount awarded by the trial judge. However, because she filed her own appeal on other issues, and was ultimately unsuccessful in that regard, Ms. Shell is not entitled to an increased award of attorney fees for work performed on appeal.
Decree
For the above and forgoing reasons, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. All costs of this appeal are assessed to Wal-Mart.
AFFIRMED.
THIBODEAUX, J., concurs in part and dissents in part and assigns written reasons.
PETERS, J., concurs in part and dissents in part, and assigns written reasons.