Case Name: April GLAZE v. WAL-MART STORES, INC.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 2006-05-05
Citations: 928 So. 2d 540
Docket Number: No. 2005-C-1734
Parties: April GLAZE v. WAL-MART STORES, INC.
Judges: CALOGERO, C.J., and TRAYLOR, J., would grant.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 928
Pages: 540–541

Head Matter:
April GLAZE v. WAL-MART STORES, INC.
No. 2005-C-1734.
Supreme Court of Louisiana.
May 5, 2006.
CALOGERO, C.J., and TRAYLOR, J., would grant.
VICTORY, J., dissents from the writ denial and assigns reasons.

Opinion:
VICTORY, J.,
dissenting from the writ denial.
| ¾ While stating that payment of workers's compensation benefits does not constitute an admission that they are owed, the court of appeal failed to apply the statute. Since Wal-Mart has disputed that an accident occurred and plaintiff was disabled as a result, there can be no penalty or attorneys' fees at this time for failure to pay the correct amount of benefits. Wal-Mart may prevail at the trial of the case on the merits that there was no accident and/or no resulting disability and no workers' compensation is owed. Surely, an employer cannot be penalized for failing to pay the "correct" amount of benefits, when no benefits are owed.
I would grant Wal-Mart's writ application.