Opinion ID: 880034
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Was the refusal to provide a $39,000 lump sum for the business an abuse of discretion?

Text: A vocational counselor, whose husband coincidentally ran a backhoe operation, drew up the Danielses' plan relying on the experience of the counselor's husband. The plan estimated start-up costs of between $34,000 and $39,500, and net income of more than $11,000 for the Danielses in the first year increasing to as much as $22,000 by the third year. However, the tax records for consultant's husband showed his operation, which had been in business for several years, had a net income of $7,472 in 1985. Ms. Daniels' husband, who had worked as a diesel mechanic for Anaconda Minerals Company in Butte, acknowledged that he had operated a backhoe only occasionally and had never bid on an excavation job. A University of Montana business and economic analyst considered the plan on behalf of the insurer. He testified by deposition that the data used in the plan were not the most recent and that the construction industry had since declined. He further noted that already there are some thirty backhoe businesses in the Flathead Valley and also that the Danielses' plan made no provisions for either labor costs or depreciation. The court denied a lump sum on this evidence reasoning that the plan was too speculative and Ms. Daniels' role too tangential to justify risking a substantial portion of her benefits. The Workers' Compensation Court is in a much better position than are we to acquaint itself with the needs of the claimant and to rule accordingly. Where the evidence does not clearly preponderate against its decision, we will not reverse it. Krause, 641 P.2d at 461. The claimant has the burden to prove that her business proposal has a reasonable chance of succeeding. Bundtrock, 647 P.2d at 858. The record before us does not show such evidence. We hold that the Workers' Compensation Court properly exercised its discretion.