Opinion ID: 1110832
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: arbitrary and capricious termination of benefits

Text: Next is the issue of the trial court's award of attorney fees of $7,500 for Riverwood's arbitrary and capricious termination of Ms. Frith's indemnity benefits and the court of appeal's reversal of that portion of the judgment. This court has held that the WCJ's determination of whether an employer or insurer should be cast with attorney fees in a workers' compensation action is essentially a question of fact subject to the manifest error or clearly wrong standard of review. Authement v. Shappert Engineering, XXXX-XXXX, p. 12 (La.2/25/03), 840 So.2d 1181, 1189. The crucial issue for determining whether an employer's actions are arbitrary and capricious is whether the employer can articulate an objective reason for discontinuing benefits at the time it took the action. Williams v. Rush Masonry, Inc., 98-2271, p. 9 (La.6/29/99), 737 So.2d 41, 46. The WCJ found that Riverwood acted arbitrarily and capriciously because, among other reasons, it terminated Ms. Frith's indemnity benefits without fulfilling its obligation to provide vocational rehabilitation services as required by La.Rev.Stat. 23:1226(A). We find no manifest error in the WCJ's holding to that effect. Thus, we find that the court of appeal improperly reversed the WCJ's attorney fee award. The $7,500 attorney fee award is therefore reinstated. In both the court of appeal and in this court, Ms. Frith sought additional attorney fees for work performed by her attorneys in the court of appeal and this court. A workers' compensation claimant is entitled to an increase in attorney fees to reflect additional time incurred in defending the employer's unsuccessful appeal. Hickman v. Allstate Timber Co., 94-1275 (La.App. 3 Cir. 4/5/95), 653 So.2d 154, writ denied, 95-1133 (La.6/23/95), 656 So.2d 1017. Because we have ruled in Ms. Frith's favor on both the indemnity issue and the attorney fee issue, Riverwood's appeal of the WCJ's judgment was ultimately unsuccessful. Thus, we grant Ms. Frith's request for additional attorney fees and amend the judgment to award $3,000 for work done in the two appellate courts.