Opinion ID: 1708190
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: Larsen was employed by District as a custodian when he suffered on-the-job injuries to his back in the years 1985, 1986, and 1987. Sometime in 1987 District adopted a requirement that custodians be able to lift a minimum of 100 pounds. While Larsen's treating physician released him for work in January 1988, Larsen was released with a 30 pound lifting restriction. Because this weight restriction was considered to be permanent in nature, District terminated Larsen's employment in October 1988. In January 1989, Larsen's doctor assigned him, on the basis of the 1987 injury, a permanent partial impairment rating of 20% to the whole man. Rockwood then wrote to Larsen that the 20% rating would entitle him to $14,054.98 in permanent partial disability benefits. Rockwood also enclosed Department Form 111 and instructed Larsen that if he wanted the permanent partial disability benefits, he should sign the form so that it could be filed with Department. Larsen signed the form on February 7, 1989, and it was approved by Department on March 29, 1989. On October 20, 1989, Larsen filed a petition with Department in which he sought permanent total disability benefits for the same back injury. The petition did not allege that Larsen's physical condition had changed since the time he signed Form 111, nor has Larsen made any such contention throughout these proceedings. On April 4, 1990, this Court decided Whitney v. AGSCO Dakota, 453 N.W.2d 847 (S.D. 1990). We recognized that a settlement agreement of an employee and employer may have the effect of a final determination of all matters embraced therein and as such would be conclusive of those matters in later proceedings involving the same parties. On May 1, 1991, District and Rockwood filed a motion for summary judgment based on Whitney. They argued that the Form 111 agreement signed by Larsen, like the agreement in Whitney, precluded him from recovering any additional benefits without a showing that his physical condition had changed. In response, Larsen argued that Whitney should not be retroactively applied. The Department rejected Larsen's arguments and found that Whitney was controlling in that it followed past precedents of this court and did not announce any new principles of law. Deputy Director James Marsh, in his written decision granting summary judgment, went on to state that where a settlement agreement does not contain an express reservation of continuing jurisdiction by Department, additional claims as to all matters that could have been contemplated in the agreement are barred by res judicata. Judge Zinter reversed and remanded concluding that Whitney should have prospective application only. Although Judge Zinter concluded that Whitney did not apply to the case at hand, he never entered any conclusion of law that the language of the settlement agreement, in and of itself, would or would not preclude Larsen from pursuing a claim for permanent total disability. Rather, in Conclusion of Law II, he stated: That the Form 111 herein was intended by the Appellant [Larsen], Appellees [District and Rockwood] and the South Dakota Department of Labor to be a partial or interim agreement for the payment of permanent partial disability benefits and was not intended by the parties to be a final award. Subsequent to Larsen filing his appeal to circuit court he also filed a motion for relief, pursuant to SDCL 15-6-60(b)(1) and (6). This motion was contingent upon the circuit court finding that Form 111 had the effect of a final judgment or order. The essence of this motion was that Larsen understood at the time he entered the settlement agreement that it was for permanent partial disability compensation only and that by signing it he was not waiving or otherwise releasing his right to any other benefits under the worker's compensation statutes. In Conclusion of Law XI, Judge Zinter determined that it was not necessary to decide this motion given his remand to Department.