Court Opinion

ID: 9856639
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 06:53:43.865049+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:40:13.023151
License: Public Domain

*366JOHNSON, Justice,
concurring and dissenting.
I concur in part III (Loss of Consortium) and part IV (Attorney Fees) of the Court’s opinion. I respectfully dissent as to part I (The Role of Future Due Worker’s Compensation Benefits) and part II (Idaho Code § 72-802).
THE MEANING OF “LIABILITY.”
I.C. § 72-209(2) provides:
The liability of an employer to another person who may be liable for or who has paid damages on account of an injury or occupational disease or death arising out of and in the course of employment of an employee of the employer and caused by the breach of any duty or obligation owed by the employer to such other person, shall be limited to the amount of compensation for which the employer is liable under this law on account of such injury, disease, or death, unless such other person and the employer agree to share liability in a different manner.
This statute clearly states that the liability of the employer is limited to the amount of compensation for which the employer is liable, not the amount of compensation paid by the employer. If “liability” meant “paid,” provisions of the workers’ compensation act such as I.C. § 72-404 would be meaningless. I.C. § 72-404 states:
Whenever the commission determines that it is for the best interest of all parties, the liability of the employer for compensation may, on application to the commission by any party interested, be discharged in whole or in part by the payment of one or more lump sums to be determined, with the approval of the commission.
Substituting “paid” for “liability” would cause this section to provide that the Commission could approve a lump sum payment to discharge the payments already made to the claimant. This is not a reasonable reading of the intent of the legislature. “Liability” means “liability,” not “paid.”
Each of the cases cited by the Court in support of its opinion on this issue is distinguishable. In Runcorn, the Court stated: “The district court ... refused to reduce the award by the amount of the workmen’s compensation benefits already received.” 107 Idaho at 392, 690 P.2d at 327. This indicates that the third party requested reduction of the judgment only by the amount of benefits already received. In Schneider, the third party’s motion to reduce the judgment requested a reduction only “of the amount of workmen’s compensation benefits Schneider had received.” 106 Idaho at 242, 678 P.2d at 34. In Tucker, the third party “moved that the judgment be amended by reducing the amount thereof in the sum of the workmen’s compensation benefits received by Tucker.” 100 Idaho at 593, 603 P.2d at 159. Liberty Mutual was decided before the enactment of I.C. § 72-209. In Liberty Mutual, the Court addressed the liability of the third party to the employer under an indemnity agreement between the employee and the third party, who had settled with-the employee. In this context, the Court addressed only whether the third party “was liable for reimbursement of the sum paid [the employee] under the workmen’s compensation law.” 91 Idaho at 154, 417 P.2d at 420.
ASSIGNABILITY OF COMPENSATION NOT RAISED AS ISSUE ON APPEAL.
The Court addresses the issue of the legality of the trial court’s payover order under the non-assignability provisions of I.C. § 72-802. Eagle did not list this as an issue on appeal in its briefs, nor was the question presented by Eagle in the trial court. The issue was injected only by the amicus curiae on oral argument to this Court. In my view, the amicus may not enlarge the issues to be considered on appeal, but may only address those properly presented to the Court by the parties. I note that the petition to appear as amicus curiae did not mention that the amicus intended to inject this new issue. We should not address the implication of I.C. § 72-802 in this case.
*367BAKES, J., Pro Tern (following retirement on February 1, 1993), joins with JOHNSON, J.