Court Opinion

ID: 9880857
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-28 21:44:54.431022+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:58:00.594234
License: Public Domain

FILED
Sep 28, 2023

10:10 AM(CT)
TENNESSEE COURT OF
WORKERS' COMPENSATION
CLAIMS

TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS
IN THE COURT OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS

AT MURFREESBORO
NOE JIMENEZ, ) Docket No. 2021-05-1163
Employee, )
Vv. )
)
ORLANDO ARAUZ, ) State File No. 30028-2020
Employer, )
And )
)
TECHNOLOGY CoO., INC., ) Judge Dale Tipps
Carrier. )

COMPENSATION ORDER GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Mr. Arauz filed a Motion for Summary Judgment. The central issue is whether he
is entitled to summary judgment because the statute of limitations bars Mr. Jimenez’s
claim. For the reasons below, the Court holds Mr. Arauz is entitled to summary judgment.

Procedural History and Facts

Mr. Jimenez alleged he suffered work-related injuries on April 16, 2020. Mr. Arauz
accepted the claim and provided medical treatment. Mr. Jimenez filed a Petition for Benefit
Determination on December 22, 2023, seeking additional treatment.

Mr. Arauz filed this Motion for Summary Judgment, and Mr. Jimenez filed no
response. The Court held a hearing on the motion on September 26, 2023, but Mr. Jimenez
did not appear.

Mr. Arauz filed a statement of undisputed material facts with citations to the record
under Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure 56.03. Because Mr. Jimenez did not respond,
no facts alleged in Mr. Arauz’s statement were rebutted. These facts are summarized as
follows:
1. Mr. Jimenez’s date of injury is April 16, 2020.

2. The last date Mr. Arauz paid benefits to or on behalf of Mr. Jimenez was November
2, 2020.

3. Mr. Jimenez filed his Petition for Benefit Determination on December 22, 2021.

Based on these facts, Mr. Arauz argued summary judgment should be granted
because it affirmatively negated an essential element of Mr. Jimenez’s claim — that he
timely filed the petition — and that the facts are insufficient for him to prove this element.

Law and Analysis

Summary judgment is appropriate “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to
interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there
is No genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment
as a matter of law.” Tenn. R. Civ. P. 56.04.

As the moving party, Mr. Arauz must do one of two things to prevail on his motion:
(1) submit affirmative evidence that negates an essential element of Mr. Jimenez’s claim,
or (2) demonstrate that his evidence is insufficient to establish an essential element of his
claim. Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-16-101 (2022); see also Rye v. Women’s Care Ctr. of
Memphis, MPLLC, 477 8.W.3d 235, 264 (Tenn. 2015). If Mr. Arauz meets this burden,
Mr. Jimenez must then establish that the record contains specific facts upon which the
Court could base a decision in his favor. Rye, at 265.

Mr. Jimenez did not respond in writing to oppose Mr. Arauz’s properly supported
motion for summary judgment or follow the Rule 56 requirement of responding to the
statement of undisputed material facts. Therefore, the Court finds the motion and the facts
are undisputed. The issue then is whether under Rule 56.06 summary judgment is
“appropriate.”

The essential element at issue in this case comes from Tennessee Code Annotated
section 50-6-203(b)(2), which provides that when the employer has voluntarily paid
workers’ compensation benefits, the right to compensation is forever barred unless a
petition for benefit determination is filed “within one year from the latter of the date of the
last authorized treatment or the time the employer ceased to make payments of
compensation to or on behalf of the employee.”

The undisputed facts conclusively show that Mr. Jimenez filed his Petition for
Benefit Determination on December 22, 2021, which is more than one year after Mr.
Arauz’s last payment of authorized benefits on November 2, 2020. Thus, Mr. Arauz met
his burden of negating an essential element of the claim. This means Mr. Jimenez must
show that the record contains specific facts upon which the Court could find in his favor,
such as proof of a recognized exception to the statute of limitations.

2
As noted above, Mr. Jimenez filed no response to the motion or the statement of
undisputed material facts. Without proof of any applicable exceptions to the statute of
limitations, Mr. Jimenez’s evidence is insufficient to prove this essential element of his
claim. Therefore, the Court holds that no genuine issue of material fact exists and Mr.
Arauz is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law.

IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED as follows:

1. Mr. Arauz’s Motion for Summary Judgment is granted, and Mr. Jimenez’s claim is
dismissed with prejudice to its refiling.

2. Unless appealed, this order shall become final thirty days after entry.

3. The Court taxes the $150.00 filing fee to Mr. Arauz under Tennessee Compilation
Rules and Regulations 0800-02-21-.06, payable to the Clerk within five business
days.

4. Mr. Arauz shall prepare and submit the SD-2 with the Clerk within ten days of the
date of judgment.

ENTERED September 28, 2023.

(FEET

Judge Dale Tipps
Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that a copy of the Order was sent as indicated on September 28, 2023.

Name U.S. Mail | Via Service Sent To
Email

Noe Jimenez x x 813 Naylor Ave., lot 38

Murfreesboro, TN 37130

jimennoah@gmail.com
Mackenzie Keffalos, xX mckeffalos@mijs.com
Employer’s Attorney

Parng OM lin

Penny Shrum, Clerk of Court
Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims
WC.CourtClerk@tn.gov

Compensation Order Right to Appeal:

If you disagree with this Compensation Order, you may appeal to the Workers’
Compensation Appeals Board. To do so, you must:

1. Complete the enclosed form entitled “Notice of Appeal” and file it with the Clerk of the
Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims within thirty calendar days of the date the
Compensation Order was filed. When filing the Notice of Appeal, you must serve a copy
upon the opposing party (or attorney, if represented).

2. You must pay, via check, money order, or credit card, a $75.00 filing fee within ten calendar
days after filing the Notice of Appeal. Payments can be made in-person at any Bureau office
or by U.S. mail, hand-delivery, or other delivery service. In the alternative, you may file an
Affidavit of Indigency (form available on the Bureau’s website or any Bureau office)
seeking a waiver of the filing fee. You must file the fully-completed Affidavit of Indigency
within ten calendar days of filing the Notice of Appeal. Failure to timely pay the filing
fee or file the Affidavit of Indigency will result in dismissal of your appeal.

3. You are responsible for ensuring a complete record is presented on appeal. The Court Clerk
will prepare the technical record and exhibits for submission to the Appeals Board, and you
will receive notice once it has been submitted. If no court reporter was present at the hearing,
you may request from the Court Clerk the audio recording of the hearing for a $25.00 fee.
A licensed court reporter must prepare a transcript, and you must file it with the Court Clerk
within fifteen calendar days of filing the Notice of Appeal. Alternatively, you may file a
statement of the evidence prepared jointly by both parties within fifteen calendar days of
filing the Notice of Appeal. The statement of the evidence must convey a complete and
accurate account of the testimony presented at the hearing. The Workers’ Compensation
Judge must approve the statement of the evidence before the record is submitted to the
Appeals Board. If the Appeals Board must review testimony or other proof concerning
factual matters, the absence of a transcript or statement of the evidence can be a significant
obstacle to meaningful appellate review.

4. After the Workers’ Compensation Judge approves the record and the Court Clerk transmits
it to the Appeals Board, a docketing notice will be sent to the parties. You have fifteen
calendar days after the date of that notice to file a brief to the Appeals Board. See the Rules
governing the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board on the Bureau’s website

If neither party timely files an appeal with the Appeals Board, the trial court’s Order will
become final by operation of law thirty calendar days after entry. Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-
239(c)(7).

For self-represented litigants: Help from an Ombudsman is available at 800-332-2667.
Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation
220 French Landing Drive, I-B
Nashville, TN 37243-1002
800-332-2667

AFFIDAVIT OF INDIGENCY

I, , having been duly sworn according to law, make oath that
because of my poverty, | am unable to bear the costs of this appeal and request that the filing fee to appeal be
waived. The following facts support my poverty.

1. Full Name: 2. Address:

3. Telephone Number: 4. Date of Birth:

5. Names and Ages of All Dependents:

Relationship:

Relationship:

Relationship:

Relationship:

6. |am employed by:

My employer’s address is:

My employer's phone number is:

7. My present monthly household income, after federal income and social security taxes are deducted, is:

$

8. | receive or expect to receive money from the following sources:

AFDC $ per month beginning
ssl $ per month beginning
Retirement $ per month beginning
Disability $ per month beginning
Unemployment $ per month beginning
Worker's Comp.$ per month beginning
Other $ per month beginning

LB-1108 (REV 11/15) RDA 11082
9. My expenses are:

Rent/House Payment $ permonth Medical/Dental $ per month

Groceries $ per month Telephone $ per month

Electricity $ per month School Supplies $ per month

Water $ per month Clothing $ per month

Gas $ per month Child Care $ per month

Transportation $ per month Child Support $ per month

Car $ per month

Other $ per month (describe: )
10. Assets:

Automobile $ (FMV)

Checking/Savings Acct. $

House $ _ (FMV)

Other $ Describe:

11. My debts are:

Amount Owed To Whom

| hereby declare under the penalty of perjury that the foregoing answers are true, correct, and complete
and that I am financially unable to pay the costs of this appeal.

APPELLANT

Sworn and subscribed before me, a notary public, this

day of , 20

NOTARY PUBLIC

My Commission Expires:

LB-1108 (REV 11/15) RDA 11082