Court Opinion

ID: 9649143
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 14:43:17.610741+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:12:08.148791
License: Public Domain

PHILLIP R. GARRISON, Chief Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. In my opinion, the “law of the case” doctrine should not be applied to prevent a review of the issues raised by Appellants on this appeal. As referred to in the majority opinion, that doctrine recognizes a former adjudication as the law of the case as to all questions directly raised and passed upon, and also as to matters which arose prior to the first appeal and might have been raised thereon but were not. Steen v. Colombo, 799 S.W.2d 169, 174 (Mo.App. S.D.1990). Furthermore, the doctrine does not apply when the former ruling was palpably wrong, when there is a substantial difference in the evidence and facts upon the two trials, or when injustice to the rights of the parties would be done by adhering to the first opinion. Id. In my mind, adhering to the first opinion would do an injustice to the rights of the parties in this case.
The circuit court held that the statute of limitations had been tolled by the payment of medical bills by Employer’s group health insurance carrier, and that Employee’s claim was timely filed. It, therefore, reversed the decision of the Commission denying Employee’s claim, and remanded the claim to the Division of Worker’s Compensation for further proceedings. When that decision was appealed to this Court, we entered an order on July 29, 1993, saying that the case “may not be appeal-able in that the action below was remanded to the Division of Worker’s Compensation for further proceedings.” The order went on to recite that an “[a]ppeal of a remand for consideration of additional evidence is not authorized by § 512.020 RSMo and thus there is no appeal from such an order.” In support, we cited Labor and Industrial Relations Commission v. Hoffman, 825 S.W.2d 874, 876 (Mo.App. W.D.1992).
In Hoffman, the respondent filed an appeal from an administrative determination by the Division of Employment Security. The appeals tribunal ruled that the appeal was not timely. The respondent appealed that judgment to the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission which adopted the same finding. The respondent then appealed to the circuit court which found that the appeal had been timely, and remanded the case to the Commission for further proceedings. The Commission and Division appealed the circuit court’s ruling. The dispositive issue was whether the circuit court’s order was appealable. The Court of Appeals, Western District, concluded that it was not, saying that only final awards, disposing of all parties and issues are appealable, and that a remand for consideration of additional evidence is not such an award. Id. at 876. It stated:
... In the instant case there has been no decision on the merits. The circuit court reversed the decision of the Commission and determined that [the respondent’s] appeal was timely filed. Finding the appeal timely filed, the circuit court remanded the cause for a determination of the merits, ... Thus, the circuit court has entered neither a final judgment nor an order from which § 512.020, RSMo 1986, has authorized an appeal. (Citation omitted.)
Id. Research indicates that no appellate court has distinguished Hoffman prior to this Court’s order of July 29,1993.
Under these circumstances, I believe that this Court effectively told Appellants *708in its July 29,1993, order that the order of the circuit court was not appealable. It is true that we gave Appellants an opportunity to show cause why the appeal should not be dismissed, and they did not attempt to do so. However, I believe that they should be excused from doing so because of the manner in which our order was worded. Our order contained a direct statement that an appeal from a remand for consideration of additional evidence is not authorized under § 512.020, and then cited Hoffman which so holds. Under these particular facts, I do not believe that we should adhere to the earlier determination by the circuit court by reason of the law of the case doctrine. Accordingly, I would decide this appeal on its merits.