BRIAN LOWRY, APPELLANT,
v.
CENTRAL LEASING MANAGEMENT, INC., AND ZURICH NORTH AMERICA, APPELLEES
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Florida appellate court affirmed the Judge of Compensation Claims' award of $1,854.58 in attorney's fees under the statutory percentage formula in section 440.34(1), rejecting the injured worker's constitutional challenge that the fee amount denied access to counsel and courts.
The statutory percentage formula for calculating attorney's fees in workers' compensation cases under section 440.34(1), Florida Statutes, does not violate constitutional rights of access to counsel or courts, and the JCC did not abuse discretion in applying it.
[1] The statutory percentage formula for calculating attorney's fees in workers' compensation cases under section 440.34(1), Florida Statutes, does not violate constitutional…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBrian Lowry, an injured worker, secured total benefits of $11,045.75 in a workers' compensation claim. The Judge of Compensation Claims awarded his at…
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Brian Lowry, an injured worker, appeals the Judge of Compensation Claims’ (JCC) final order awarding Lowry’s lawyer a “reasonable” attorney’s fee in the amount of $1,854.58 based on total benefits secured for Lowry in the amount of $11,045.75. In this as-applied “constitutional” challenge, Lowry contends that the JCC’s application of the percentage formula for calculating fees set forth in section 440.34(1), Florida Statutes (2003), denies access to counsel, denies access to courts, and “confiscates” legal time and services because the amount of the fees awarded equates to little more than $16.00 an hour. We are constrained to affirm the JCC’s order in all respects. See Murray v. Mariners Health/ACE USA, 946 So.2d 38 (Fla. 1st DCA), rev. granted, 969 So.2d 1014 (Fla. Oct.30, 2007); Buitrago v. Landry’s, 949 So.2d 1046 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006); Lundy v. Four Seasons Ocean Grand Palm Beach, 932 So.2d 506 (Fla. 1st DCA), rev. den., 939 So.2d 93 (Fla.2006); Campbell v. Aramark, 933 So.2d 1255 (Fla. 1st DCA), rev. den., 944 So.2d 986 (Fla.2006); Wood v. Fla. Rock Indus., 929 So.2d 542 (Fla. 1st DCA), rev. den., 935 So.2d 1221 (Fla.2006). We find no abuse of discretion in the JCC’s restricting the testimony of Lowry’s attorney’s-fee expert based on the employer/carrier’s relevancy objections and in not imposing attorney’s fees as a sanction against the employer/carrier for alleged misconduct.
AFFIRMED.
VAN NORTWICK and ROBERTS, JJ., concur.
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Celeste v. Kerns, 32 So. 3d 611 (Fla. 2009)…We have for review Celeste v. Kerns, 990 So. 2d 9 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008), in which the First District Court of Appeal cited as authority its decision Lowry v. Central Leasing Management, Inc., 988 So. 2d 1113 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008), denying rehearing of 18 So. 3d 550 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008), quashed, Lowry v. Central Leasing Management, Inc., 3 So. 3d 1189 (Fla., 2009). By the time the First District’s Celeste decision became final on denial of rehearing, its Lowry decision was pending review in this Court. We have…
Authorities Cited
- Lundy v. Four Seasons Ocean Grand Palm Beach & Liberty Ins. Grp., 932 So. 2d 506 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006)
- Wood v. Fla. Rock Indus. & Crawford & Co., 929 So. 2d 542 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006)
- Prudential Sec., Inc. v. Episcopal Diocese of Cent. Fla., 939 So.2d 93 (Fla. 2006)
- Barney E. Tully, Jr. v. State, 933 So. 2d 1255 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006)
- Schwanda v. Woodbine Indus., Inc., 946 So. 2d 38 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006)
- Cauthan v. State, 944 So. 2d 986 (Fla. 2006)
- Buitrago v. Landry's and Ace USA, 949 So. 2d 1046 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006)