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Paradiso v. Tipps Equipment11/20/2003
tled to future benefits and, if so, what those benefits should be. The district court proceedings left us with unanswered questions. Did the court enter findings of fact so as to permit conclusions to be drawn regarding future benefits, but decline the next step of drawing the conclusions, thinking that only the WCJ had jurisdiction to do so? Or, did the court intend its findings of fact to be so limited in purpose and effect as to be unavailable to the WCJ under the collateral estoppel doctrine? Last, did the court award Insurer reimbursement for both paid and future benefits, intending to foreclose Insurer from any further reimbursement even though Insurer may be obligated for future benefits?
Insurer does not contend on appeal that the district court lacked jurisdiction to decide what it did or to enter the findings of fact and conclusions of law that it entered. Nor does Insurer contend on appeal that the WCA has exclusive jurisdiction to decide whether Children are entitled to future benefits and what those benefits should be. See ยง 52-1-6(E) (stating that the Act "provides exclusive remedies" and that no cause of action outside the WCA shall be brought by a dependent or an insurer "for any matter relating to the occurrence of or payment for any injury or death covered by the . . . Act"). Further, the parties do not raise on appeal whether the district court had jurisdiction to actually award future benefits to Children under the Act or actually awarded such benefits. We have not been invited to raise and address these jurisdictional issues sua sponte, and we choose not to do so.
The district court in the present case saw jurisdictional problems and apparently attempted to back away from them after entering its findings and conclusions by placing in its order limiting language. The WCJ did not independently evaluate the facts that necessarily were material to the issue whether Children are entitled to future benefits, what future benefit obligation Insurer has, if any, and to what reimbursement, if any, from the third party settlement, Insurer would be entitled from future payments it was required to make. Given that the district court exercised jurisdiction it believed it had, the issues are (1) whether factual issues were adjudicated in the district court action and, if so, whether the findings are binding on the parties in the WCA action, permitting the WCJ to proceed, based on those findings, to determine the legal question whether Children are entitled to future benefits and to award the benefits; or rather (2) whether the WCJ was required, under the Act, to separately and independently consider and determine the facts and make separate, independent findings of fact before concluding whether Children are entitled to future benefits, thus precluding the application of collateral estoppel even if the doctrine were otherwise applicable. In this case, the WCJ took judicial notice of the findings of the district court and then held that the findings were binding on the parties under the doctrine of collateral estoppel.
D. The District Court's Findings
1. Findings Relating to Wrongful Death Settlement
The district court set out several findings that appear intended to relate primarily or solely to the settlement of the wrongful death action. Among them were findings of the decedent's 1996-97 wages; his life and work-life expectancies; present cash value of future wage loss, totaling $740,021; present cash value of lost household services and loss of guidance and counseling; medical and funeral expenses; value of loss of life; and total damages of $2,312,372.60 resulting from wrongful death. The wrongful death action resulted in a settlement of al
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