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Dougan v. Aurora Electric Inc.6/28/2002
a good faith controversion. Specifically, there must be "reliance by the insurer on responsible medical opinion or conflicting medical testimony."
The board found that Aurora properly controverted all benefits on July 11, 1997 on the basis of Dr. James's report and Dr. Silver's report. The board also found that Aurora eventually agreed to the payment of compensation for the period of April 21, 1997 through November 4, 1997, but properly postponed payment until Dougan's employment activities for that period were confirmed. The board found that penalties and interest were properly paid and that neither further penalties nor further interest was due. The board found that Dr. Schurig's bills were paid within the requisite time after re-submission with the requested information. The superior court upheld the board's findings using the substantial evidence standard.
Dougan also claims that the board failed to award penalties under AS 23.30.250. The board found that it was without jurisdiction to award penalties under this statute. Alaska Statute 23.30.250 provides that one who makes a false or misleading statement is "civilly liable to a person adversely affected by the conduct." The "civilly liable" portion of AS 23.30.250(a) is in reality not a penalty provision but a legislative declaration that one who engages in certain specific conduct will be liable in a civil action to a person adversely affected by the conduct. Alaska Statute 23.30.250(a) implies that the civil action should be brought in court rather than before the board both by the term "civilly liable" and by the conjunction of that term with the other provisions of subsection .250(a) which refer to criminal penalties which obviously must be adjudicated in court. This conclusion is bolstered by the fact that AS 23.30.250(b) expressly relates to remedies that the board can impose upon a finding that a claimant has made a false or misleading statement. Therefore the board did not err in denying Dougan a remedy for civil penalties under AS 23.30.250(a).
All interest payments due were paid by Aurora. Dougan offers no time period for which he claims he is specifically owed interest on compensation payments. According to the facts found by the board and stated above, compensation has been paid for the entire period that Dougan was injured, November 1, 1996 through November 4, 1997. Payments that were late due to controversion by Aurora for the periods of January 9, 1997 through January 30, 1997 and April 21, 1997 through November 4, 1997 have been paid with interest. Therefore, Dougan received the interest payments to which he was entitled.
The board had substantial evidence to find that Aurora controverted the claims in good faith and that Dougan is not owed penalties or interest. Therefore, we uphold the decision of the superior court finding that the board properly denied penalties and interest.
B. The Superior Court Erred in Dismissing Thirteen of Dougan's Fifteen Claims.
Dougan claims that the superior court improperly dismissed thirteen of his fifteen claims because his brief did not comply with the appellate rules. The superior court's decision offers very little explanation of the reasons for the dismissal. Only one concrete example of the briefing inadequacy was given for all thirteen claims. There is no indication that Dougan was given notice of the inadequacy and a chance to comply with the briefing requirements.
Under the appellate rules, the superior court could have given Dougan a chance to correct the brief. We have held that the briefs of a pro se litigant are held to a less stringent standard than those of attorneys. A judge must inform a pro se litigant
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