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King Manufacturing v. Meadows11/1/2005
y guarantee.
The Rivas claimant had previous permanent partial disability adjudications which occurred prior to the 1995 change totaling 99.85%. In 1997, the claimant sustained a new work-related injury to his shoulder. The court recognized that §22(7) did not disturb any of the worker's existing or vested rights because his cause could not be maintained prior to the date of injury in 1997. Had the worker in Rivas been injured before the statutory amendment to §22(7), he would have been entitled to the remedy under the pre-1995 statute.
Here, the provisions of 85 O.S. 1991 §22(7) afforded the employee matured rights to permanent partial disability awards which remain unaffected by subsequent amendments limiting the amount of compensation recoverable. Accordingly, we hold that under the facts presented, the award of permanent disability for a change in condition is governed by the statutory language in effect at the time of the initial injury , rather than the statutory limits in effect when the change in condition was discovered.
II. APPEAL-RELATED ATTORNEY FEES ARE NOT WARRANTED
The employee seeks appeal-related attorney fees, arguing that the employers' appeal was frivolous and without merit, citing TRW/Reda Pump v. Brewington, 1992 OK 31, , 829 P.2d 15. In Brewington, the Court announced the standards for the imposition of an attorney fee award for lodging a patently frivolous appeal within the meaning of 20 O.S. 2001 §15.1. A patently frivolous appeal is one having no legitimate legal or factual basis and is so totally devoid of merit as to be regarded as facially unworthy of consideration. All doubts concerning whether the appeal is frivolous must be resolved in the appellant's favor. This appeal does not appear to be frivolous nor lacking in merit. Consequently, an award of appeal-related attorney fees is not warranted.
CONCLUSION
The terms of the Okla. Const., Art. 5, §54 protect matured rights from the effects of after-enacted legislative change. After-enacted legislation that increases or diminishes the amount of recoverable compensation or alters the elements of the claim or defense by imposition of new conditions affects the parties' substantive rights and liabilities. The statute in effect at the time of the initial injury governs a claimant's award of permanent disability for a change in condition. Additionally, a patently frivolous appeal is one having no legitimate legal or factual basis and is so totally devoid of merit as to be regarded as facially unworthy of consideration. Because the appeal does not appear to be frivolous nor lacking in merit, an award of appeal-related attorney fees is not warranted.
CERTIORARI PREVIOUSLY GRANTED; COURT OF CIVIL APPEALS OPINION VACATED; TRIAL COURT AFFIRMED.
WATT, C.J., WINCHESTER, V.C.J., LAVENDER, HARGRAVE, OPALA, KAUGER, EDMONDSON, COLBERT, JJ., concur.
TAYLOR, J., dissents.
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