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United States Steel Corp. v. McBrayer3/4/2005
This appeal concerns the propriety of an award of temporary-disability benefits under the Alabama Workers' Compensation Act, § 25-5-1 et seq., Ala. Code 1975 ("the Act").
In February 2002, Roger H. McBrayer ("the employee") sued his employer, United States Steel Corporation ("the employer"), alleging that he had suffered work-related injuries to his head, left side, hand, and back on December 30, 2000, as a result of a fall of 10 feet from a loader. The employee sought compensation as provided in the Act and also sought damages in tort under Ala. Code 1975, § 25-5-11.1, based upon the employer's allegedly having discharged him from his employment in retaliation for his seeking benefits under the Act. The employee subsequently amended his complaint so as to assert that the employer had tortiously intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon him. The employer filed a motion for the entry of a summary judgment as to the employee's tort claims, which was granted, leaving only the employee's claim for benefits under the Act to be adjudicated.
After an ore tenus proceeding in April 2003, the trial court entered a judgment on July 29, 2003. In that judgment, the trial court determined that the employee had suffered head lacerations and a herniated cervical disk in the neck region as a result of a workplace fall occurring on December 30, 2000. The trial court concluded that the employee was entitled to an award of temporary-total-disability ("TTD") benefits in the amount of $31,299.33 "for the period commencing on January 2, 2001 and terminating on May 3, 2002" (a period that will be referred to as "the recovery period" in this opinion) and that the employee was also entitled to an award of temporary-partial-disability ("TPD") benefits in the amount of $2,055.51 "for that period during the month of June 2001 in which [the employee had] attempted to return to work but had to quit because of chronic neck pain." However, the trial court also concluded that under Ala. Code 1975, § 25-5-57(c), the employer was entitled to a setoff in the amount of $5,512 because the employee had received payments made pursuant to a disability plan funded by the employer.
On August 27, 2003, the employer filed a motion, pursuant to Rule 59(e), Ala. R. Civ. P., to alter, amend, or vacate the judgment. Among other things, the employer contended that the trial court had incorrectly determined the amount of benefits to which the employee was entitled under the Act. Specifically, the employer argued (1) that the employee was not entitled to TTD benefits with respect to particular days during the recovery period during which he was working full-time; (2) that the employee was not entitled to TTD benefits for periods during which the employee was allegedly prevented from working based upon "unrelated" medical conditions; (3) that the employee was not entitled to TTD benefits for that portion of the recovery period after the employee was released by a particular physician to return to work; and (4) that the employee was not entitled to both TTD and TPD benefits for June 2001. The employer's postjudgment motion was not expressly ruled upon by the trial court within 90 days after it was filed; moreover, the parties did not expressly consent on the record to the trial court's retention of jurisdiction over the motion, nor did this court enter an order allowing the trial court to rule upon that motion more than 90 days after its filing. Therefore, the motion was automatically denied under the terms of Rule 59.1, Ala. R. Civ. P., on November 25, 2003. The employer timely appealed.
Despite the automatic denial of the postjudgment motion, the trial court purported to enter an order on December 22, 2003, granti
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