Roberto F. Escobedo v. American Employers Insurance Co., 547 F.2d 544, 10th Cir. (1977)
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Scribd Government DocsRoberto F. Escobedo v. American Employers Insurance Co., 547 F.2d 544, 10th Cir. (1977)
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Scribd Government Docs547 F.
2d 544
Roberto F. ESCOBEDO, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
AMERICAN EMPLOYERS INSURANCE CO., DefendantAppellee.
No. 76-1107.
United States Court of Appeals,
Tenth Circuit.
Argued and Submitted Nov. 18, 1976.
Decided Jan. 11, 1977.
1
Anthony F. Avallone, Las Cruces, N. M., for plaintiff-appellant.
William W. Bivins of Bivins, Weinbrenner & Regan, Las Cruces, N. M.
(Grambling, Mounce, Deffebach, Simms, Hardie & Galatzan, El Paso, Tex., on
the brief), for defendant-appellee.
Before SETH and HOLLOWAY, Circuit Judges, and CHILSON,* Senior
United States District Judge.
CHILSON, District Judge.
This is a diversity action brought by the appellant-plaintiff seeking to recover
damages from the appellee-defendant on allegations that the defendants acted
in bad faith in terminating the payment of installments of compensation to
which the plaintiff claims he was entitled under the New Mexico Workmen's
Compensation Act (N.M.S.A. 59-10-1 et seq.).
The plaintiff's complaint in pertinent parts alleges that plaintiff was an
employee of Agricultural Products Co., Inc.; that defendant Insurance Company
had insured the employer's obligation to pay compensation benefits to injured
employees as required by the New Mexico Workmen's Compensation Act; that
in December 1970, plaintiff was injured in the course of his employment; that
defendant commenced payment of compensation benefits in installments as
required by the Act, but after about seven months, failed and refused to make
further payments; that the defendant's termination of the payment of installment
benefits was made in bad faith; that the resulting delays and harassment by
protracted legal proceedings caused the plaintiff to compromise his claim for
compensation benefits for an unreasonable amount.
7
The Workmen's Compensation Act provides that if the employer fails or refuses
to pay a workman any installment of compensation to which the workman is
entitled, it is the duty of the workman to file a claim therefor in the state district
court (59-10-13.6); the Clerk of the Court then serves the claim and a summons
upon the defendants by mail and the defendants have thirty days from the date
of the mailing in which to file an answer in defense of the claim. (59-10-13.7);
when the claim is at issue, the judge shall advance the case on the court's
calendar and dispose of the case as promptly as possible and the trial shall be
conducted in a summary manner. (59-10-13.10).
When defendants terminated the installment payments of benefits, plaintiff
followed this procedure and filed his claim in the District Court of Dona Ana
County, New Mexico. After lengthy negotiations, a settlement was reached and
upon a stipulation and joint motion of the parties, a judgment was entered by
the state court in favor of the plaintiff and against defendants in the amount of
$13,500 plus $750 for plaintiff's attorneys fees. The stipulation for judgment,
which was approved by the state court, contained a release of plaintiff's
compensation claims and a release "of any and all other liability whatsoever
kind and nature which has either been or could be made as involving or arising
out of this proceeding, with the contemplation that any and all claims and
proceedings be foreclosed and considered completely resolved and finalized - - ."
The judgment was entered January 15, 1975, and the complaint in this case was
filed August 4, 1975. The instant action is based on plaintiff's theory that the
alleged bad faith of defendant in terminating the installment payments of
compensation created a cause of action separate and apart from the claim for
compensation benefits which were settled in the state court proceeding and that
the state court's disposition of plaintiff's claim for compensation benefits is not
a bar to this action.
10
The trial court granted defendant's motion for summary judgment of dismissal
stating that he was doing so for the same reasons which it set forth in its recent
opinion in Chavez v. Kennecott, Civil Action 75-403 in U. S. District Court for
the District of New Mexico.
11
We have held in reviewing the Chavez case that the trial court's view of the law
as set forth therein is not clearly erroneous and that his dismissal of that action
should be affirmed. We there held:
12
"Plaintiff's
contention that the tort claims asserted in this action are separate and
apart from the plaintiff's claims for compensation under the Workmen's
Compensation Act is without merit.
13 Act clearly contemplates that an employer may deny a workman's claim for
"The
compensation benefits, but if he does, the Act provides the workman with a remedy.
The remedy is the same whether the denial is made in good faith or bad faith. In
either case, the Act gives the workman the right to file his claim with the state
district court and have the court adjudicate it. By the terms of the Act, this is the
exclusive remedy for the denial of a claim for compensation. (59-10-6)."
Chavez v. Kennecott Copper Corporation, --- F.2d ----, 10 Cir.
14
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