Opinion

Howard v. Liberty Northwest Insurance

  • 94 Or. App. 283
  • 765 P.2d 223
Court
Court of Appeals of Oregon
Filed
Dec 7, 1988
Status
Published
Author
Warren
On the bench
Buttler, Rossman, Warren
Cited by
4 cases
Authority
More cited than 17.1%

“The Hearings Division of the Board has jurisdiction over all disputes and controversies regarding matters concerning a claim ***.” (Citation and internal quotation marks omitted; emphasis in original.)

How later courts described this case

  • “The Hearings Division of the Board has jurisdiction over all disputes and controversies regarding matters concerning a claim ***.” (Citation and internal quotation marks omitted; emphasis in original.)

Written by the judges who cited it.

The opinion

WARREN, J.,

dissenting.

In EBI Companies v. Moore, 90 Or App 99 , 750 P2d 1194 (1988), we held that the Board had jurisdiction to decide a dispute between the claimant and the insurer concerning the terms of a disputed claim settlement. After further consideration of that question, I would reach the opposite conclusion. The Board has jurisdiction only over matters concerning a claim. ORS 656.704(1). A “matter concerning a claim” is defined as a matter “under which a worker’s right to receive compensation, or the amount thereof [is] directly in issue.” As the majority states, the amount agreed to be paid under the disputed claim settlement is expressly agreed to be “in lieu of any and all compensation claimed by Claimant.” Accordingly, the settlement payment is not compensation. I would hold, therefore, that a proceeding brought to enforce the agreement does not involve the worker’s right to compensation and is not, therefore, a “matter concerning a claim” over which the Board has jurisdiction. I therefore conclude that we should remand to the Board for dismissal of the appeal for lack of jurisdiction and therefore disagree with the majority’s affirmance on the merits.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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