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Halphen v. Western Contracting Corp.
Citations: 389 So. 2d 1254; 1980 Fla. App. LEXIS 18058Docket: No. TT-35
Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida; November 16, 1980; Florida; State Appellate Court
Claimant appeals a workers’ compensation order that vacated a prior order approving a joint petition settlement. The court affirms the deputy’s action because the earlier order had not become final under Florida Statutes § 440.25(4)(f), and no appeal had been filed. The deputy acted within his authority, determining that vacating the order was necessary to preserve the parties' rights and scheduled a further hearing to address issues related to alleged mutual mistake or misrepresentation concerning subject matter jurisdiction. This arose from the claimant's filing of a “Jones Act” suit after the settlement hearing, which impacted the approval of the settlement based on the same accident. Section 440.09(2) states that employees covered by the Jones Act are not entitled to compensation, a jurisdictional issue that justified the deputy's reexamination of the settlement order. The court references standards for final settlement orders and acknowledges that the vacating order followed a hearing with less than the required 15 days’ notice. The deputy holds discretion to shorten notice in suitable cases. The claimant's participation in the hearing without raising the notice issue signifies a waiver of that argument, preventing its consideration on appeal. The order is affirmed, with concurrence from Judges Joanos and Woodie A. Liles (Ret. Associate Judge).