Pineda v. Rio Pinar Health Care Center
Pineda v. Rio Pinar Health Care Center
Opinion of the Court
In this workers’ compensation appeal, Claimant challenges the Judge of Compensation Claims’ (JCC’s) award of an employer/carrier-paid attorney’s fee without reference to the formula mandate set out in section 440.34(1), Florida Statutes (2007). Because the JCC correctly applied the Florida Supreme Court’s holding in Murray v. Mariner Health, 994 So.2d 1051 (Fla. 2008), we affirm.
The relevant statutory provision was in effect between October 1, 2003, and June
(B)ased upon the plain language of the statute, that when a claimant is entitled to recover attorney fees from a carrier or employer as provided by section 440.34(3)(a), (b), (c), or (d), the claimant is entitled to recover “a reasonable attorney’s fee.” See § 440.34(3), Fla. Stat. (2003). Section 440.34(3), does not define “reasonable attorney’s fee,” and an ambiguity results when subsection (1) and subsection (3) are read together. Accordingly, we have determined that reasonable attorney fees for claimants, when not otherwise defined in the workers’ compensation statute, are to be determined using the factors of rule 4-1.5(b) of the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar. See Lee Eng’g & Constr. Co. v. Fellows, 209 So.2d 454, 458 (Fla. 1968) (applying Canon 12 of the Canons of Professional Ethics, the predecessor to rule 4-1.5(b)).
Id. at 1053. Thus, here, because the JCC relied on the Lee Engineering factors in arriving at a reasonable employer/carrier-paid attorney’s fee, the JCC did not err in awarding Claimant’s attorney a $25,000 attorney’s fee.
AFFIRMED.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.