| Matter of Quagliata v Starbucks Coffee |
| 2011 NY Slip Op 01553 [82 AD3d 1321] |
| March 3, 2011 |
| Appellate Division, Third Department |
| In the Matter of the Claim of Terry Quagliata, Respondent, vStarbucks Coffee et al., Appellants. Workers' Compensation Board,Respondent. |
—[*1] Connors & Ferris, L.L.P., Rochester (Alexander Osborne of counsel), for Terry Quagliata,respondent. Eric T. Schneiderman, Attorney General, New York City (Iris A. Steel of counsel), forWorkers' Compensation Board, respondent.
Rose, J.P. Appeals (1) from a decision of a Workers' Compensation Law Judge, filed June25, 2009, which, among other things, ruled that claimant sustained a compensable injury andawarded workers' compensation benefits, and (2) from a decision of the Workers' CompensationBoard, filed November 10, 2009, which ruled that claimant sustained a compensable injury andawarded workers' compensation benefits.
Claimant, a coffee shop manager, applied for workers' compensation benefits alleging arepetitive occupational injury to his neck and arms. The employer and its workers' compensationcarrier (hereinafter collectively referred to as the employer) controverted the claim and,thereafter, submitted an untimely prehearing conference statement in violation of 12 NYCRR300.38 (f) (1). As a result, the Workers' Compensation Law Judge (hereinafter WCLJ) found thatthe employer waived all defenses to the claim pursuant to 12 NYCRR 300.38 (f) (4) and, uponreview of claimant's medical records, established an occupational injury to his neck and [*2]both arms. The Workers' Compensation Board affirmed, and theseappeals ensued.[FN*]
Initially, we are unpersuaded by the employer's contention that the regulation imposing awaiver of defenses for failure to timely file a prehearing conference statement conflicts withWorkers' Compensation Law § 25. The Board is authorized to adopt regulations to carryout the provisions of the Workers' Compensation Law (see Workers' Compensation Law§ 25 [8]; § 117 [1]), and we will uphold a regulation " 'if it has a rational basis and isnot unreasonable, arbitrary, capricious or contrary to the statute under which it [is] promulgated' "(Matter of Estate of Lutz v Lakeside Beikirk Nursing Home, 301 AD2d 688, 691 [2003],lv dismissed 99 NY2d 651 [2003], quoting Kuppersmith v Dowling, 93 NY2d90, 96 [1999]). Workers' Compensation Law § 25 (2-a) (d) requires that a prehearingconference statement be filed no later than 10 days before the conference. In our view, thechallenged regulation, which provides for the waiver of defenses for the unexcused filing of anuntimely statement (see 12 NYCRR 300.38 [f] [4]), is not in conflict with the statute.Rather, it facilitates the stated purpose of a conference which is, among other things, to simplifyand limit factual and legal issues (see Workers' Compensation Law § 25 [2-a] [b][iii]). It also supplements the purpose of the conference and promotes the overall statutoryframework designed to provide speedy redress to injured workers (see Crosby v State ofN.Y., Workers' Compensation Bd., 57 NY2d 305, 313 [1982]; Matter of Smith v AlbanyCounty Sheriff's Dept., 82 AD3d 1334 [2011] [decided herewith]). Furthermore, theemployer has not demonstrated how this regulation impinged on its due process rights.
Finally, contrary to the employer's contention, the record was sufficiently developed throughthe submission of claimant's medical records and other documents to provide substantialevidence supporting the establishment of the workers' compensation claim as well as the date ofdisablement (see Matter of Guifarro vZalman, Reiss & Assoc., 52 AD3d 1126, 1127-1128 [2008]).
Kavanagh, McCarthy and Egan Jr., JJ., concur. Ordered that the appeal from the decisionfiled June 25, 2009 is dismissed, without costs. Ordered that the decision filed November 10,2009 is affirmed, without costs.
Footnote *: To the extent that the employerappeals from the WCLJ's decision, we note that it must be dismissed inasmuch as no directappeal to this Court lies from a decision of a WCLJ (see Workers' Compensation Law§ 23).