JAMIE HENDERSON, AS SURVIVING SPOUSE OF DAVID JOE TURNER v. PEE DEE COUNTRY ENTERPRISES, INC., ET AL. - Articles

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JAMIE HENDERSON, AS SURVIVING SPOUSE OF DAVID JOE TURNER v. PEE DEE COUNTRY ENTERPRISES, INC., ET AL.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Jul 27, 2021

Court: TN Workers Comp Appeals Board

Attorneys 1: M. Reed Martz and J. Hale Freeland, Oxford, Mississippi, for the surviving spouse- appellant, Jamie Henderson

Attorneys 2: Lee Anne Murray and Taylor R. Pruitt, Brentwood, Tennessee, for the employer- appellee, Pee Dee Country Enterprises, Inc.

Judge(s): GODKIN

This is the second appeal in this death case. As in the initial appeal, the issue concerns the trial court’s award of attorney’s fees. In both appeals, the trial court entered orders awarding substantially less than the fees requested by the surviving spouse’s attorney and provided for in a contract between the surviving spouse and her attorney. The underlying claim for death benefits was resolved without a trial, but the employer objected to the amount of the attorney’s fees sought by the surviving spouse’s attorney and to the payment of those fees in a lump sum. Following a hearing on the request for attorney’s fees, the trial court awarded a lump sum fee but reduced the fee from 20% to 7.5% of the difference between the recovery achieved under Tennessee law and the maximum recovery available under Mississippi law. Following the first appeal by the surviving spouse, we vacated the trial court’s order and remanded the case for further consideration of the statutory provisions governing the review and approval of attorney’s fees. The trial court subsequently issued an order addressing the statutory provisions, and it again awarded a lump sum fee based on 7.5% of the difference between the recovery achieved in Tennessee and the potential recovery in Mississippi. The surviving spouse has again appealed. Upon careful consideration of the statutory provisions at issue, we reverse the trial court’s order and remand the case for entry of an order approving the attorney’s fee agreed to by the surviving spouse and her attorney.

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