09-4901 FLORIDA SHERIFF'S WORKERS' COMPENSATION SELF-INSURANCE FUND, v. DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES

State: Florida

Court: Florida First District Court

Docket No: 09-4901

Case Date: 07/07/2010

Preview:IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL FIRST DISTRICT, STATE OF FLORIDA FLORIDA SHERIFFS WORKERS' COMPENSATION SELF-INSURANCE FUND, Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES, Appellee. _____________________________/ Opinion filed July 7, 2010. An appeal from an order of the Department of Financial Services. Brian London, Deputy Chief Financial Officer. Cynthia S. Tunnicliff and Brian A. Newman of Pennington, Moore, Wilkinson, Bell & Dunbar, P.A., Tallahassee, and Ronald A. Mowrey and Rhonda Morris of Mowrey Law Firm, P.A., Tallahassee., for Appellant. Michael H. Davidson, Tallahassee, and David D. Hershel, Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Legal Services, Tallahassee, for Appellee. NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED CASE NO. 1D09-4901

PER CURIAM. Appellant, the Florida Sheriffs Workers' Compensation Self-Insurance Fund, appeals a Final Order of the Department of Financial Services

("Department"), wherein the Department denied Appellant's applications for refund of the $6,638,301.35 that it had paid to the Special Disability Trust Fund ("SDTF") between 2002, the year Appellant was formed, and 2008. Appellant raises an as-applied constitutional challenge to the SDTF assessment based upon its contention that it is ineligible for reimbursement from the fund given that reimbursement claims are limited to accidents occurring prior to January 1, 1998. We reject Appellant's argument and affirm. As the hearing officer found in his recommended order, the SDTF is a fund designed to aid the return of workers with disabilities to the workplace "by reducing an employer's insurance premium for reemploying an injured worker, to decrease litigation between carriers on apportionment issues, and to protect employers from excess liability for compensation and medical expense . . . ."

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