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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS


WILLIAM GROOM, Surviving Spouse of JUANITA GROOM, Deceased, Plaintiff-Appellant, and MICHAEL J. FISH, SR., Conservator of CHRISTOPHER FISH, Son, Plaintiff, v ADDISON PRODUCTS and HARTFORD INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendants-Appellees.

UNPUBLISHED October 4, 1996

No. 180904 WCAC No. 92-0769

Before: Neff, P.J., and Fitzgerald and C.A. Nelson,* JJ. PER CURIAM. Plaintiff William Groom, surviving spouse of Juanita Groom, deceased, appeals by leave granted a decision of the Worker's Compensation Appellate Commission (WCAC) affirming the decision of the magistrate that plaintiff Christopher Fish was wholly dependent on decedent for support. We affirm. Groom and decedent were married in 1985. Christopher Fish (DOB 1-26-74), decedent's natural son, became a member of the household in 1986. Groom did not adopt Christopher, and incurred no legal obligation to support him. Plaintiff Michael Fish, Christopher's natural father, incurred no support obligation after Christopher went to reside with Groom and decedent. Groom and decedent worked for defendant Addison Products, and made approximately the same wage. Their income was placed into a single account from which family expenses were paid. * Circuit judge, sitting on the Court of Appeals by assignment. -1

On September 14, 1987, decedent stopped working. She claimed that her health problems were caused by exposure to toxic epoxy paint at work. Addison voluntarily paid worker's compensation benefits until decedent's death on April 3, 1990. Addison voluntarily paid death benefits to Groom. MCL 418.331; MSA 17.237(331). Christopher, through his natural father/conservator, sought a hearing on his entitlement to benefits as a wholly dependent survivor for the period between April 3, 1990, and January 26, 1992, his 18th birthday. The amount in dispute totaled approximately $10,000. At the hearing, the evidence showed that decedent paid family expenses, including those incurred by Christopher, from the single account. Groom acknowledged that he turned his paycheck over to decedent, and that he did not deal with the bills. He stated that both he and decedent supported Christopher. For his part, Christopher testified that he did not know whether decedent's funds were commingled with those earned by Groom. He noted that when he needed money, he asked his mother. Christopher stated that he lived with Groom for approximately six weeks after decedent died. Groom requested and was given fifty percent of the first social security check he received after his mother's death. Thereafter, the checks were sent to his natural father, who acted as his conservator. The magistrate found that Christopher was totally dependent on decedent at the time of her death. Decedent alone was legally obligated to support Christopher. The magistrate concluded that Christopher was entitled to benefits in the amount of $105.38 per week for the stipulated period. As no petition for recoupment had been filed by Hartford Insurance, Addison's carrier, Groom was not ordered to repay the benefits he had received. Groom appealed, and the WCAC affirmed the magistrate's decision. The WCAC rejected Groom's argument that the magistrate erred by finding that Christopher was totally dependent on decedent at the time of her death. Citing Nowak v Shedd-Bartush Foods, Inc, 381 Mich 502; 164 NW2d 5 (1969), the WCAC characterized as "not precisely correct" Groom's argument that Christopher could not be conclusively presumed to be a dependent because he had attained the age of 16 at the time of his mother's death. The WCAC found that the magistrate's finding that Christopher was wholly dependent on decedent at the time of her death was supported by the requisite evidence. Findings of fact made by a magistrate are conclusive on the WCAC if they are supported by competent, material, and substantial evidence on the whole record. MCL 418.861a(3); MSA 17.237(861a)(3). Judicial review is of the findings of fact made by the WCAC, not those made by the magistrate. The findings of fact made by the WCAC are conclusive if there is any competent evidence in the record to support them. Holden v Ford Motor Co, 439 Mich 257, 263; 484 NW2d 227 (1992). On appeal, Groom argues that because Christopher had attained the age of 16 at the time of his mother's death, he could not be conclusively presumed to have been dependent on her for support. MCL 418.331(b); MSA 17.237(331)(b). We disagree. Whether Christopher could be conclusively presumed to be decedent's dependent at the time of her injury, MCL 418.341; MSA 17.237(341), or -2

whether he was, at most, a factual dependent at the time of her death pursuant to

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