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In re Biddix6/20/2000
a judgment is the triggering event.
In Wiggins, v. Bushranger Fence Co., 126 N.C. App. 74, 483 S.E.2d 450, we held that the superior court has discretionary authority, pursuant to G.S. § 97-10.2(j), to reduce or eliminate an employer's lien on the proceeds of an employee's settlement with a third party. Thus, the only issue remaining is whether the superior court abused its discretion in this case by allowing Wal-Mart no lien upon the proceeds of Biddix's settlement.
Once a trial court properly assumes jurisdiction under G.S. § 97-10.2(j), it is vested with the discretion to determine how to distribute the settlement proceeds. In Allen v. Rupard, 100 N.C. App. at 495, 397 S.E.2d at 333, this Court noted that the discretion granted under G.S. § 97-10.2(j) is not unlimited; "the trial court is to make a reasoned choice, a judicial value judgment, which is factually supported . . . findings of fact and conclusions of law sufficient to provide for meaningful appellate review." Where the trial court makes sufficient findings of fact and conclusions of law, the due process rights of the employer have been protected. Id. Although there is no mathematical formula or list of factors for a trial court to employ when making disbursement decisions, we are guided by precedent.
In Allen v. Rupard, the employee was injured when the truck he operated for his employer collided with another truck driven by Stamy Rupard. The employee suffered three crushed vertebrae, and underwent three operations requiring the insertion and removal of hooks and rods in his back. Rupard's insurer paid the full amount of his liability insurance, $25,000, after which the employee petitioned the court for the distribution of these proceeds; the court divided these proceeds in half. In its findings, the court listed the injuries sustained by the employee, the extent to which they would likely be permanent, the expenses paid by the employer's carrier and the potential damages likely to be incurred, the current and potential amount of the workers' compensation carrier's subrogation lien, taking into account future payouts for medical expenses, and the amount by which the settlement would be reduced by currently owed attorney's fees. This Court concluded that "considering the nature and circumstances of the incident, the nature and extent of Plaintiff's injury, the fact that Plaintiff is seeking no attorney fee to be paid out of the $25,000.00 proceeds . . . and other circumstances in the case, . . . the Court finds that it is fair, equitable, and just that one-half (1/2) of said sum . . . be paid to [employee] and that the remaining one-half (1/2) of said sum . . . be paid to . . . Employer and its insurance carrier . . . ." Id. at 496-97, 397 S.E.2d at 334. We held the findings of fact and conclusions of law sufficient to permit meaningful review and a determination that the trial court's decision was "a reasoned choice which factually su
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