TERRY v. TFORCE FREIGHT, INC., ET AL. - Articles

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TERRY v. TFORCE FREIGHT, INC., ET AL.

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Apr 17, 2025

Court: TN Workers Comp Appeals Board

Attorneys 1: John Thomas Feeney and Taylor R. Pruitt, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, TForce Freight, Inc.

Attorneys 2: Terry Steel, Sardis, Mississippi, employee-appellee, pro se

Judge(s): GODKIN

In this appeal, the claimant sought workers’ compensation benefits for injuries he alleged resulted from his work as a truck driver. The business the claimant identified as his employer on his petition for benefit determination contended that the claimant was an independent contractor and, therefore, was not entitled to the requested benefits. After the claimant did not timely file a request for a hearing, the trial court filed a show cause order. The claimant did not respond, and the trial court dismissed the case without prejudice for failure to prosecute the claim and for failure to comply with court orders. The court’s order also taxed the filing fee to the purported employer, which filed a motion for reconsideration, asserting that it was not obligated to pay the fee because it was not the employer. The trial court denied the motion, and the purported employer has appealed. Upon careful review of the record, we reverse the trial court’s order taxing a filing fee to the purported employer and modify the court’s order to reflect that no filing fee is taxed under the circumstances of the present case. We affirm the remainder of the trial court’s order, and we certify as final the trial court’s order as modified.

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