Court of Appeals Affirms Denial of Benefits on Review Reopening - Concludes that a "Change" Must Occur Before Review Reopening Benefits are Payable

In Hallett v. Bethany Life Communities, No. 13-1591 (Iowa App. Aug. 27, 2014) the Iowa Court of Appeals concluded that the review reopening statute required claimant to prove a change in her physical or economic condition in order to establish eligibility for additional benefits on review reopening.  In doing so, the court affirmed the decision of the agency, at both the deputy and appeal levels, which had also required claimant to demonstrate a change.

Claimant had argued that the statute, section 86.14 of the Iowa Code, did not contain the word change, and provided that a review-reopening was appropriate if claimant demonstrated that her condition warranted an increase in compensation.  The court rejected this argument, finding that the argument is "foreclosed by a string of controlling authority to the contrary."  The court cited Kohlhaas v. Hog Slat, Inc., 777 N.W.2d 387, 392 (Iowa 2009) among other cases which had used the word change in a review reopening case.  The court indicated that it was "not at liberty to ignore these decisions or overrule them."  Turning to the merits of the case, the court found that the agency's conclusion that claimant's condition had not changed was supported by substantial evidence and that the agency did not abuse its discretion.

Hallett was handled by Martin Ozga of Neifert, Byrne & Ozga.  An application for further review has been filed with the Iowa Supreme Court.