Court of Appeals Affirms Commissioner's Decision That Insurer's Claim to Reimbursement is Limited to Benefits Sought and Obtained After a Section 85.21 Order
American Home Assurance v. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co. , No. 20-0769 (Iowa App. July 21, 2021) In this action, two insurers were involved in a workers' compensation action. The deputy initially ordered American Home to pay claimant 125 weeks of PPD benefits and this award was affirmed. American Home paid the benefits. Claimant subsequently sought review reopening, at which time American Home discovered it was not the insurer on the date of injury in question. American Home filed an Application and Consent Order for Payment of Benefits under 85.21 and subsequently filed a petition for contribution under 85.21 for benefits paid to date as well as benefits due as a result of the pending RR petition. Liberty filed a motion for summary judgment, indicating that contribution or reimbursement could only be obtained after an 85.21 order was issued and because an order was not issued until January 3, 2017, no benefits issued prior to that date were recoverabl...