Legal Case

Union Carbide Corporation, a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company v. Christina Dearien (Decedent) and Thomas Dearien (Dependent)

Court

Intermediate Court of Appeals of West Virginia

Decided

June 4, 2025

Jurisdiction

SA

Practice Areas

Workers' Compensation
Occupational Disease Claims
Administrative Law
Civil Procedure

Case Summary

IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS OF WEST VIRGINIA FILED Spring 2025 Term June 4, 2025 _____________________ released at 3:00 p.m. ASHLEY N. DEEM, CHIEF DEPUTY CLERK INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS No. 24-ICA-269 OF WEST VIRGINIA _____________________ UNION CARBIDE CORPORATION, a subsidiary of THE DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY, Employer Below, Petitioner, v. CHRISTINA DEARIEN (Decedent) and THOMAS DEARIEN (Dependent), Claimant Below, Respondent. ___________________________________________________________ Appeal from the West Virginia Workers’ Compensation Board of Review JCN: 2022005028 AFFIRMED _________________________________________________________ Submitted: April 30, 2025 Filed: June 4, 2025 Timothy E. Huffman, Esq. R. Dean Hartley, Esq. Jackson Kelly PLLC Hartley Law Group, PLLC Charleston, West Virginia Wheeling, West Virginia Counsel for Petitioner Counsel for Respondent JUDGE GREEAR delivered the Opinion of the Court. JUDGE WHITE concurs and reserves the right to file a separate opinion. GREEAR, Judge: Petitioner, Union Carbide Corporation, a subsidiary of the Dow Chemical Company (“Carbide”), appeals the May 30, 2024, order of the West Virginia Workers’ Compensation Board of Review (“Board”) granting fatal dependent’s benefits (“dependent benefits”) to Thomas Dearien, husband of Christina Dearien (“decedent”). On appeal, Carbide argues that the Board erred by granting Mr. Dearien such benefits, as his claim was barred by the West Virginia Workers’ Compensation Office of Judges’ (“OOJ”) final order affirming the rejection of the decedent’s claim for occupational disease benefits made during her lifetime. Further, Carbide contends that the Board’s final order was clearly wrong in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the record. After our review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the Board’s May 30, 2024, order. I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On March 11, 2019, the decedent filed an application for workers’ compensation benefits (“living claim”) against Carbide, claiming that she was diagnosed with colon cancer, an occupational disease, while employed by Carbide.1 A review of the decedent’s medical records was conducted, in relation to her living claim, by Mohammed Ranavaya, M.D. Dr. Ranavaya concluded that no credible or reliable evidence existed to establish that the decedent’s diagnosis of colon cancer was causally related to her 1 The decedent’s living claim was assigned claim number 2019020262-OD. While employed at Carbide, from 2006 to 2018, decedent worked in various job positions including a weighmaster, operator, and scheduling technologist. 1 employment at Carbide. Based upon the opinion of Dr. Ranavaya, the claim administrator (“CA”) denied the decedent’s living claim by order entered on June 5, 2020. The decedent timely filed a protest of this determination to the OOJ. On August 24, 2021, counsel for the decedent submitted a request to withdraw the protest due to the decedent’s death on June 2, 2021. By Order dated August 27, 2021, the OOJ dismissed the protest based upon the motion to withdraw.2 On September 10, 2021, Mr. Dearien filed an application for dependent benefits, pursuant to West Virginia Code § 23-4-10 (2010), and argued that the decedent “developed colorectal cancer as a result of her exposure to toxic chemicals” while employed by Carbide.3 On September 24, 2021, the CA rejected Mr. Dearien’s application for dependent benefits based on Dr. Ranavaya’s prior report, which found no direct causal connection between the decedent’s diagnosis of colon cancer and her employment with Carbide. Further, the CA concluded that the dependent’s claim was barred by the principle of collateral estoppel. According to the CA, the OOJ’s August 27, 2021, final order dismissing the protest of the decedent’s living claim constituted a final resolution to the 2 In its Order Dismissing Protest, the OOJ found that upon consideration of the decedent’s motion to withdraw

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Case Details

Case Details

Legal case information

Status

Decided

Date Decided

June 4, 2025

Jurisdiction

SA

Court Type

federal

Legal Significance

Case importance metrics

Citations
22
Legal Topics
Workers' Compensation Benefits
Dependent Benefits
Occupational Disease
Collateral Estoppel
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AddedJun 4, 2025
UpdatedJun 4, 2025

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Legal Topics

Areas of law covered in this case

Workers' Compensation Benefits
Dependent Benefits
Occupational Disease
Collateral Estoppel
Res Judicata

Case Information

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Court Proceedings

Date FiledJune 4, 2025
Date DecidedJune 4, 2025

Document Details

Times Cited
22

Legal Classification

JurisdictionSA
Court Type
federal

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5

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Cash-Kaeo v. Barrett

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Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals
Jun 2025

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80% match
Court of Appeals of Kentucky
Jun 2025

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Frank Mayer v. City of Clarksburg

80% match
Intermediate Court of Appeals of West Virginia
Jun 2025

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Very Similar Similarity

Patrick Alan Powers v. Teresa Seamon

80% match
Court of Appeals of Texas
Jun 2025

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Very Similar Similarity

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80% match
Court of Appeals of Texas
Jun 2025

COURT OF APPEALS EIGHTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS EL PASO, TEXAS § MORRIS REID, III, No. 08-25-00155-CV § Appellant, Appeal from the § v. 112th District Court § HOLLOMAN CORPORATION, of Crockett County, Texas § Appellee. (TC# 21-02-08136-CV) § § MEMORANDUM OPINION This appeal is before the Court on its own motion to determine whether it should be dismissed for want of jurisdiction. Because we find that Appellant Morris Reid III did not timely perfect his appeal, we dismiss for want of jurisdiction. Appellate courts generally have jurisdiction over appeals from final judgments filed within 30 days after the appealable order is signed, or within 90 days after the appealable order is signed if a party timely files one of the pleadings listed in Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.1. Tex. R. App. P. 26.1 (providing deadlines to perfect an appeal in a civil case); Butts v. Capitol City Nursing Home, Inc., 705 S.W.2d 696. 697 (Tex. 1986) (per curiam). A proper motion to reinstate under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 165a extends the deadline to file a notice of appeal from 30 days to 90 days. Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(a)(3). The Texas Supreme Court has held that a proper motion to reinstate must be verified and filed with the clerk within 30 days of the order of dismissal. McConell v. May, 800 S.W.2d 194, 194 (Tex. 1990) (per curiam); See Tex. R. Civ. P. 165a(3) (requiring the motion to be verified by the movant or his attorney). An unverified motion does not extend the trial court’s plenary jurisdiction or the deadlines for perfecting an appeal. Allstate Ins. Co. v. Barnet, 589 S.W.3d 313, 317 (Tex. App.—El Paso, no pet.). On May 16, 2025, Reid filed a notice of appeal stating his desire to appeal from an order “rendered on April 17, 2025” granting Holloman Corporation’s Motion to Dismiss. However, upon further review of the clerk’s record, the order granting Holloman Corporation’s motion was signed by the trial court on March 4, 2025. The clerk’s record also contains Reid’s unverified motion to reinstate pursuant to Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 165a, filed on March 21, 2025. Although filed within 30 days of the date of the judgment, because Reid’s motion was unverified, it did not extend the time for filing a notice of appeal. Accordingly, Reid’s notice of appeal was due April 3, 2025—30 days after the trial court signed its dismissal order, and the notice of appeal filed May 16, 2025, is untimely. The Clerk of this Court sent notice to Reid that his appeal would be dismissed as untimely on or after June 15, 2025, unless he responded and established a basis for our jurisdiction. Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a). As of the date of this memorandum, we have received no response. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction. MARIA SALAS MENDOZA, Chief Justice June 25, 2025 Before Salas Mendoza, C.J., Palafox, J., and Rodriguez, C.J. (Ret.) Rodriguez, C.J. (Ret.) (Sitting by Assignment) 2

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