Costs Properly Assessed Against Carrier for Instituting Proceedings Without Reasonable Ground

The Third Department affirmed the Workers’ Compensation Board’s assessment of costs against the carrier for instituting proceedings without reasonable ground:

Workers’ Compensation Law § 114-a (3) (i) permits the Board to assess costs against a party who has “instituted or continued [a proceeding before the Board] without reasonable ground.” Here, the carrier previously had been warned that counsel’s failure to respond to its request for an updated work search history — standing alone — would be insufficient to reopen the underlying claim and, more to the point, was apprised “in very clear terms of the requirements for [the] supporting evidence necessary to reopen this claim on the question of whether . . . claimant ha[d] voluntarily removed herself from or [wa]s no longer attached to the labor market.” Despite that express directive, the carrier nonetheless made a second request to reopen premised solely upon counsel’s failure to respond to the carrier’s request for additional information. Under these circumstances, we discern no abuse of discretion in the Board’s decision to assess costs against the carrier … . Matter of Bailey v Achieve Rehab & Nursing, 2014 NY Slip Op 05475, 3rd Dept 7-24-14