Wight v. Hughes Livestock Co., Inc.

This appeal presents the issue of the weight to be given by the Workers’ Compensation judge to contingent fee contracts between successful claimants and their attorneys, where the Workers’ Compensation judge fixes attorneys fees under section 39-71-611, MCA, and related statutes.

The underlying cause was before us on appeal in Wight v. Hughes Livestock Company, Inc. et al. (1981), Mont., 634 P.2d 1189, 38 St.Rep. 1632. We upheld the right of Wight to recover compensation benefits, deleted a 20 percent statutory penalty that the Workers’ Compensation Court had levied, and remanded the cause to…