SAIF v. DeLeon, 352 Or 130 (2012)

Holding:   Injured worker received an 11 percent permanent partial disability. SAIF requested a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ), who agreed with SAIF and reduced the permanent partial disability to zero. Claimant appealed, and, the Workers’ Comp. Board reinstated the 11 percent award. Claimant allowed attorney fees for efforts before the ALJ, even though she lost, because she was successful on appeal.

1)  The initial examination when construing a statute is the text itself. citing State v. Gaines. at p. 133.

2)   Use of definite article “the” does not necessarily rule out the notion that it may take multiple tribunals before the question is resolved. Here, the use of “the” is grammatically correct either way the statute is interpreted. at p. 138.

3)  Concentration on the tense of the word “be” does not support SAIF’s position. By changing the way the sentence is constructed, use of the present tense can mean many things. at p. 139.

4)   “Legislative inaction in response to a judicial interpretation of a statute does not amount to an endorsement of the court’s interpretation. at p. 141.

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