Metropolitan Transit Authority v. Plessner
Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), a self-insured entity providing workers' compensation, filed a declaratory judgment action against attorneys Richard Plessner, Thomas B. Schlotzhauer, Samuel J. Miller, and William L. Lane. MTA sought a determination of its right to the entire subrogation interest in settlement proceeds from third-party claims made by its employees, after these employees had recovered workers’ compensation claims from MTA. The attorneys, who represented the employees in their third-party claims, withheld attorney's fees from MTA's subrogation interest, claiming entitlement under Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 8307, sec. 6a. The trial court denied MTA's motion for summary judgment and granted the appellees' motions, leading to this appeal. The appellate court affirmed the summary judgments, holding that the legislative intent of Article 8307, sec. 6a was to compensate attorneys who performed the work, regardless of whether a lawsuit was formally filed.