Disputed claims; appeal; errors of law; parties; transcript;
expenses; assignment; disposition; findings of fact or conclusions
Sec. 12. (a) Any decision of the review board shall be conclusive
and binding as to all questions of fact. Either party to the dispute or
the commissioner may, within thirty (30) days after notice of
intention to appeal as provided in this section, appeal the decision to
the court of appeals of Indiana for errors of law under the same terms
and conditions as govern appeals in ordinary civil actions.
(b) In every appeal the review board shall be made a party
appellee, and the review board shall, at the written request of the
appellant and after payment of the uniform average fee required in
subsection (c) is made, prepare a transcript of all the proceedings had
before the administrative law judge and review board, which shall
contain a transcript of all the testimony, together with all objections
and rulings thereon, documents and papers introduced into evidence
or offered as evidence, and all rulings as to their admission into
evidence. The transcript shall be certified by the chairman of the
review board and shall constitute the record upon appeal.
(c) All expenses incurred in the preparation of the transcript shall
be charged to the appellant. The fee for a transcript shall be the
actual cost of preparation that may include the cost of materials,
reproduction, postage, handling, and hours of service rendered by the
preparer. The commissioner shall establish a uniform average fee to
be paid by the appellant before the transcript is prepared. After the
transcript is completed, the actual cost shall be determined and the
appellant shall either pay the amount remaining above the uniform
average fee or be refunded the amount the uniform average fee
exceeds the actual cost of preparation. The commissioner shall
establish the procedure by which transcript fees are determined and
paid.
(d) Notwithstanding subsections (b) and (c), the appellant may
request that a transcript of all proceedings had before the
administrative law judge and review board be prepared at no cost to
the appellant by filing with the review board, under oath and in
writing, a statement:
(1) declaring that the appellant is unable to pay for the
preparation of the transcript because of the appellant's poverty;
(2) setting forth the facts that render the appellant unable to pay
for the preparation of the transcript; and
(3) declaring that the appellant is entitled to redress on appeal.
Upon finding that the appellant is unable to pay for the preparation
of the transcript because of the appellant's poverty, the review board
shall prepare a transcript at no cost to the appellant.
(e) The review board may, upon its own motion, or at the request
of either party upon a showing of sufficient reason, extend the limit
within which the appeal shall be taken, not to exceed fifteen (15)
days. In every case in which an extension is granted, the extension
shall appear in the record of the proceeding filed in the court of
appeals.
(f) The appellant shall attach to the transcript an assignment of
errors. An assignment of errors that the decision of the review board
is contrary to law shall be sufficient to present both the sufficiency
of the facts found to sustain the decision and the sufficiency of the
evidence to sustain the findings of facts. In any appeal under this
section, no bond shall be required for entering the appeal.
(g) All appeals shall be considered as submitted upon the date
filed in the court of appeals, shall be advanced upon the docket of the
court, and shall be determined without delay in the order of priority.
Upon the final determination of the appeal, the review board shall
enter an order in accordance with the determination, and the decision
shall be final. The court of appeals may in any appeal remand the
proceeding to the review board for the taking of additional evidence,
setting time limits therefor, and ordering the additional evidence to
be certified by the review board to the court of appeals to be used in
the determination of the cause.
(h) Any finding of fact, judgment, conclusion, or final order made
by a person with the authority to make findings of fact or law in an
action or proceeding under this article is not conclusive or binding
and shall not be used as evidence in a separate or subsequent action
or proceeding between an individual and the individual's present or
prior employer in an action or proceeding brought before an
arbitrator, a court, or a judge of this state or the United States
regardless of whether the prior action was between the same or
related parties or involved the same facts.
(Formerly: Acts 1947, c.208, s.1812; Acts 1957, c.299, s.6.) As
amended by P.L.34-1985, SEC.9; P.L.20-1986, SEC.11;
P.L.18-1987, SEC.50; P.L.135-1990, SEC.14; P.L.21-1995, SEC.90.
Last modified: May 27, 2006