Cite as: 505 U. S. 469 (1992)
Opinion of the Court
tected regardless of the precise amount of the settlement because his liability for compensation is wiped out. Notification provides full protection to the employer in these situations because it ensures against fraudulent double recovery by the employee.
As a final line of defense, Cowart's attorney suggested at oral argument that Nicklos' participation in the Transco settlement brought this case outside the terms of § 33(g)(1). Tr. of Oral Arg. 4-7. Relying on the recent decision of the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in I. T. O. Corporation of Baltimore v. Sellman, 954 F. 2d 239, 242-243 (1992), counsel argued that § 33(g)(1) requires written approval only of "settlement[s] with a third person," and that Nicklos' participation in the Transco settlement meant it was not with a third person. Without indicating any view on the merits of this contention, we do not address it because it is not fairly included within the question on which certiorari was granted. See this Court's Rule 14.1(a).
We need not today decide the retroactive effect of our decision, nor the relevance of res judicata principles for other LHWCA beneficiaries who may be affected by our decision. Cf. Pittston Coal Group v. Sebben, 488 U. S. 105, 121-123 (1988). We do recognize the stark and troubling possibility that significant numbers of injured workers or their families may be stripped of their LHWCA benefits by this statute, and that its forfeiture penalty creates a trap for the unwary. It also provides a powerful tool to employers who resist liability under the Act. Counsel for respondents stated during oral argument that he had used the Transco settlement as a means of avoiding Nicklos' liability under the LHWCA. Tr. of Oral Arg. 23-26. These harsh effects of § 33(g) may be exacerbated by the inconsistent course followed over the years by the federal agencies charged with enforcing the Act. But Congress has spoken with great clarity to the precise question raised by this case. It is the duty of the courts to
483
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