PICKETT v. LAUREN ENGINEERS CONSTRUCTION INC (2022)

Claimant-appellant, Travis Pickett, appealed the dismissal of his claim by the Office of Workers' Compensation (OWC), when it denied his motion to vacate an earlier judgment rendered by the OWC in favor of his former employer, defendant-appellee, Lauren Engineers & Constructors (Lauren),¹ which had sustained a peremptory exception raising the objection of prescription and dismissed his claims for workers' compensation benefits.

While the matter was pending before this court, the parties filed a joint motion to dismiss the appeal with prejudice, advising that the parties have reached an amicable resolution of this matter, and the settlement was approved by the OWC on March 7, 2022. Because the underlying dispute has been resolved, we hereby grant the motion to dismiss the appeal in accordance with La. Uniform Rules, Courts of Appeal, Rule 2-16.2(A)(3). See Louisiana Homebuilders Ass'n-SIF v. Doctors Hosp. of Slidell, LLC, 2017–1421 (La. App. 1st Cir. 4/6/18), 248 So.3d 572, 573; see also Baxter v. Scott, 03-2013 (La. 11/14/03), 860 So.2d 535 per curiam) ( a court of appeal errs in rendering an opinion on the merits without acting on a motion to dismiss filed while the matter is pending).

APPEAL DISMISSED.

FOOTNOTES

1.   Although Lauren is identified as “Engineers & Construction, Inc.” in the original claim and at various other times in the record, in accordance with its OWC pleadings filed into the record, we refer to defendant as “Lauren Engineers & Constructors.”

CHUTZ, J.