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Taylor v. State Fund3/18/1996
idence supports the trial court's determination. Wilson, 903 P.2d at 787. Here, the findings of fact and the record reflect that the court could have found these witnesses to be truthful in some areas of their testimony and untruthful in others. The trial court was in the best position to judge the credibility and demeanor of the witnesses while testifying. Where there is conflicting evidence in the record, it is within the provence of the trial court to pass on the credibility of witnesses and the sufficiency of the evidence. Wilson, 903 P.2d at 787-88.
Beebe stated that, following the March 4, 1991 injury, he saw Taylor working on his car and replacing the drive line. Beebe testified that the parts weighed between seventy and eighty pounds and that Taylor worked at this heavy labor for over four hours. Taylor testified that the part weighed approximately twenty pounds and that he would have completed the job much more quickly but for his injuries. Larain testified that Taylor was very interested in, and asked questions about, her own workers' compensation claim and confided in her that his claims were fraudulent. Taylor denies that he made any such admissions to Larain.
The findings reflect Taylor's inconsistent explanations of how the March 4, 1991 incident occurred. For example, Taylor's ex-wife testified that Taylor told her that he had injured his back operating a jack-hammer. Larain testified that Taylor told her that he had tripped over some road cones, and Beebe testified that Taylor told him that he slipped on some road oil and fell.
As to Taylor's own testimony, the court found that "claimant has made as great a negative impression on me as any witness I have observed during the last two years. Listening to him and observing him, I simply did not believe him and concluded that he was perpetuating a fraudulent scheme." In its order supplementing findings of fact and otherwise denying claimant's post-trial motions, the court also noted that "Taylor's confident, forceful testimony at trial stood in stark contrast to the complaining, depressed, non-functional individual who appears in the many medical and psychological records presented in this case. . . . He had a smooth answer for everything presented against him."
The Workers' Compensation Court findings also reflect evidence and testimony showing that Taylor had been reprimanded at work and placed on probation for his performance, had a problem with alcohol abuse, had received citations for DUI's, was in "severe financial straits," was having his wages attached by creditors, and owed both the Internal Revenue Service and the State of Montana for unpaid taxes. Taylor maintains that, regardless of his financial situation and job performance, he did indeed suffer industrial injuries. Our standard, however, is not whether the evidence supports findings different than those made by the Workers' Compensation Court, but whether substantial credible evidence supports the court's findings. Wilson, 903 P.2d at 787 (citing Caekaert v. State Compensation Mut. Ins. Fund (1994), 268 Mont. 105, 110, 885 P.2d 495, 498). In the instant case, we conclude that substantial credible evidence in the record supports the findings of the Workers' Compensation Court that two of Taylor's three claims were fraudulent.
2. Did the Workers' Compensation Court err when it failed to find that the insurer's conduct was unreasonable and in failing to award Taylor his attorney's fees, costs, and the statutory penalty?
Although the court found that two of Taylor's three claims were fraudulent, Taylor nonetheless asks this Court to find State Fund's conduct unreasonable under § 39-71-6
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