Morris v. BB&T Corporation

Syllabus

The workers' compensation commission dismissed and later refused to reinstate an appeal to its appellate panel because the attorney filing the appeal missed a deadline for his brief. We find the commission abused its discretion. We explain that the exercise of discretion requires first that the trial court recognize it has the responsibility of discretion, and then follow a thought process that begins with the trial court's clear understanding of the applicable law, continues with the court's sound analysis of the situation before it in light of the law, and ends with the court's ruling that follows the law and is supported by the facts and circumstances. The record must reflect the trial court followed such a thought process. We reverse the commission's decision refusing to reinstate the appeal.