Present: Judges Koontz, Bray and Senior Judge Hodges
JOSE ALONZO FLORES
v. Record No. 0029-95-4 MEMORANDUM OPINION
PER CURIAM
TITO CONTRACTORS MAY 30, 1995
AND
LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY
FROM THE VIRGINIA WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION
(Atiq R. Ahmed, on brief), for appellant. Appellant
submitting on brief.
No brief for appellees.
Atiq R. Ahmed, attorney for Jose Alonzo Flores, deceased,
and his beneficiaries, appeals a decision of the Workers'
Compensation Commission which denied Ahmed's petition for
attorney's fees of $12,000. Finding no error, we affirm the
decision.
"Code 65.1-102 [now Code 65.2-714] provides that the
fees of attorneys shall be subject to the approval and award of
the Commission." Hudock v. Industrial Comm'n, 1 Va. App. 474,
477, 340 S.E.2d 168, 171 (1986). In assessing Ahmed's
petition, the commission properly considered, inter alia, the
absence of significant dispute among the parties, the absence of
any appreciable benefit to Flores or his beneficiaries resulting
from Ahmed's services, and the substantial time expended by Ahmed
on non-legal matters. See id. at 478-79, 340 S.E.2d at 171.
These factors, together with the entire record, provide ample
support for limiting the award of attorney's fees to $500.
Accordingly, for the reasons set forth in the commission's
opinion, we find no abuse of discretion by the commission and
affirm the decision.
Affirmed.
