Jurgensen v. Dave Perkins Contracting, Inc.

The case originated from a workers’ compensation matter involving an attorney and his client. The compensation judge denied attorney’s request for $4,000 in excess attorney fees, holding Minn. Stat. § 176.081 caps attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases at 20 percent of the first $130,000 (i.e., $26,000) and the 2024 amendment to Minn. Stat. § 176.081, which increases the presumptive cap on attorney fees, does not apply retroactively to include this case because it explicitly applies only to injuries occurring on or after October 1, 2024. The Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals (WCCA) affirmed the compensation judge’s decision.
Borken appealed to the Minnesota Supreme Court, which held that Minn. Stat. § 176.081 does not violate the Contracts Clause because the statute was in effect when the attorney and his client entered into their agreement, and existing statutes are read into contracts by implication.