Jarelle J. Lark, Respondent v. Bi-Lo, Inc. and American Mutual Liability Insurance Company, Appellants

Summary

In this Workmen's Compensation case the Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's order affirming an Industrial Commission award to a BI-LO stock clerk who injured his back while lifting a fallen box. It held that, although Section 42-17-60 was never expressly repealed, the Administrative Procedures Act's 'substantial evidence' standard (Section 1-23-380(g)) now governs judicial review of the Industrial Commission's factual determinations, displacing the former 'any evidence' standard, because the Commission qualifies as an 'agency' under the Act and the 1979 exemption of the Commission from the Act's rules of evidence shows legislative recognition that the Act covers workers' compensation. Applying that standard, the court found the claimant's own testimony credible and substantial evidence sufficient to establish liability, and it affirmed rather than remanding. The court cautioned that the substantial evidence test must not become judicial fact-finding or a substitution of judicial judgment for agency judgment.