PERS v. Wright
| Docket Number: | 2005-CC-02188-COA | |
| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 02-13-2007 Opinion Author: KING, C.J. Holding: Reversed and Remanded |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Disability benefits - Due process - Opportunity to be heard Judge(s) Concurring: LEE AND MYERS, P.JJ., IRVING, CHANDLER, GRIFFIS, BARNES, ISHEE, ROBERTS AND CARLTON, JJ. Procedural History: Admin or Agency Judgment Nature of the Case: CIVIL - STATE BOARDS AND AGENCIES |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 09-13-2005 Appealed from: Hinds County Circuit Court Judge: Winston Kidd Disposition: CIRCUIT COURT REVERSED COMMISSION’S DECISION AND AWARDED DISABILITY PAYMENT Case Number: 251-03-1011 CIV |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | PUBLIC EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM |
MARY MARGARET BOWERS |
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| Appellee: | KELLY L. WRIGHT | JANICE T. JACKSON |
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Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Disability benefits - Due process - Opportunity to be heard |
| Summary of the Facts: | After Kelly Wright’s physician determined that Wright was totally disabled due to her panic disorder and anxiety attacks, Wright filed for disability benefits with the Public Employees’ Retirement System. Following a hearing, the medical board requested an independent medical examination. The doctor did not explicitly state whether, in his opinion, Wright was likely to be permanently disabled. The medical board determined that there was insufficient objective evidence to support a finding that Wright was disabled and unable to perform her duties as a nurse. Wright appealed to the Disability Appeals Committee. Following the hearing, the Committee requested a second independent medical evaluation. The doctor concluded that Wright chose not to work and was not disabled or incapacitated due to her panic disorder. He found that her panic disorder was not permanent, severe, or debilitating. The Committee determined that Wright was not entitled to disability benefits. The Board of Trustees adopted the Committee’s recommendation. Wright appealed that decision to the circuit court which reversed the ruling of the Disability Appeals Committee and granted Wright disability retirement benefits. PERS appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | PERS argues that the trial court erred in re-weighing the evidence that the Commission considered in reaching its determination that Wright was not disabled. Wright argues that PERS violated her constitutional right to due process under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution when it accepted and relied upon the doctor’s report without offering Wright the opportunity to correct what she contends are numerous factual errors in his report. Administrative agencies must afford minimal due process consisting of notice and an opportunity to be heard. While the Committee gave Wright the opportunity to be heard at the initial hearing, it excluded her from its hearing, in which it received and reviewed the doctor’s examination. In its decision, the Committee relied heavily on the doctor’s report. Wright contested much of the medical history and many of the conclusions and attempted to submit those corrections as part of the record on appeal. By accepting the doctor’s report as new evidence and relying on it without providing Wright with the opportunity to contest the report or supplement her own medical records with her most recent treatment reports, PERS denied Wright the opportunity to be heard in a meaningful way. Accordingly, the Committee violated Wright’s procedural due process rights and the concept of fundamental fairness. The case is therefore remanded to PERS’ Disability Appeals Committee. |
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