Cauthen v. Pub. Employees' Retirement Sys.
| Docket Number: | 2002-CC-01668-COA | |
| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 12-02-2003 Opinion Author: McMillin, C.J. Holding: Reversed and Remanded |
|
| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Disability benefits - Substantial evidence - Section 25-11-113(1)(a) Judge(s) Concurring: King and Southwick, P.JJ., Bridges, Thomas, Lee, Irving, Myers, Chandler and Griffis, JJ. Procedural History: Admin or Agency Judgment Nature of the Case: CIVIL - STATE BOARDS AND AGENCIES |
|
| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 08-29-2002 Appealed from: Hinds County Circuit Court Judge: W. Swan Yerger Disposition: DISABILITY BENEFITS DENIED Case Number: 251-01-18CIV |
|
| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | LISA CAUTHEN |
LANCE LAROY STEWART |
||
| Appellee: | THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM | MARY MARGARET BOWERS |
|
|
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. |
|
| Topic: | Disability benefits - Substantial evidence - Section 25-11-113(1)(a) |
| Summary of the Facts: | Lisa Cauthen, formerly a teacher in the Jackson Public School System, unsuccessfully applied for disability benefits from the Mississippi Public Employees’ Retirement System. After exhausting her administrative, she appealed to circuit court which affirmed. She appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Cauthen argues that the decision to deny her benefits was not supported by substantial evidence since essentially all of the medical evidence submitted by her indicated that she suffered from medical conditions that left her unable to perform the duties of her job with little hope of improvement. Section 25-11-113(1)(a) defines disability as the inability to perform the usual duties of employment or the incapacity to perform such lesser duties, if any, as the employer, in its discretion, may assign without material reduction in compensation, or the incapacity to perform the duties of any employment covered by the Public Employees’ Retirement System that is actually offered and is within the same general territorial work area, without material reduction in compensation. In other cases, it has been held that PERS is not free to ignore the only evidence in the record especially where it chose not to exercise its right to an independent medical evaluation. Here, PERS based its decision principally on a skepticism regarding the validity of the chronic fatigue syndrome diagnosis and did not obtain an independent medical evaluation pertaining to Cauthen’s physical condition, instead limiting itself to an independent evaluation of Cauthen’s mental capabilities. The evidence tending to indicate the legitimacy of Cauthen’s claim is substantial and there is essentially no countering evidence relating to her physical condition diagnosed by several treating physicians as chronic fatigue syndrome that would tend to show she was either not suffering from such a condition or that its symptoms were not so severe as to be disabling. Therefore, the decision by PERS was arbitrary and capricious and the judgment of the circuit court is reversed. |
Home | Terms of Use | About the JDP | Feedback | Using JDP | MC Law Library | Mississippi Supreme Court
