Afzal v. Perb

246 P.3d 5, 239 Or. App. 284
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedDecember 1, 2010
Docket800473 A140775
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 246 P.3d 5 (Afzal v. Perb) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Afzal v. Perb, 246 P.3d 5, 239 Or. App. 284 (Or. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

246 P.3d 5 (2010)
239 Or. App. 284

Shadman AFZAL, Petitioner,
v.
PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT BOARD, Respondent.

800473; A140775.

Court of Appeals of Oregon.

Argued and Submitted May 26, 2010.
Decided December 1, 2010.

*6 Nelson R. Hall, Portland, argued the cause for petitioner. With him on the briefs was Bennett, Hartman, Morris & Kaplan, LLP.

Jeff J. Payne, Assistant Attorney General, argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief were John R. Kroger, Attorney General, and Jerome Lidz, Solicitor General.

Before SCHUMAN, Presiding Judge, and WOLLHEIM, Judge, and ROSENBLUM, Judge.

ROSENBLUM, J.

Claimant filed an application with the Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) for disability retirement allowance after resigning from a 16-year career with Multnomah County. PERS administratively denied his claim, concluding that claimant was not entitled to a disability allowance because he failed to prove that he was disabled to such an extent that he was unable to perform "any work for which qualified." ORS 238.320(3); OAR XXX-XXX-XXXX(1). After a hearing, an administrative law judge (ALJ) upheld the denial of disability allowance, and the Public Employees Retirement Board (PERB) entered a final order affirming and adopting the ALJ's findings and conclusions. Claimant seeks judicial review of PERB's final order. Because this case involves undisputed facts, we review for substantial reason and errors of law. ORS 183.482(8)(a), (b); Lenon v. PERB, 228 Or.App. 20, 25, 206 P.3d 1165, rev. den., 347 Or. 365, 222 P.3d 1091 (2009). On the basis of that review, we reverse and remand.

The facts are taken from PERB's final order as supplemented by the record. Claimant is a 47-year-old man with a dual degree in administration of justice and psychology. Before working for the county, claimant worked for many years in fast food restaurant management. In December 2006, claimant resigned from his job with Multnomah County. For approximately the first five years of his 16-year career with the county, claimant was a parole and probation officer. For the remainder, and before his resignation, claimant had been working as a community justice manager—a supervisory position in which he oversaw two units of parole and probation officers.

Claimant's most recent salary was $78,881.28. His duties involved office work and holding meetings with department members, management, outside partners, and staff; he was required to participate in a number of activities that could be physically demanding. For example, claimant actively participated in making arrests, transporting, and attending home visits of probationers, which could involve conducting searches. Claimant's position required him to carry a firearm; he was therefore required to pass a quarterly firearm certification exam with the county training department. He was also required to pass an annual certification exam in defense tactics.

From October 2002 through January 2008, claimant saw an internist, Dr. Frank Fric, to address symptoms that were causing him to have problems at work, including dizziness, heaviness in the head, unstable gait, and weakness. By early 2006, claimant's symptoms had progressed to the point that they began to cause more noticeable complications at work. Claimant's colleagues expressed concern about changes in his decision-making ability and attention to detail. He often seemed confused, fatigued, and inattentive; on several occasions he nodded off during meetings.

Also in 2006, claimant developed physical complications, including walking with a limp and dragging his left leg. Due to the training department's concerns about those physical problems, he lost his privilege to carry a firearm. He began seeing neurologist Dr. Bruce Bell on May 22, 2006. After that initial visit, Bell opined that claimant could have "some sort of unusual dystonia or possible early Parkinson disease to explain the gait problems. He may have a mild seizure disorder." Claimant's internist, Fric, also noted in a subsequent visit that claimant's condition had worsened, developing into "basically uncontrollable non-symmetric movements of the entire body, arms, legs. Observing *7 him sitting in [a] chair, he is moving up and down on the chair, almost sliding off."

After resigning from his position as a community justice manager on December 8, 2006, he and his wife, from February 2007 through December 2007, operated a business selling watches and clocks from a cart inside a shopping mall. Claimant worked at the cart for a short time but had to stop because he was having problems focusing and staying alert. He was also having difficulty standing and otherwise being able to physically assist customers.

On January 30, 2007, claimant filed an application with PERS for disability retirement allowance. On his application, claimant listed his condition as "Parkinson's—dopamine sensitive dystonia." In response to a PERS request, his internist, Fric, opined that claimant was first 100 percent disabled January 22, 2007, and that claimant was unable to perform any work for which he was qualified.

In addition to Fric, neurologist Bell provided medical information to PERS regarding claimant. Bell reported claimant's condition as Parkinson's and opined that claimant was 100 percent disabled and unable to do his current job. In a letter to PERS dated March 23, 2007, however, Bell wrote that, "[i]f [claimant] had some sort of sedentary work which did not require stress, he might be able to do that." After subsequent examinations of claimant and in letters to PERS and claimant's lawyer, Bell continued to opine that claimant was 100 percent disabled and was no longer able to perform his current job.

At PERS's request, neurologist Dr. Lynne Bell examined claimant on August 15, 2007. She opined that, "[b]ased on [claimant's] current clinical presentation, he would be capable of performing a desk job." After reviewing additional medical records, she wrote in a letter dated February 11, 2008, that her previous opinion of claimant's condition was unchanged, and that she believed claimant had a "functional gait disorder."

PERS administratively denied claimant's application for a disability allowance on September 11, 2007, based on Lynne Bell's report that claimant could do a desk job. After a contested case hearing, the ALJ upheld the denial, which PERB later affirmed. Claimant now seeks judicial review of PERB's final order.

Before addressing the parties' arguments on judicial review, we review the controlling statute and rules. To establish entitlement to disability allowance, ORS 238.320(3)[1] requires that an applicant must be "mentally or physically incapacitated for an extended duration,[[2]] as determined by medical examination, and thereby unable to perform any work for which qualified * * *." Under OAR XXX-XXX-XXXX(1), "[a]ny work for which qualified" is defined by PERS as:

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Bluebook (online)
246 P.3d 5, 239 Or. App. 284, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/afzal-v-perb-orctapp-2010.