Belles v. Schweiker

720 F.2d 509, 37 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 1016
Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit·Decided November 4, 1983·No. No. 82-2194·Published·Cited by 58 cases

Opinion

JOHN R. GIBSON, Circuit Judge.

Rachel Belles brought this class action against the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services claiming that she was denied notice and hearing of alleged Title II overpayments, an opportunity to contest the overpayments or to request waiver of the overpayments, and an opportunity for a recoupment hearing. Her claim arises from the electronic deposit of funds in her account in the amount of $1,205.40 after her husband’s death. The district court denied certification of a class, and held that plaintiff’s claim was moot. Belles claims that the court erred in so holding. The Secretary argues that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the action. We conclude that the court had jurisdiction, that the action was not moot, and remand to the district court for further proceedings.

The facts are not in dispute and are succinctly set forth in the district court’s order:

[511] Plaintiff is a 75-year-old recipient of social security widow’s benefits and social security retirement benefits. Prior to his death, plaintiff’s husband was receiving social security disability benefits deposited directly in his and plaintiff’s joint checking account with the Jasper County Savings Bank by means of an electronic funds transfer (EFT). Plaintiff’s husband died on April 24, 1972, and plaintiff notified the Social Security Administration of his death and began receiving widow’s benefits. The Department of Treasury, however, continued to make credit payments in his name for benefits to the Jasper County Savings Bank. The bank correctly returned the erroneous payments for April 1979 through July 1979. However, the bank failed to return the erroneous payments for August 1979 through October 1979, crediting plaintiff’s account for these payments in the amount of $1,205.40.
On December 2,1980, the Social Security Administration, having discovered the erroneous payments, requested the Department of Treasury to stop payment for August, September and October 1979.
On December 5,1980, the Jasper County Savings Bank sent a letter to plaintiff informing her that it had received a letter requesting remittance of the erroneously made payments. On December 22, 1980, plaintiff requested a waiver of the overpayment with the Social Security Administration.
On December 29,1980, the Des Moines, Iowa, Social Security Administration District Office wrote the Social Security Administration Program Service Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (hereinafter the Service Center), requesting information on the status of the waiver. Robert A. Gross, Jr., Acting Director of Operations, responded on January 19, 1981, stating:
In accordance with [Claims Manual] 5500.3, incorrect EFT payment are not subject to section 204 and waiver or reconsideration provisions do not apply. [Plaintiff] will soon be advised of subsequent adjustment to recover the incorrect EFT payment of $1205.40 which represents check issued to the [plaintiff’s husband] after his death for 8/79, 9/79 & 10/79.
Plaintiff was notified of the benefit reduction on February 11, 1981, and her March through June, 1981, widow’s and retirement benefit checks were reduced $118.00 each month.
Plaintiff filed this action on June 18, 1981.

On July 25, 1981, and on August 6, 1981, the Service Center wrote plaintiff stating that a check for $472.00 would be mailed to her as a refund of the amounts previously withheld from her benefits. Belles received a refund of the withheld amounts on August 9, 1981.

I.

The Secretary argues that the district court had no subject matter jurisdiction to hear this case. The district court, based on Ellis v. Blum, 643 F.2d 68, 78-82 (2d Cir. 1981), held that it had subject matter jurisdiction over plaintiff’s complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1361 and Belles argues that the district court correctly so held. We agree.

In Ellis the plaintiff sued the Secretary of the United States Department of Health, Education & Welfare, among others, for termination or threatening to terminate disability benefits without prior adequate written notice. The plaintiff contended that the defendant’s inadequate pretermin-ation notice violated the due process clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments and the Social Security Act. The Ellis court held that the district court had jurisdiction over the Secretary under 28 U.S.C. § 1361.1

The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any action in the nature of mandamus to compel an officer or employee of the United States or any agency thereof to perform a duty owed to the plaintiff.

[512] As was contended by the defendants in Ellis, the Secretary argues that § 205(h) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 405(h), precludes assertion of § 1361 jurisdiction. According to the Secretary, § 205(g) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), is the exclusive jurisdictional basis for suit under the Social Security Act, and Belles did not meet the jurisdictional prerequisites to suit set forth therein.2 In support of his argument, the Secretary relies primarily on the United States Supreme Court decision in Weinberger v. Salfi, 422 U.S. 749, 95 S.Ct. 2457, 45 L.Ed.2d 522 (1975). Neither Salfi nor the other Supreme Court cases cited by the Secretary, Califano v. Sanders, 430 U.S. 99, 109, 97 S.Ct. 980, 986, 51 L.Ed.2d 192 (1977), and Mathews v. El-dridge, 424 U.S. 319, 327, 96 S.Ct. 893, 899, 47 L.Ed.2d 18 (1976), are controlling in this case. In all of these cases the Supreme Court left open the question of whether § 1361 jurisdiction was available. Dock-stader v. Schweiker, 719 F.2d 327 at 329 (10th Cir.1983).

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Belles v. Schweiker, 720 F.2d 509, 37 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 1016 (8th Cir. 1983).

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