Bland v. State

737 S.E.2d 291, 230 W. Va. 263
CourtWest Virginia Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 21, 2012
DocketNos. 11-0746, 11-0747, 11-1146
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 737 S.E.2d 291 (Bland v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering West Virginia Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bland v. State, 737 S.E.2d 291, 230 W. Va. 263 (W. Va. 2012).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

On appeal before this Court are consolidated appeals of three separate final orders of the Circuit Court of Kanawha County.

In case number 11-0476, the petitioners, who are state troopers or their survivors, appeal the March 30, 2011, order of the Circuit Court of Kanawha County that dismissed with prejudice the petitioners’ complaint alleging they were placed in the wrong retirement plan against Respondents West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board (“the Retirement Board”); Terasa L. Miller, acting executive director of the West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board (“Director Miller”); the State of West Virginia; the West Virginia State Police Retirement System; and the West Virginia Public Employees Retirement System (“PERS”).

In ease number 11-0477, the petitioners appeal the March 30, 2011, order of the Circuit Court of Kanawha County that granted summary judgment in favor of Respondent West Virginia State Police in the petitioners’ claim that the State Police, during the recruitment of the petitioners, misrepresented which retirement plan the petitioners would be placed in upon them employment as state troopers.

Finally, in case number 11-1146, the petitioners appeal the June 29, 2011, order of the Circuit Court of Kanawha County that denied the petitioners’ motion, made pursuant to Rule 60(b) of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure, for relief from the circuit court’s March 30, 2011, order dismissing the complaint against the Retirement Board, Director Miller, the State of West Virginia, PERS, and the State Police Retirement System.

After considering the parties’ arguments and the appendix filed with this Court, and upon application of the relevant law, for the reasons set forth below, this Court affirms the circuit court’s March 30, 2011, order that dismissed all of the respondents except the State Police; the March 30, 2011, order that granted summary judgment on behalf of the State Police; and the June 29, 2011, order that denied the petitioners’ Rule 60(b) motion.

I. FACTS

According to the petitioners, they are members, or dependents of members, of the 42nd, 43rd, 44th, and 45th cadet classes of the respondent West Virginia State Police.1 The petitioners allege that they became employed by the State Police in the belief that they would be enrolled in a benefit and retirement plan known as the West Virginia State Police Death, Disability and Retirement Fund (“Plan A”) that would provide certain established benefits. However, they were actually enrolled in a plan known as the West Virginia State Police Retirement System (“Plan B”) that, according to the petitioners, provides significantly fewer benefits.

In December 2001, the petitioners commenced an administrative proceeding with the Retirement Board seeking participation in Plan A. Originally, the Retirement Board members voted to grant the petitioners’ requested relief and directed that they be placed in Plan A However, shortly thereafter, the Retirement Board voted to reconsider its decision and directed the hearing officer to conduct individual hearings for each of the petitioners.

The petitioners thereafter filed a petition for a writ of mandamus in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County requesting that the court [268]*268direct the Retirement Board to transfer the petitioners to Plan A The petitioners asserted that the Retirement Board had a nondiseretionary, ministerial duty to carry out its original decision to transfer the petitioners to Plan A The petitioners also alleged that the Retirement Board did not have the power to reconsider its original decision. In response, the Retirement Board filed a motion to dismiss the petitioners’ mandamus action pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Rules of Civil Procedure.

By order of November 17, 2004, the circuit court granted the Retirement Board’s motion to dismiss. The court found that the original decision to transfer the state troopers into Plan A did not constitute a final order which divested the Retirement Board of jurisdiction over the matter or the power to reconsider its original action. The court reasoned that the Retirement Board’s original decision was never finalized by the issuance of a written final order containing requisite findings of fact, conclusions of law, and supporting rationale as contemplated by the Administrative Procedures Act. This Court refused the petitioners’ appeal of the November 17, 2004, order.

After several hearings with individual petitioners, the hearing officer for the Retirement Board recommended the denial of the petitioners’ placement into Plan A The Retirement Board subsequently adopted this decision in its final order of May 18, 2006.

The petitioners appealed the administrative decision to the Kanawha County Circuit Court. After a hearing, the court directed counsel for all parties to file cross motions for summary judgment. By order entered on November 20, 2008, the circuit court granted the respondents’ motion for summary judgment and denied the petitioners’ motion for summary judgment. This Court subsequently refused the petition for appeal of the circuit court’s order filed by the petitioners.

The instant case commenced on January 2, 2007, when the petitioners filed a civil action against the respondents in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County. The case was stayed pending the resolution of the administrative appeal. The petitioners ultimately filed an amended complaint in March 2011, in which they asserted several causes of action. Against Respondents Retirement Board, Director Miller, State of West Virginia, PERS, and State Police Retirement System, the petitioners alleged breach of contract, misrepresentation, detrimental reliance, and denial of procedural due process. Specifically, the petitioners alleged that the Retirement Board misrepresented the petitioners’ retirement benefits, deprived the petitioners of their constitutional rights by placing them in Plan B, and failed to accurately inform or advise the petitioners of the benefits or years of service required to qualify for benefits. The petitioners also alleged that Director Miller breached her duty to implement the Retirement Board’s original decision to transfer the petitioners to Plan A Against Respondent State Police, the petitioners asserted negligence, misrepresentation, fraud, and violation of them constitutional rights. According to the petitioners, the State Police misrepresented the petitioners’ retirement benefits in the recruitment process. In addition to monetary damages, the petitioners sought to compel certain of the respondents to bring an action to enforce the funding requirements for the troopers’ pension fund, to compel respondents to place the petitioners under Plan A, and for class certification.

By order dated March 30, 2011, the circuit court dismissed with prejudice the petitioners’ complaint against the Retirement Board, Director Miller, the State of West Virginia, the State Police Retirement System, and PERS. In a separate order entered on March 30, 2011, the court granted the State Police’s motion for summary judgment.

The petitioners subsequently filed a motion under Rule 60(b) of the Rules of Civil Procedure in which they asked the circuit court to amend its March 30, 2011, order that dismissed the petitioners’ complaint against the Retirement Board, Director Miller, the State of West Virginia, the State Police Retirement System, and PERS.

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Bluebook (online)
737 S.E.2d 291, 230 W. Va. 263, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bland-v-state-wva-2012.