Fulce v. PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM

759 So. 2d 401, 2000 Miss. LEXIS 99, 2000 WL 424530
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedApril 20, 2000
Docket1999-CC-01184-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 759 So. 2d 401 (Fulce v. PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fulce v. PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM, 759 So. 2d 401, 2000 Miss. LEXIS 99, 2000 WL 424530 (Mich. 2000).

Opinion

759 So.2d 401 (2000)

Jerry FULCE
v.
PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF MISSISSIPPI.

No. 1999-CC-01184-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

April 20, 2000.

*402 Michael H. Steele, Kosciusko, Attorney for Appellant.

Mary Margaret Bowers, Jackson, Attorney for Appellee.

BEFORE PRATHER, C.J., SMITH AND WALLER, JJ.

PRATHER, Chief Justice, for the Court:

INTRODUCTION

¶ 1. The issue before the Court is whether the decision of the Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) to terminate the disability benefits of Mrs. Jerry Fulce was supported by substantial evidence, notwithstanding that she had previously been receiving said benefits for several years, and that she continues to receive Social Security disability benefits. Mrs. Fulce also contends that a conflict of interest exists within the PERS Disability Appeals Committee and that she was not sufficiently notified of her right to the assistance of counsel while before the Committee.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS AND CASE

¶ 2. In January, 1985, Mrs. Fulce began working with the State Department of Audit as a Property Officer I. Her duties required her to visit public schools within her assigned area in order to check attendance figures. In September, 1987, Mrs. Fulce suffered a fractured vertebrae in an automobile accident. She was required to wear a cervical collar for approximately three (3) months, and as of August, 1988, she had completely recovered and suffered no lasting adverse effects. In 1993, Mrs. Fulce underwent a hysterectomy, during which a cervical carcinoma was discovered. She received two (2) radiation implants as treatment of this condition. Effective June 30, 1993, Mrs. Fulce resigned from her position as Property Officer I. At that point, she had accumulated 8½ years of service credit with PERS. By Order dated October 7, 1994, the Social Security Administration (SSA) found Mrs. Fulce to be disabled and awarded her disability benefits. *403 The Administrative Law Judge ruled that Mrs. Fulce had severe impairments because of "neck and back pains secondary to a motor vehicle accident, a history of cancer of the cervix, and major recurrent depression." Follow up medical exams throughout 1994 revealed that Mrs. Fulce was doing well post-operatively in reference to her cancer, except for bouts with diarrhea which resulted from her colon being burned by the radiation implants. She had no recurrence of her cervical cancer. Mrs. Fulce was approved for PERS disability benefits effective December 1, 1994. At the time of her approval to receive PERS benefits, it was the policy of PERS that any member who had been approved for SSA benefits would also be approved for PERS benefits. That policy has since been discontinued. In January, 1997, Mrs. Fulce was diagnosed as having sleep apnea, a sleeping disorder. For treatment of this condition, she periodically uses a CPAP machine which helps her sleep better. When she uses it, she has done well on the CPAP. Also, in October, 1997, Mrs. Fulce was diagnosed as having non-insulin dependent diabetes.

¶ 3. In addition to the conditions listed above, Mrs. Fulce asserts that she also suffers from or has suffered from the following ailments: neck, leg, hip, and back pain; limited range of motion of the neck; cramping in the legs and feet; tingling and numbness in the feet; stress fractures of both feet; nerve damage in the toes; swollen feet, sometimes requiring elevation; degenerative disc disease in the back; a weight problem; aggravation of her problem with diarrhea; depression; and daily loss of memory.

¶ 4. Under Miss.Code Ann. § 25-11-113(3) (1999), individuals receiving a disability retirement allowance may be required to undergo subsequent periodic medical exams in order to determine if said individual is still disabled. Mrs. Fulce was required to do this, and PERS received her Statement of Reexamination by Physician on November 5, 1997. The PERS medical board reviewed her medical documentation on January 22, 1998, and again on March 19, 1998. Upon reviewing Mrs. Fulce's medical records, the PERS Medical Board, pursuant to Miss.Code Ann. § 25-11-113(6), voted to terminate her disability benefits, stating that the record did not support the claim of an inability to perform the job as a Property Officer I with the State Department of Audit. On April 28, 1998, the PERS Board of Trustees voted unanimously to adopt the findings of the Medical Board, and ordered the termination of Mrs. Fulce's benefits effective August 1, 1998. Mrs. Fulce appealed, and PERS received her Notice of Appeal on June 9, 1998. Mrs. Fulce's appeal was heard by the PERS Disability Appeals Committee on August 10, 1998. Upon completion of the proceedings, the Appeals Committee recommended the termination of Mrs. Fulce's benefits. By Order dated August 25, 1998, the Board of Trustees adopted the recommendation of the Appeals Committee. Aggrieved, Mrs. Fulce appealed to the Circuit Court, First Judicial District of Hinds County. By Order dated June 14, 1999, the Honorable W. Swan Yerger, Circuit Judge, affirmed the decision of the Board of Trustees. Aggrieved by the decision of the circuit court, Mrs. Fulce now appeals to this Court, raising the following issue:

ISSUE
Whether the Public Employees Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) ignored the substantial evidence in the record in terminating the disability benefits of Mrs. Fulce and whether procedural safeguards were improperly ignored by the PERS Committee in making its finding that she was no longer disabled.

¶ 5. Mrs. Fulce assigns as error (1) whether the standards of law in this case were correctly followed, particularly whether the decision of PERS was supported by substantial evidence in the record; (2) whether there existed conflicts of *404 interest within the Disability Appeals Committee; and (3) whether she was fully informed of her right to be represented by counsel at her hearing before the Disability Appeals Committee. Therefore, this Court addresses these three questions.

LEGAL ANALYSIS

Were the applicable standards of law followed in this case, particularly was the decision of PERS supported by substantial evidence?

¶ 6. "This Court's standard of review of an administrative agency's findings and decisions is well established. An agency's conclusions must remain undisturbed unless the agency's order 1) is not supported by substantial evidence, 2) is arbitrary or capricious, 3) is beyond the scope or power granted to the agency, or 4) violates one's constitutional rights." Sprouse v. Mississippi Employment Sec. Comm'n, 639 So.2d 901, 902 (Miss.1994); Mississippi Comm'n on Envtl. Quality v. Chickasaw County Bd. of Supervisors, 621 So.2d 1211, 1215 (Miss.1993); Mississippi Employment Sec. Comm'n v. PDN, Inc., 586 So.2d 838, 840 (Miss.1991). This Court may neither substitute its own judgment for that of the agency which rendered the decision, nor reweigh the facts of the case. Mississippi Pub. Serv. Comm'n v. Merchants Truck Line, Inc., 598 So.2d 778, 782 (Miss.1992). "There is a rebuttable presumption in favor of the action of an administrative agency and the burden of proof is on the one challenging its action." Ricks v. Mississippi State Dep't of Health, 719 So.2d 173, 177 (Miss. 1998) (quoting County Bd. of Educ. of Alcorn County v.

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Bluebook (online)
759 So. 2d 401, 2000 Miss. LEXIS 99, 2000 WL 424530, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fulce-v-public-employees-retirement-system-miss-2000.