Palmer v. United States

139 Ct. Cl. 376, 1957 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 103, 1957 WL 8264
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedJuly 12, 1957
DocketNo. 195-52
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 139 Ct. Cl. 376 (Palmer v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Palmer v. United States, 139 Ct. Cl. 376, 1957 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 103, 1957 WL 8264 (cc 1957).

Opinion

Laramore, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff, a colonel, Army of the United States, who has been retired for physical disability, brings suit in this court claiming entitlement to an increase in his retired-pay benefits. The facts stated as simply as possible are as follows:

On July 12,1918, plaintiff was commissioned as an officer, National Army, and served on active duty until March 8, [377]*3771919, when he was honorably discharged. On January 28, 1920, he was appointed a first lieutenant, Officers’ Reserve Corps, and advanced to the rank of colonel on May 27,1941. Upon the outbreak of World War II, plaintiff was called to active duty and served from August 8,1941 to July 15,1946, at which time he was released not by reason of physical disability.

In February 1949, plaintiff filed an application with the Army requesting to be retired for physical disability and asked that a board be appointed to pass upon the question of his entitlement thereto. Pursuant to his request, plaintiff was ordered to Walter Reed Hospital for physical evaluation, including, appearance before a disposition board and, if warranted, an Army retiring board.

Plaintiff was originally scheduled to have a hearing in October 1949, but this was postponed until December 7,1949, when the physical evaluation board found that plaintiff was physically unfit due to “Encephalopathy, secondary to surgical removal of right frontal meningioma at Johns Hopkins Hospital, 27 January 1948, manifested by seizures.” The board further found that plaintiff’s disability was not 30 percent or more in accordance with the standard schedule of rating disabilities in current use by the Veterans’ Administration and that it was not service connected.

As a result of these adverse findings of the board, plaintiff requested and was granted a reconsideration of his case, which also resulted in a finding of nonservice-connected disability. During this same period in which plaintiff was seeking disability retirement from the Army, he was rated by the Veterans’ Administration as 100 percent disabled from August 11, 1948. This rating was based upon a finding by the Veterans’ Administration that symptomatic manifestations of brain tumor subsequently diagnosed as meningioma, evaluable as 10 percent disabling, made their appearance within one year subsequent to plaintiff’s separation from the service and were thus service connected.

On January 31, 1950, plaintiff was notified that he was “placed on the Army of the United States Retired List in the grade of Colonel on 31 January 1950 with entitlement to retirement pay from 1 February 1950 under the provisions [378]*378of sections 301 and 302 of the Act of Congress approved 29 June 1948 (P. L. 810, 80th. Congress), having been found, upon application to be eligible for such benefits by reason of age and satisfactory military service as defined in the above mentioned act.” This retirement pay was based upon length of service and not physical disability incurred while on active duty.

In March 1950, the Army Physical Disability Appeal Board reviewed the previous findings that plaintiff was not disabled as an incident of service and found that at the time he was released from service on July 15, 1946, he was in fact 60 percent disabled in accordance with the standard schedule of rating disabilities in current use by the Veterans’ Administration and that such disabilities arose as an incident of service. This action of the Appeal Board was approved by order of the Secretary of the Army on March 31, 1950, and plaintiff was notified that he was eligible for retirement pay based upon the percentage of his disability or on the years of active service for which he was credited. Army orders were cut ordering plaintiff’s retirement effective March 31, 1950, in the grade of colonel under the provisions of sections 402 and 409 of the Career Compensation Act of 1949, 63 Stat. 802, with a disability rating of 60 percent. Plaintiff was paid disability retirement pay at the rate of $418.95 per month for the period from April 1, 1950 through July 31, 1951, as provided in section 402 (d) of the Career Compensation Act; i. <?., 60 percent of the basic pay of a colonel with over 30 years’ service. These payments were discontinued beginning with August 1951, due to a ruling by the Comptroller General that Reserve officers may not be retired with disability pay unless at the time of the determination of disability the officer was drawing basic pay. Plaintiff was not receiving basic pay at the time he was determined to be physically disabled as an incident of service and therefore under the Comptroller General’s decision was ineligible to continue to receive disability retirement pay.

As a result of his being denied disability retired pay, plaintiff filed an application with the Army Board for Correction of Military Records requesting that they correct his records to show that his release from active duty on July 15, 1946, [379]*379was by reason of physical disability. On March 9, 1953, the Secretary of the Army, in accordance with the recommendation of the correction board, corrected plaintiff’s military records to show that he was released from active duty by reason of physical disability and certified him eligible for receipt of retirement pay benefits under the provisions of the Act of April 3, 1939, 53 Stat. 555.1 The Secretary also ordered payment of any back pay due plaintiff from April 1, 1950, by reason of the correction of his military records, offset by any amounts received by him from the Army or the Veterans’ Administration in connection with his service connected disability since that date.

On May 5,1953, the Army Physical Review Council, which was established under sections 413 and 414 (a) of the Career Compensation Act, reviewed plaintiff’s case to determine his eligibility and percentage of disability for compensation based upon the provisions of the Career Compensation Act. The Review Council found:

At the time this individual was last retired or granted retirement pay his percentage of disability (determined in accordance with the Schedule of Rating for Veterans’ Administration) was 60%, based on the disabilities listed on attached sheet [1. Meningioma — 60 percentum — VA Code Number 8003], all of which were considered.

Then on June 10, 1953, plaintiff was sent a letter by the Adjutant General pursuant to the requirement of Executive Order No. 10124, April 25, 1950,2 requesting that plaintiff make an election to receive payment of retired pay (1) based upon the finding of 60 percent disability and the rate of pay prescribed therefor under the Career Compensation Act, (2) based upon a rate computed by the amount of years of active service, also as provided for in the Career Compensa[380]*380tion Act, or (3) based upon the rate to which he was entitled to under the old schedule.

Plaintiff replied to this letter by saying that he had an action pending in this court and did not desire to make an election until it was disposed of. He requested that he continue to receive pay for retirement based upon length of service, P. L. 810, sufra.3

Plaintiff was then advised that inasmuch as his records had been corrected to show that he was released from active duty by reason of physical disability on July 15, 1946, he was entitled to the disability retirement pay in effect at that time.

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Related

Kimmel v. United States
196 Ct. Cl. 579 (Court of Claims, 1971)
Brandt v. United States
155 Ct. Cl. 345 (Court of Claims, 1961)
Pugh
149 Ct. Cl. 839 (Court of Claims, 1960)

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Bluebook (online)
139 Ct. Cl. 376, 1957 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 103, 1957 WL 8264, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/palmer-v-united-states-cc-1957.