GOVERNMENT BENEFITS CASES

• Am. Ass'n of Retired Persons v. Equal Employment Opportunity Comm'n
• Lax v. Astrue
• Myore v. Nicholson
• Snyder v. Nicholson
• In re Joshua S.
• Melendez v. Wing

U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, June 04, 2007
Am. Ass'n of Retired Persons v. Equal Employment Opportunity Comm'n, No. 05-4594
In an action brought by the AARP challenging an EEOC regulation that would exempt from the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) employer coordination of retirement benefits with, inter alia, Medicare benefits, summary judgment for the EEOC is affirmed where: 1) the proposed regulation was within the EEOC's exemption authority under the ADEA; and 2) valid according to the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Read more...

U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 06, 2007
Lax v. Astrue, No. 06-3173
Denial of an application for social security disability benefits (SSD) and supplemental security income benefits (SSI) under the Social Security Act is affirmed over a claim that an ALJ erred in determining that claimant's impairment did not meet or medically equal Listing 12.05(B) for mental retardation. In the absence of a valid IQ score of 59 or less, the severity prong (B) of Listing 12.05 is not met, and factual determinations on the validity of an IQ score is within the province of an ALJ and will be upheld when supported by substantial evidence. Read more...

U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, June 06, 2007
Myore v. Nicholson, No. 06-7330
Denial of a claim for dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) brought by a widow, whose marine husband died while on active duty from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head while playing Russian roulette, is affirmed where the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims did not err in its determination that a veteran's willful misconduct will prevent a finding of service connection, and that DIC is only available where there is a service-connected death or compensable disability. Read more...

U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, June 08, 2007
Snyder v. Nicholson, No. 2006-7239
Denial of attorney's fees payable by the Veterans Administration (VA) directly to claimant arising from his successful representation before the VA of an incarcerated veteran, is reversed and remanded where: 1) the "total amount of any past-due benefits awarded on the basis of the claim," as that phrase is used in 38 U.S.C. section 5904(d)(1), is the sum of each month's unpaid compensation, as determined by the claimant's disability rating, beginning on the effective date and continuing through the date of the award; 2) a 38 U.S.C. section 5313(a)(1) withholding does not alter an incarcerated veteran's awarded compensation; and 3) the CAVC erred in requiring that the two statutes be read together in the light of 38 C.F.R. section 20.609. Read more...

Supreme Court of California, June 07, 2007
In re Joshua S., No. S137583
In the context a child who has been adjudged to be a dependent of the juvenile court and the termination of a juvenile court's dependency jurisdiction pursuant to California Welf. & Inst. Code section 366.3(a), a court of appeal's judgment in a dependency case that "exceptional circumstances" existed precluding the termination of a trial court's dependency jurisdiction is reversed where: 1) the question of the children's eligibility for certain benefits was properly before the court of appeal; 2) the exhaustion of administrative remedies requirement's futility exception applied; and 3) the children were ineligible for aid under California's Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care program. Read more...

New York Court of Appeals, June 07, 2007
Melendez v. Wing, No. 73
Section 131-c(1) of the Social Services Law excludes minors who receive federal supplemental security income (SSI) from the family group for purposes of determining eligibility for and the level of public assistance. Read more...