Opinion ID: 1156989
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Disability Pension

Text: Appellant insists that the pension he receives is not distributable as marital property under the provisions of the equitable distribution order in this case because the benefits he receives are solely due to his disabling work-related injury which occurred after the divorce was finalized. He maintains that a disability pension is compensation for future lost earnings, is considered personal to the recipient and is not subject to equitable distribution unless the disability pension has a marital component. Appellant claims that the marital components this Court examined in the previous decisions of Conrad v. Conrad, 216 W.Va. 696, 612 S.E.2d 772 (2005), and Staton v. Staton, 218 W.Va. 201, 624 S.E.2d 548 (2005), are not present in his case. He distinguishes his situation from those under consideration in Conrad and Staton by pointing out that his disability coverage did not result from the couple deciding to secure such coverage during the marriage, was not acquired by the expenditure of marital funds or by means of wage withholding during the marriage, and no disability benefits were received anytime during the marriage. Based upon these factors, Appellant argues that the family court's decision to treat any of the pension proceeds as retirement benefits subject to equitable distribution was wrong and represents an abuse of discretion. Although Appellant rightly notes that the facts in his case are different than those present in the Conrad and Staton cases, his argument fails to appreciate the true reason why an examination of facts in these type of cases is necessary. It was recognized in Conrad that the determination of whether disability benefits are marital property is dependent upon the particular facts and circumstances present in a given case. 216 W.Va. at 700-01, 612 S.E.2d at 776-77. As made clear in syllabus point four of Staton, the close examination of the facts in these situations is necessary to determine the reason behind the payment of the benefits. Benefits that actually compensate for disability are separate property because such monies are personal to the spouse who receives them. In some cases, benefits will need to be separated into a retirement component and a true disability component, classifying the retirement component as marital property and the disability component as separate property. 218 W.Va. at 202, 624 S.E.2d at 549. Cf. Fitzgerald v. Fitzgerald, 219 W.Va. 774, 639 S.E.2d 866 (2006). The reason underlying the payment of benefits is not necessarily unchanging. Such was the case in Staton, where the pension at issue converted from a disability pension to a retirement pension. The family court in the instant case followed the analysis set forth in Staton. The judge examined the facts and evidence in the case, which included a review of the provisions of the January 25, 2007, letter from the UMWA special payments analyst and the 1974 Pension Fund Plan Summary. From this review, the family court determined that those pension payments paid to Appellant between the injury date and the date he could have retired on his 62nd birthday were truly disability payments since their purpose was to compensate Appellant for wages lost from the date he became disabled until he reached the age of 62 and qualified for retirement. The family court then found that those pension benefits paid on or after Appellant's 62nd birthday are best characterized as retirement benefits. The operation of the pension plan in the case sub judice does not identify the purpose of the pension benefits in the clear-cut fashion as the pension plan examined in Staton. Nevertheless, we cannot say that the facts do not support the lower courts' conclusions that the purpose for the payments changed from a disability pension to a retirement pension at the time Appellant met the qualifications for retirement. It is a reasonable and fair conclusion that respects and balances the different reasons for payment of the benefits without thwart[ing] a spouse's entitlement to retirement benefits. Staton, 218 W.Va. at 207 n. 6, 624 S.E.2d at 554 n. 6. The family court further determined that Appellee's portion of the pension should be calculated from the date she filed her petition for an accounting and entry of a QDRO rather than the date of Appellant's 62nd birthday. The June 5, 2007, family court order reflects the reasoning for this determination as follows: 12. The Court's order dated April 17, 1990 [equitable distribution order] places no burden upon the defendant to notify the plaintiff of his receipt of retirement benefits. 13. The doctrine of laches precludes the plaintiff from recovering any portion of the retirement benefits paid to the defendant at any time prior to the date she filed her petition for accounting, the same having been filed on the 25th day of April, 2006. Appellee objects to this decision by cross-assignment of error. She maintains that the lower courts erred as a matter of law when it applied the doctrine of laches. This Court examined the doctrine of laches in the 1950 case of Bank of Mill Creek v. Elk Horn Coal Corporation, 133 W.Va. 639, 57 S.E.2d 736, wherein we stated that `Laches is a delay in the assertion of a known right which works to the disadvantage of another, or such delay as will warrant the presumption that the party has waived his right.' Harrison et al. v. Miller, Exec., 124 W.Va. 550, 21 S.E.2d 674 [675 (1942)]. 133 W.Va. at 655, 57 S.E.2d at 746-47. Laches is an equitable remedy which places the burden on the person asserting it to prove both lack of diligence by the party causing the delay and prejudice to the party asserting it. See National Home Equity Mortg. Assn v. Face, 64 F.Supp.2d 584 (E.D.Va.1999), aff'd, 239 F.3d 633 (4th Cir.2001), cert. denied, 534 U.S. 823, 122 S.Ct. 58, 151 L.Ed.2d 26 (2001). Both of these factors were demonstrated in the case now before us. Nonetheless, Appellee asserts that the family court's decision to apply laches ignores the provisions of syllabus point two of Bank of Mill Creek v. Elk Horn Coal Corporation , which states: Laches does not commence to run against a party complaining of a wrongful transaction of another until such complaining party has knowledge thereof, or knows facts sufficient to put him on inquiry with respect thereto. 133 W.Va. at 640, 57 S.E.2d at 739. She maintains that it was undisputed that she neither knew that Appellant was receiving a retirement pension nor had information to inquire about a pension before filing her petition. The language of the equitable distribution order quoted at the outset of this opinion [5] clearly places no duty of notification on Appellant in this regard. We also note that Appellee does not claim that she was somehow misled or unable to make an earlier inquiry regarding the nature of the benefits Appellant was receiving. We see no reason to invent a duty to notify, particularly under the circumstances presented in this case. After all, no one really knew whether any of the UMWA benefits received would be subject to the equitable distribution order as retirement benefits without judicial determination. Under these facts we cannot say that the lower court misapplied the law or erred in applying laches as an equitable mid-ground remedy.