Opinion ID: 1324820
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the protected interest

Text: The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States and Article III, Section 10 of the Constitution of West Virginia, require procedural safeguards against state action that affects a liberty or property interest. We spoke of this concept at some length in Waite v. Civil Service Comm'n, 161 W.Va. 154, 241 S.E.2d 164 (1977), and we concluded in Syllabus Points 1 and 3: 1. The Due Process Clause, Article III, Section 10 of the West Virginia Constitution, requires procedural safeguards against State action which affects a liberty or property interest. 3. A `property interest' includes not only the traditional notions of real and personal property, but also extends to those benefits to which an individual may be deemed to have a legitimate claim of entitlement under existing rules or understandings. See also Major v. DeFrench, 169 W.Va. 241, 286 S.E.2d 688 (1982); Kisner v. Public Serv. Comm'n, 163 W.Va. 565, 569-70, 258 S.E.2d 586, 588-89 (1979); State ex rel. McLendon v. Morton, 162 W.Va. 431, 249 S.E.2d 919 (1978); North v. West Virginia Bd. of Regents, 160 W.Va. 248, 233 S.E.2d 411 (1977). In both Major and McLendon, we dealt with individuals who were in a probationary status but had satisfied objective eligibility requirements that were established by their state employer. Consequently, we concluded that they had a legitimate claim of entitlement, which could not be severed without some procedural due process, as we explained in McLendon, 162 W.Va. at 438, 249 S.E.2d at 923: As noted above, [ Board of Regents v. ] Roth [, 408 U.S. 564, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972)] and Waite [ v. Civil Service Comm'n, 161 W.Va. 154, 241 S.E.2d 164 (1977)] recognized that existing rules or understandings between the institution and the individual could give rise to a legitimate claim of entitlement. Perry [ v. Sindermann, 408 U.S. 593, 92 S.Ct. 2694, 33 L.Ed.2d 570 (1972)] teaches that they need not be written, but can evolve in a de facto fashion  a position followed by other courts in tenure cases. (Citations omitted). We also pointed out in McLendon that [o]ther courts have found entitlements based on statutory language, 162 W.Va. at 439, 249 S.E.2d at 923 (citations omitted), and found an analogy with our earlier cases where we had granted mandamus against public officials who had refused to issue licenses to qualified applicants. E.g., Beverly Grill, Inc. v. Crow, 133 W.Va. 214, 57 S.E.2d 244 (1949); State ex rel. Hoffman v. Town of Clendenin, 92 W.Va. 618, 115 S.E. 583 (1923). The State created the Policemen's Pension and Relief Fund in W.Va.Code, 8-22-16 through -28, giving its contributing members the legitimate expectation that should they become disabled, the pension fund would pay them a certain percentage of their customary salary. See W.Va.Code, 8-22-24. Entitlement to these benefits is determined by objective criteria such as length of service and by medical opinions, and is not purely discretionary with the Board of Trustees. Once a member meets the statutory criteria, he is entitled to the benefits. State ex rel. Williams v. Board of Trustees, 147 W.Va. 795, 131 S.E.2d 612 (1963). We believe these statutory standards meet the test for a property interest since they create a legitimate claim of entitlement for a prospective pensioner under Major, McLendon, and Waite. See Griffeth v. Detrich, 603 F.2d 118 (9th Cir.1979), cert. denied sub nom. Peer v. Griffeth, 445 U.S. 970, 100 S.Ct. 1348, 64 L.Ed.2d 247 (1980); Buffelen Woodworking Co. v. Cook, 28 Wash.App. 501, 625 P.2d 703 (1981). This is in accord with other decisions that have held that applicants for government benefits and entitlements are entitled to due process. See, e.g., Schware v. Board of Bar Examiners, 353 U.S. 232, 77 S.Ct. 752, 1 L.Ed.2d 796 (1957) (admission to practice law); Kelly v. Railroad Retirement Bd., 625 F.2d 486 (3d Cir.1980) (applicant for disabled child annuity under Railroad Retirement Act); Wright v. Califano, 587 F.2d 345 (7th Cir.1978) (applicant for social security benefits); Ressler v. Pierce, 692 F.2d 1212 (9th Cir.1982) (applicants for federally subsidized housing); Griffeth v. Detrich, supra (applicant for general relief); Geneva Towers Tenants Org. v. Federated Mortgage Investors, 504 F.2d 483 (9th Cir.1974) (applicants for federally subsidized housing); National Ass'n of Radiation Survivors v. Walters, 589 F.Supp. 1302 (N.D.Cal.1984), rev'd on other grounds, ___ U.S. ___, 105 S.Ct. 3180, 87 L.Ed.2d 220 (1985) (veterans benefits); Davis v. United States, 415 F.Supp. 1086 (D.Kan.1976) (applicant for injury compensation due to prison employment); Shaw v. Weinberger, 395 F.Supp. 268 (W.D.N.C. 1975) (applicant for Supplemental Security Income); Barnett v. Lindsay, 319 F.Supp. 610 (D.Utah 1970) (applicant for welfare benefits); Elizondo v. State, 194 Colo. 113, 570 P.2d 518 (1977) (applicant for probationary driver's license); Viglietta v. Blum, 108 Misc.2d 516, 437 N.Y.S.2d 625 (1981) (applicant for medical assistance benefits); Buffelen Woodworking Co. v. Cook, supra (applicant for worker's compensation). The Board relies on Cawley v. Board of Trustees, 138 W.Va. 571, 76 S.E.2d 683 (1953), where this Court stated a prospective beneficiary of the Firemen's Pension or Relief Fund does not have a vested right in it. In Cawley, the Court did recognize they may have an expectancy to participate in the fund when otherwise qualified. 138 W.Va. at 581, 76 S.E.2d at 689. The problem in Cawley was that the individual was found ineligible because of age. The Court did not have occasion to consider whether he had some procedural due process rights to establish his qualifications since such question was not in dispute. Moreover, Cawley was decided long before the seminal decisions of Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972), and Perry v. Sindermann, 408 U.S. 593, 92 S.Ct. 2694, 33 L.Ed.2d 570 (1972), which expanded the property interest concept for procedural due process purposes and which form the basis for our holdings in Major, McLendon, Waite, and North. We, therefore, conclude that a police officer who is a member of the Policemen's Pension and Relief Fund created under W.Va.Code, 8-22-16 through -28, does have a property interest in such Fund that gives rise to some procedural due process protection.