Opinion ID: 491083
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: 2 Mrs. Croteau married Raymond Houde in 1940. Mr. Houde died in action in 1944 while serving in the armed forces of the United States, which entitled Mrs. Croteau to receive Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) from the Veterans Administration (VA). 38 U.S.C. Secs. 401, 411. 3 In 1946, Mrs. Croteau married Robert L. Croteau who was also a member of the armed forces. She reported her remarriage to the VA which then suspended the DIC benefits as required by 38 U.S.C. Sec. 101(3). Mr. Croteau later elected to participate in the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) through the Army so that his surviving spouse and/or dependents would receive an annuity upon his death. 4 Mr. Croteau died on April 21, 1979 and shortly thereafter Mrs. Croteau began receiving SBP benefits from the Army. She also filed an application with the VA to reinstate her DIC benefits which was done. As a result, Mrs. Croteau received full SBP and DIC payments on a monthly basis until July 1, 1982. At that time, the Army determined that 10 U.S.C. Sec. 1450(c) required that the SBP payments to Mrs. Croteau be reduced by the amount of the DIC payment she was receiving from the VA. 5 Mrs. Croteau brought this action against the United States in the Claims Court seeking reinstatement of the full SBP benefit. Both parties filed motions for summary judgment, stipulating that the facts were not disputed. The Claims Court, in granting summary judgment in favor of the United States, held that the language of the statute was plain and not only authorized but required that Mrs. Croteau's SBP benefits be reduced by the DIC payments.