Opinion ID: 3215867
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Freeman Seeks Judicial Review

Text: Thereafter, Freeman filed a complaint in federal district court, seeking review of the DOL’s 2009 denial of her claim for compensation and review of the DOL’s 2014 denial of her 4 No. 15-6189, Freeman v. U.S. Dep’t of Labor second request to reopen. Freeman argued that Ezra qualified as a member of a “special exposure cohort” (“SEC”) because he “worked for more than 250 days at the” Plant, “performed all of his work ‘at a gaseous diffusion plant located in Paducah, Kentucky[,]’” and developed lung cancer, which ultimately led to his death. Freeman asserted that lung cancer is a specified cancer that qualifies a person for membership in the “special exposure cohort,” and therefore she is entitled to survivor benefit compensation under the Act as his only surviving child. Freeman argued, in the alternative, that even if Ezra did not qualify as a member of the special exposure cohort, she is nonetheless entitled to benefits under the Act because Ezra had Chronic Beryllium Disease. With respect to Freeman’s CBD argument, the district court concluded that the DOL’s decision was not arbitrary or capricious because two medical consultants concluded that Freeman failed to satisfy the criteria for showing a diagnosis of CBD. The court concluded that the DOL’s decision was based on “consideration of the relevant factors” and there was no clear error of judgment. The district court further concluded that Freeman’s “special exposure cohort” argument was irrelevant. In so concluding, the district court reasoned that SEC status is relevant only for compensation for cancer, and the judicial review “encompasse[d] only Freeman’s claim for CBD, not her prior claim for cancer.” Lastly, the district court concluded that the DOL’s denial of Freeman’s motion to reopen was not subject to judicial review, but even if it was, the district court concluded that this claim failed on the merits. Freeman timely appealed to this court.