Opinion ID: 1734067
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Should PERS have granted Byrd's motion for reconsideration?

Text: ¶ 16. Byrd filed with PERS a Motion and Request for Reconsideration, said motion being dated March 23, 1998 (approximately one month after the Board of Trustees adopted the recommendation of the Appeals Committee). Along with this motion, Byrd attached a report issued by Dr. Malloy on March 18, 1998, in which Dr. David Malloy stated that he did not believe that Byrd was capable of returning to work. As PERS issued its final decision in this matter in February of 1998, this report was obviously not included in the evidence considered by PERS in making the decision. Byrd's motion asked PERS to reconsider her case, this time giving due consideration to Dr. Malloy's report. PERS declined to do so, which Byrd claims was error. ¶ 17. By letter dated May 8, 1998, Byrd was notified that she had been approved to receive Social Security Administration (SSA) permanent disability benefits. Byrd attached this letter to her appeal to the Hinds County Circuit Court, said appeal being dated July 13, 1998. The SSA letter was not included with Byrd's motion for reconsideration. ¶ 18. Byrd now argues that when PERS issued its final decision denying her disability benefits, it was aware that she was continuing to see Dr. Malloy and also had a SSA claim pending. She further contends that Dr. Malloy's report and the SSA award are valuable pieces of information which PERS needs in order to fairly decide her claim, and that based on this information, PERS should have granted her motion for reconsideration. Byrd's argument is somewhat misguided, as she cites both Dr. Malloy's report as well as the SSA award as reasons that PERS should have granted the motion for reconsideration. However, when this motion was made, only Dr. Malloy's report was attached, and in fact, the SSA award was not made until approximately six weeks after Byrd's motion. Accordingly, in reviewing whether PERS erred in denying Byrd's motion for reconsideration, the SSA award is not a part of this Court's consideration. ¶ 19. In support of her argument, Byrd cites PERS Regulation 42(b), which, at the time Byrd's appeal was prosecuted, stated the following: [the PERS Rules of Hearing Practice and Procedure before the Board of Trustees] shall be liberally construed to secure just, speedy and economical determination of all issues presented to the Board. In special cases, where good cause appears, not contrary to statute, the Board may permit deviation from these rules insofar as it may find compliance therewith to be impracticable or unnecessary. ¶ 20. Byrd argues that had PERS liberally construed its rules, as required by Regulation 42(b), it would have granted her motion to reconsider her case in light of this new evidence. However, had PERS reconsidered her claim along with this new evidence, this action would have violated Miss.Code Ann. § 25-11-120 (1999), which provides an appeals process for individuals aggrieved by a PERS decision. ¶ 21. Under § 25-11-120(1), an individual may appeal a decision made by the Medical Board to the Appeals Committee. After a hearing before the Appeals Committee, the hearing officer is to certify the record to the Board of Trustees. The [Board of Trustees] shall receive the record and make its determination based solely on matters contained therein.  (emphasis added). ¶ 22. Had the Board of Trustees reconsidered Byrd's claim and made its determination using evidence (Dr. Malloy's report) which was not in the record made before the Appeals Committee, it would have violated § 25-11-120(1). This, in turn, would have been improper under Regulation 42(b), the very regulation Byrd cites in support of her argument on this issue. Therefore, we find that PERS correctly denied Byrd's motion for reconsideration. ¶ 23. With regards to her subsequent award of SSA disability benefits, this information was not in the record before the Board of Trustees, and, therefore, not to be considered by the Hinds County Circuit Court. Any individual aggrieved by the determination of the [Board of Trustees] may appeal to the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi... Such appeal shall be made solely on the record before the [B]oard and this procedure shall be the exclusive method of appealing determinations of the [B]oard. Miss.Code Ann. § 25-11-120(2) (emphasis added). ¶ 24. Since Byrd's award of SSA benefits was not properly before the circuit court, this Court can not consider this evidence in reviewing PERS' decision to deny Byrd's claim. [3] ¶ 25. Byrd argues that it would have been more appropriate for the Board of Trustees to have delayed making its final decision until it received additional evidence regarding Byrd's condition. However, it was Byrd who determined at what point to discontinue submitting medical information to PERS. She did this by executing a PERS form NMI on January 30, 1998, which states the following: Prior to the scheduling of a hearing before the PERS Medical Board, I, Nancy Byrd, certify that all medical information available from my physicians and hospitals considered pertinent to my claim and for review by the PERS Medical Board, has been submitted. I certify that no additional information is available. Should additional information become available, I understand that the PERS Medical Board reserves the right to review the information prior to setting a hearing for my claim. (emphasis added). ¶ 26. PERS received this form on February 2, and the hearing before the Appeals Committee was held on February 9. Dr. Malloy's report indicating his opinion that Byrd could not return to work and the information regarding her award of SSA benefits became available after her hearing before the Appeals Committee. By the terms of the Form NMI, which Byrd personally executed, this information was not eligible for consideration by PERS. Had she wished to keep open the window of opportunity in which she could continue to submit favorable medical information to PERS, she could have simply delayed her submission of the form NMI until a later date. The record does not indicate, and Byrd does not allege, that she was forced to prosecute her claim earlier than she would have liked because of any looming time deadlines, such as a statute of limitations. ¶ 27. Accordingly, we find that PERS acted properly when it denied Byrd's motion for reconsideration.