United States Federal Circuit

In deceased federal employee's daughter's claim to death benefits, which were assigned to the daughter after the employee's husband was found civilly liable for the employee's death, the Merit Systems Protection Board's affirmance of the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) denial of the claim on the ground that petitioner was not the spouse of the deceased is vacated and remanded where: 1) petitioner is seeking all available death benefits attributable to her mother's services, and specifically including both the lump sum and the annuity provided under section 8442(b); 2) pursuant to a Texas court's turnover order, the employee's husband assigned to petitioner all available death benefits to which he may have had a claim under FERS, including both the lump sum and the annuity in section 8442(b); and 3) by not deciding the claim for benefits as submitted, OPM failed to carry out its statutory duty to petitioner and her deceased mother and the Board compounded the problem by affirming the OPM's reconsideration decision on narrow grounds and declining to address the issues raised by petitioner.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/09/2010
• Published 09/09/2010

Judges

• PLAGER

Court

• United States Federal Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Scott E. Stevens, Daniel Rabinowitz