Jones v. Commonwealth Ex Rel. Von Moll, 814 S.E.2d 192

Eddie R. Jones, Sr., a City of Hampton firefighter from 1977 to August 1, 2010, took a service retirement (a years-of-service retirement) unrelated to health reasons.
In March 2011 Jones was diagnosed with throat cancer (an occupational disease for firefighters under Va. Code § 65.2-402) and received radiation and chemotherapy.
Dr. John Mattern opined in a November 6, 2013 report that Jones was incapacitated from working as of March 11, 2011 and could not safely work in any environment with fumes or smoke.
The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission awarded Jones temporary total disability and related medical benefits.
The Comptroller denied Jones continued state-funded health insurance under the Virginia Line of Duty Death and Disability Act (Va. Code § 9.1-400 et seq.), reasoning Jones became incapacitated after retirement.
The circuit court affirmed the denial; the Supreme Court of Virginia reviewed statutory interpretation de novo and affirmed the circuit court.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Jones is a "disabled person" under the Act and thus entitled to continued health insurance under § 9.1-401(B)	Jones: his throat cancer is an occupational disease under § 65.2-402 and qualifies him for continued coverage even though disability was declared after retirement	Commonwealth: the Act requires incapacity that prevents "further performance of duty," which means disability must arise while still performing duties (i.e., before retirement)	Held: Not a "disabled person" under the Act; disability occurred after retirement so no § 9.1-401(B) coverage
Whether the Workers’ Compensation five-year look-back (§ 65.2-406) applies to create eligibility under the Act	Jones: because his condition is covered by § 65.2-402 he should benefit from the Workers’ Compensation look-back to qualify post-retirement	Commonwealth: § 9.1-401(B) references § 65.2-402 but does not incorporate § 65.2-406; Act’s text lacks a look-back for § 9.1-401(B)	Held: Look-back does not apply to § 9.1-401(B); omission of a look-back was intentional (contrast with § 9.1-402(C))

Commonwealth v. Barker, 275 Va. 529 (court reviews statutory interpretation de novo; agency construction not controlling on pure legal questions)
Hubbard v. Henrico Ltd. P’ship, 255 Va. 335 (infer legislative intent from plain meaning when statute lacks a definition)
Halifax Corp. v. First Union Nat’l Bank, 262 Va. 91 (presume legislative intent where language included in one statutory section but omitted in another)
Ferguson v. Ferguson, 169 Va. 77 (accrued rights under prior statute govern claims arising before amendment)