State ex rel. Cinergy Corp./Duke Energy v. Heber
130 Ohio St. 3d 194
| Ohio | 2011Background
- Heber, a longtime Cinergy/Duke Energy employee, was injured in 1970 and retired 19 years later, in 1989.
- In 2008 Heber applied for permanent total disability (PTD) benefits under the Industrial Commission of Ohio.
- The staff hearing officer did not expressly decide on whether Heber’s retirement was voluntary or involuntary, focusing instead on medical evidence of disability.
- Cinergy sought mandamus to require the Commission to address the voluntariness of retirement before determining PTD eligibility.
- The Court of Appeals vacated the order and remanded to reconsider, prompting Supreme Court review.
- Ohio law holds that a retirement initiated for reasons unrelated to the industrial injury is voluntary and can preclude PTD benefits.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Was Heber’s retirement voluntary for PTD purposes? | Heber contends retirement was injury-related and involuntary. | Cinergy contends retirement may be voluntary and not prohibited if connected to injury. | Voluntariness must be determined; retirement may preclude PTD if voluntary. |
| Integrity of the PTD determination without a voluntariness ruling | The Commission failed to rule on voluntariness, prejudicing PTD analysis. | Medical evidence of disability suffices for PTD without explicit voluntariness findings. | Remand is appropriate to consider voluntariness before PTD decision. |
| What evidence can prove injury-induced retirement besides contemporaneous medical records? | Contemporaneous medical evidence is necessary to link retirement to injury. | Other evidence can substantiate the connection between injury and retirement. | Other evidence may establish injury-retirement link; lack of contemporaneous medical evidence is not determinative. |
Key Cases Cited
- State ex rel. Rockwell Internatl. v. Indus. Comm., 40 Ohio St.3d 44 (1988) (retirement for non-injury reasons is voluntary)
- State ex rel. Baker Material Handling Corp. v. Indus. Comm., 69 Ohio St.3d 202 (1994) (voluntary retirement precludes PTD benefits)
- State ex rel. Burley v. Coil Packing, Inc., 31 Ohio St.3d 18 (1987) (commission weighs evidence and credibility; can infer voluntariness)
- State ex rel. Lawson v. Mondie Forge, 104 Ohio St.3d 39 (2004) (inference about retirement voluntariness permissible; credibility weighed by commission)
- State ex rel. Lackey v. Indus. Comm., 129 Ohio St.3d 119 (2011) (lack of contemporaneous medical evidence can be offset by other proof)