Linda TILLEY, Appellant-Plaintiff, v. D. Sue ROBERSON, in her official Capacity as Director of the Indiana State Personnel Department, Appellee-Defendant.
No. 49A02-9910-CV-690
Court of Appeals of Indiana
March 16, 2000
Rehearing Denied May 15, 2000.
725 N.E.2d 150
With respect to the transfer of the property by quitclaim deed to the corporation, the trustees cite no authority to support their argument that such transfer was illegal or void. Thus, they have waived the issue. See Atherton, 714 N.E.2d at 1120. Waiver notwithstanding, we find that the transfer of the property by quit claim deed to the corporation was proper, as at all times, the property was held in trust for the church. Further, the congregation voted to no longer recognize the trustees’ power and selected new leaders, one of whom was listed as a trustee on the original deed. These new leaders, members of the Deacon Board, later executed the quitclaim deeds to the corporation. The trial court did not err in finding that the property belonged to the incorporated church and, thus, ordering a permanent injunction against the trustees.
Judgment affirmed.
SULLIVAN, J., and KIRSCH, J., concur.
Jeffrey A. Modisitt, Attorney General of Indiana, Beth H. Henkel, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, Indiana, Attorneys for Appellee.
OPINION
DARDEN, Judge
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Linda Tilley, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, brought an action against D. Sue Roberson, in her official capacity as Director of the Indiana State Personnel Department, wherein she challenged the constitutionality of
ISSUE
Did the trial court abuse its discretion by denying Tilley‘s request for a preliminary injunction requiring the State to extend her disability coverage beyond the two year limit established by
FACTS
The States Disability Benefit Program
In 1988, the Indiana General Assembly directed the State Personnel Department to adopt rules establishing short-term and long-term disability plans for state employees. P.L. 27-1988, codified at
The State commissioned Milliman & Robertson, Inc., a firm of consulting actuaries, to conduct a study to consider the potential financial impact and appropriate scope of a short and long-term disability
[c]ertain types of disabilities are subjective in nature. Studies have shown a correlation between liberal benefit provisions and frequency of disability from the subjective causes. To limit exposure to these types of disabilities and also to reduce the plan cost, plans generally limit long term benefits to two years for mental and nervous conditions and drug and alcohol rehabilitation.
(R. 31).
Based in part upon the Milliman Report, the Personnel Department designed a short-term and long-term disability program covering all full-time state employees with at least six months of continuous service. Under the program, the State generally provides short-term disability benefits to an eligible employee for up to 24 months as long as an employee is unable to perform work consistent with his/her job classification.
The Personnel Department also adopted the following duration limitations for its long-term disability benefit program:
- Except as otherwise provided in this section, long term disability benefit payments are limited to a maximum duration of four (4) years.
- Benefits will only be provided as long as the employee is deemed disabled.
- The maximum short term and long term benefit period for a mental and/or nervous disability is limited to twenty-four (24) months.
- The maximum short term and long term benefit period for drug and/or alcohol dependency rehabilitation is limited to twenty-four (24) months.
- The maximum benefit period for a disability occurring on or after attained age sixty-two (62) is limited as follows:
Age at Disability Benefit Duration 62 3.50 years 63 3.00 years * * * * 69+ 1.00 year
Linda Tilley‘s Circumstances
Tilley is a former full-time employee of the State of Indiana. In August of 1997, the Personnel Department found Tilley to be totally disabled because of a combination of mental impairments, and Tilley began receiving short-term disability benefits. In March of 1998, Tilley began receiving long-term disability benefits, which consisted of a percentage of her former salary from the State as well as a continuation of her health, dental, vision and life insurance benefits. Once Tilley qualified for Social Security Disability benefits and retired under her Public Employees Retirement Fund (PERF) plan, she no longer qualified to receive a percentage of her former salary through her disability benefits.
Because the Personnel Department determined that Tilley was disabled due to mental impairments, her disability benefits terminated on September 19, 1999—two years after she began receiving benefits—pursuant to
Although Tilley has the option of continuing her health insurance coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), she averred that she cannot afford to do so. Tilley‘s PERF and Social Security Disability benefits total $1,742 per month. Tilley received a lump sum award from PERF and money from a divorce settlement, and she
According to Tilley, her husband earns approximately $600 per month, which is substantially subsumed by his child support obligations for a child from his previous marriage. They have credit card debt exceeding $30,000, and pay approximately $700–$750 per month for this debt. They also pay monthly rent and utility expenses in the amount of $450 and $200, respectively.
Tilley estimates that it will cost her $365 every month to pay for her medical prescriptions, counseling and psychiatrist visits. She also believes that the cost of obtaining medical insurance for herself through COBRA would be more than $500 per month.
Tilley will begin receiving Medicare in March 2000, and she will be eligible for medical insurance through that program. However, Medicare does not pay for prescription expenses.
Procedural History
On September 2, 1999, Tilley filed a class action complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief against D. Sue Roberson, in her official capacity as Director of the Indiana State Personnel Department, challenging the constitutionality of
The Director opposed the motion for preliminary injunctive relief and designated a Declaration of Brian Beesley, a former Deputy Director of the Personnel Department. According to Beesley, the disability benefit plans are provided at a significant cost to the State, including: salary payments, additional costs to PERF, and increased costs for state employee health insurance coverage. Beesley indicated that coverage limitations were required to maintain the financial integrity of the disability program while keeping costs from spiraling out of control. Beesley further indicated that adjudicating disputed mental disability claims could be more difficult because many mental conditions rely upon subjective reports from the employee to reach a diagnosis.
Following a hearing, the trial court denied Tilley‘s request for a preliminary injunction, concluding that Tilley had failed to show a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits. The trial court further concluded that the balancing of the harms weighed in favor of the State, that Tilley‘s harm was plainly economic in nature, and that an injunction would not be in the public interest.
DISCUSSION AND DECISION
The grant or denial of a preliminary injunction is within the sound discretion of the trial court, and the scope of appellate review is limited to deciding whether there has been a clear abuse of discretion. Union Township School Corp. v. State, 706 N.E.2d 183, 188-89 (Ind.Ct.App.1998), trans. denied. Nevertheless, we have indicated that power to issue a preliminary injunction should be used cautiously, and such relief should not be granted except in rare instances in which the law and facts are clearly within the moving party‘s favor. Id. at 189.
In order to obtain a preliminary injunction, Tilley, as the moving party, had the burden of showing that: 1) her reme
In the instant case, Tilley had the burden of showing that her remedies at law were inadequate, thereby causing her to suffer irreparable harm. The trial court failed to find that Tilley‘s remedies at law were inadequate; instead, it concluded that Tilley‘s harm was “plainly economic in nature.” (R. 166). As recently noted in Jay County, “a party which suffers only ‘mere economic injury’ is not entitled to injunctive relief because an award of post-trial damages is sufficient to make the party whole. However, a party which suffers economic injury that cannot be remedied by post-trial damages is entitled to injunctive relief.” 692 N.E.2d at 909.
Tilley‘s preliminary injunction sought to continue her insurance coverage pending the final resolution of this case. If the preliminary injunction is not granted, Tilley will be forced to continue her insurance coverage under COBRA, obtain other insurance coverage at her own expense, or personally incur all of her medical expenses pending resolution of her action challenging the constitutionality of
As noted previously, the power to issue a preliminary injunction should be used sparingly, and such relief should not be granted except in rare instances in which the law and the facts are clearly within the moving party‘s favor. Reilly v. Daly, 666 N.E.2d 439, 443 (Ind.Ct.App.1996), trans. denied. This is not one of those rare instances, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Tilley‘s request for a preliminary injunction.
Affirmed.
KIRSCH, J., concurs.
SULLIVAN, J., dissents with separate opinion.
SULLIVAN, Judge, dissenting
The majority‘s affirmance of the denial of the preliminary injunction unmistakably determines that there is not a likelihood that Tilley will succeed upon the merits of her claim. This constitutes an effective but premature decision upon the merits. The issues in dispute more properly remain for resolution by the trial court within the appropriate context of the underlying declaratory judgment and permanent injunction claims.
If she were to win an action for damages, payment of the equivalent of what her prescription costs and psychiatric and counseling expenses would have been, even together with interest, would be inadequate. Throughout the duration of the period between termination of benefits and recovery of monetary damages, she will lose the mental health care essential to her well-being. It is quite possible, if not probable, that absence of appropriate medication and psychiatric care for such an extended time will irreparably damage her mental health and stability. For this reason, I do not agree that her remedies at law are adequate.
I would reverse and remand for further proceedings upon Tilley‘s complaint for declaratory judgment and for permanent injunction.