Ghigliotty, In re

(HHS, SSA Office of Hearings & Apps. Jan. 25, 1995) ; Clearinghouse Number: 50729

Description

Work Sheets and Computer Printouts Without Cancelled Checks Negotiated by Beneficiary Are Not Sufficient Evidence of Overpayment

Abstract

On remand from the district court, the administrative law judge (ALJ) has held that claimant was not overpaid mother’s insurance benefits. Claimant had applied for mother’s insurance benefits after the death of her first husband in 1969. In 1972, claimant remarried. SSA alleged that claimant was overpaid mother’s insurance benefits from June 1972 through January 1979 in the amount of $1,601. Claimant insisted that she never received those benefits, although she did receive survivors’ benefits on her daughters’ behalf. The overpayment determination was upheld by the Appeals Council, and claimant sought judicial review. The district court held that SSA failed to show sufficient evidence that claimant was overpaid. Although SSA produced work sheets and computer printouts evidencing payment of mother’s insurance benefits to plaintiff during the time at issue, the agency could not produce cancelled checks to prove that claimant negotiated the alleged payments. Accordingly, the court denied SSA’s motion for summary judgment and remanded the case.

Additional Information

Attorney Information
Plaintiff-Claimant represented by Meris Bergquist, Vermont Senior Citizens Law Project, 56 Main St., Suite 301, Springfield, VT 05156, (802) 885-5181.
Docket Date
1995-01-25 00:00:00+00:00