ORDERS:
ORDER OF DISMISSAL
The
above-captioned matter is before this Court pursuant to the request of
Petitioner Karen McAbee for a contested case hearing. Petitioner seeks the
hearing to challenge an October 18, 2005 determination by staff at Respondent
South Carolina Budget and Control Board, South Carolina Retirement Systems
(SCRS), that Petitioner was not eligible to retire under the TERI program on
June 30, 2005. On December 20, 2005, SCRS filed a motion to dismiss this case
because Petitioner had failed to exhaust her agency remedies before SCRS prior
to requesting contested case review by this Court. For the reasons set forth
below, I find that the motion to dismiss must be granted.
The
South Carolina Retirement Systems Claims Procedures Act provides the exclusive
remedy for a dispute or controversy between SCRS and a participant in the South
Carolina Retirement System or a participant’s designated beneficiary. S.C.
Code Ann. § 9-21-30 (Supp. 2005). Pursuant to the Act, a participant seeking
to challenge an administrative decision by SCRS staff must exhaust his agency
remedies with SCRS prior to requesting a contested case hearing before this
Court. S.C. Code Ann. § 9-21-60 (Supp. 2005). A person exhausts his agency
remedies with SCRS by (1) filing a written claim to the director of SCRS within
one year of the SCRS staff decision, (2) participating in the agency claims
procedure before the director, and (3) obtaining a final decision from SCRS. See S.C. Code Ann. §§ 9-21-20(5) (Supp. 2005), 9-21-50 (Supp. 2005). If a person
requests a contested case before this Court without first exhausting his agency
remedies with SCRS, the Act specifically requires the Court to dismiss the
request without prejudice. S.C. Code Ann. § 9-21-60.
In
the case at hand, Petitioner did not exhaust her agency remedies with SCRS
prior to filing her request for a contested case hearing before this Court.
Rather than filing a written claim with the director of SCRS to challenge the
October 18, 2005 agency decision regarding the date of her TERI eligibility,
Petitioner directly filed a request for a hearing on that decision with this
Court on November 17, 2005. By failing to first seek
relief from the SCRS staff decision with the director of SCRS prior to
requesting this contested case, Petitioner failed to exhaust her agency
remedies with SCRS. See S.C. Code Ann. § 9-21-20(5). Therefore,
pursuant to Section 9-21-60, this case must be dismissed without prejudice, so
that Petitioner may pursue her agency remedies with SCRS.
For
the reasons stated above,
IT
IS HEREBY ORDERED that the above-captioned case is DISMISSED without
prejudice pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. § 9-21-60.
AND
IT IS SO ORDERED.
______________________________
JOHN D.
GEATHERS
Administrative
Law Judge
1205 Pendleton
Street, Suite 224
Columbia, South
Carolina 29201-3731
February 7, 2006
Columbia, South Carolina
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