D'Accardi v. Chater
| Decision Date | 16 September 1996 |
| Docket Number | No. 95-2988,95-2988 |
| Citation | 96 F.3d 97 |
| Parties | , Unempl.Ins.Rep. (CCH) P 15559B Jean D'ACCARDI on behalf of herself and as Guardian Ad Litem for Vanessa Vigil and Joaquin Vigil, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Shirley S. CHATER, Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit |
ARGUED: Lesley Fogleman Moxley, Pamlico Sound Legal Services, New Bern, North Carolina, for Appellants. Barbara Dickerson Kocher, Assistant United States Attorney, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Janice McKenzie Cole, United States Attorney, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Before HALL and ERVIN, Circuit Judges, and JACKSON, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, sitting by designation.
Reversed and remanded by published opinion. Judge ERVIN wrote the opinion, in which Judge HALL and Judge JACKSON joined.
Jean D'Accardi appeals on behalf of her two children from the denial of their application for Social Security Survivor's Insurance benefits. She contends that the Commissioner of Social Security erred in deciding that her children were not equitably adopted by her deceased husband, based on evidence that he had decided to discontinue adoption proceedings before his death. We agree. Where there exists a valid contract to adopt, but legal adoption does not actually occur, New Jersey courts will enforce the contract in equity under certain circumstances for the benefit of the adoptive child. Ordinary contract principles teach that a promisor's subsequent unilateral decision to rescind does not affect the existence of an enforceable agreement. Accordingly, we reverse and remand with instructions.
Robert and Jean D'Accardi were both divorcees when they met in 1986. After about a year, Jean and her two children--Vanessa and Joaquin Vigil--began spending long weekends at Robert D'Accardi's home. In January 1988, Jean, Vanessa and Joaquin moved into Robert's home. At Thanksgiving 1989, Robert and Jean became engaged, and in December 1989, they began to discuss Robert adopting Vanessa and Joaquin.
The couple married on May 12, 1990. At the time of the wedding, Robert had been diagnosed with cancer, but the disease was in remission. In the summer of 1990, Robert filed a complaint for adoption of Vanessa and Joaquin, aided by Gregory Keller, an associate with the law firm of Stein, Bliablias, McGuire, Pantages and Gigi.
During the fall of 1990, Robert's health began to fail and he was hospitalized on several occasions. As a result, the preliminary adoption hearing set for September 21, 1990, was delayed until January 4, 1991. 1 Robert's health continued to decline, and he went to stay with his parents to facilitate his nursing. He later reentered the hospital. Due to his hospitalization, the hearing scheduled for January 4, 1991 was again delayed. On January 27, 1991, Robert died of cerebral edema, brain metastases, and cancer of the kidneys.
On February 19, 1991, Jean applied for Social Security Survivor's Insurance benefits and, on behalf of her two children, for Child's Insurance benefits. Benefits were initially awarded. However, on May 27, 1991, the Social Security Administration (SSA) revoked the benefits on the ground that Jean and Robert had not been married for nine months before Robert died. 2 Jean moved for reconsideration, and the SSA again found that she was not entitled to benefits. Jean then requested an administrative hearing, which was held on June 11, 1992.
The ALJ joined a third party, Renee D'Accardi (Robert's child from a previous marriage). At the hearing, Vanessa, 7, and Joaquin, 12, testified that they called Robert "Daddy," did chores for him, and were disciplined by him. Joaquin testified that Robert had discussed adoption with him as early as Christmas 1989. Both children testified that they wanted Robert to be their father. Robert was the only father Vanessa had known, as she had not seen her natural father since the age of six months. The ALJ concluded that, because Jean met the nine-month marriage duration requirements of the Social Security Act, she was eligible for mother's insurance benefits and her children were entitled to stepchild's benefits. In addition, the ALJ concluded that, because adoption would have occurred but for Robert D'Accardi's death, Vanessa and Joaquin were also entitled to benefits as equitably adopted children.
After the hearing, Renee D'Accardi submitted a statement by attorney Dino Bliablias--also with the Stein, Bliablias firm--that in late 1990, Robert had stated that he wished to discontinue the adoption process "for personal reasons" and had asked Bliablias to inform Mrs. D'Accardi. Bliablias never did so. In response, Jean D'Accardi certified that, although she saw her husband nearly every day until his death, and saw Mr. Bliablias and other firm attorneys several times at Robert's parents' home and at the hospital before Robert's death, no one indicated to her that Robert had had a change of heart. The adoption process continued until Attorney Keller informed the surrogate court of Robert's death, and requested that the action be dismissed for that reason.
On July 21, 1994, the Appeals Council reversed the findings of the ALJ. The Council found that the D'Accardis had not been married for the requisite nine months. Thus, it found, Jean was not entitled to mother's benefits and her children were not entitled to benefits as stepchildren. The Council further found that, because Robert D'Accardi had indicated an intention to discontinue adoption proceedings, any agreement to adopt expired, and Vanessa and Joaquin therefore were not eligible for benefits as equitably adopted children. On September 20, 1994, Jean filed a complaint in the Eastern District of North Carolina seeking judicial review of the Commissioner's decision under Title II of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 402 et seq. 3
In the district court, a magistrate judge found that the Commissioner's finding that Jean and Robert D'Accardi had not been married for nine months was based upon substantial and undisputed evidence, and that it was in accordance with the SSA's interpretation of its own regulations and was therefore entitled to deference. The magistrate judge also found that the Appeals Council properly denied the child's insurance benefits as stepchildren based on the same nine-month period. In addition, the judge upheld as based on substantial evidence the Appeals Council's finding that Robert wished to discontinue adoption proceedings, and found that the children were therefore not entitled to benefits as equitably adopted children. District Judge Fox adopted the magistrate judge's findings and conclusions, and affirmed the final decision of the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Jean D'Accardi challenges the Commissioner's decision 4 that Vanessa and Joaquin Vigil are not entitled to surviving child's insurance benefits as the equitably adopted children of the deceased wage earner. In reviewing the final benefits decision of the Commissioner, we apply the same standards as did the district court to determine whether the decision was based upon substantial evidence and correct conclusions of law. 42 U.S.C. § 405(g); Hays v. Sullivan, 907 F.2d 1453, 1456 (4th Cir.1990).
An applicant for child's benefits must show, among other things, that he or she is the "child" of the insured worker. 20 CFR § 404.350-369. "Child" includes a natural child, a grandchild, a legally adopted child, or an equitably adopted child. Id. at § 404.354(a). The regulations define an equitably adopted child as one whom the insured agreed to adopt, but whose legal adoption did not actually occur. Id. at § 404.359. The regulations specify:
The agreement to adopt [the child] must be one that would be recognized under State law so that [the child] would be able to inherit a child's share of the insured's personal property if he or she were to die without leaving a will. The agreement must be in whatever form, and [the child] must meet whatever requirements for performance under the agreement, that State law directs. If [the child] appl[ies] for child's benefits after the insured's death, the law of the State where the insured had his or her permanent home at the time of his or her death will be followed.
Id. Thus, if under state law, Vanessa and Joaquin would have been entitled to share in Robert D'Accardi's intestate estate, they may be eligible for child's insurance benefits.
There is no dispute that the law of the state of New Jersey...
To continue reading
Request your trial
- Chorley Enters., Inc. v. Dickey's Barbecue Rests., Inc., s. 14–1799
- C.B. Fleet Co. Inc. v. Aspen Ins. Uk Ltd.
-
Adoption of Baby T., In re
...occupies in equity the status of an adopted child, with full right of inheritance as though a natural born child. See, D'Accardi v. Chater, 96 F.3d 97 (4th Cir.1996) (discussing and applying the New Jersey cases recognizing the doctrine of equitable adoption). Moreover, the Supreme Court of......
- Capps v. Harris