Christensen v. City of Decatur

1

BRIDGIT CHRISTENSEN, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF DECATUR, GEORGIA, ANDREA ARNOLD, in her individual and official capacities, and CONNIE JACOBS-WALTON, in her individual capacity, Defendants.

Civil Action No. 1:20-cv-4318-AT

United States District Court, N.D. Georgia, Atlanta Division

September 30, 2024

ORDER

Honorable Amy Totenberg, United States District Judge.

Presently before the Court are Defendants' Motions to Dismiss the Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”). [Docs. 71, 72 73, 74]. As discussed below, the Motions filed by Defendants Connie Jacobs-Walton, Andrea Arnold, Chet Burge, Patricia Garrett, Panos Kanes, and Meredith Roark, [Docs. 71, 72, 74] are GRANTED and they are DISMISSED from this case. The City of Decatur's Motion, [Doc. 73], is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. Counts 4, 5, and 6 against the City of Decatur are DISMISSED. Counts 1, 2 3, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 against the City of Decatur will proceed.

I. Background

Plaintiff Lt. Bridget Christensen is a gay female firefighter who began working for the City of Decatur in August 2000. (SAC, Doc. 66 ¶ 34). During her more than 19 years of service, she received numerous awards and honors for her dedication and excellence. See (id. ¶ 35).

As a condition of her employment, Plaintiff was required to participate in Decatur's Amended and Restated Defined Benefit retirement Plan (the “Plan”). (2013 Plan, Doc. 66-1 at 10). Plaintiff has been contributing to the Plan since her hiring and has been fully vested since 2010. (Doc. 66 ¶¶ 37-38).

Decatur established its first retirement plan in 1947. (2013 Plan, Doc. 66-1 at i). Since then, the Plan has been amended from time to time. (Id.). Effective January 1, 1997, Decatur adopted an Amended and Restated Defined Benefit retirement Plan, which was in effect at the time Plaintiff began working for Decatur. (Doc. 66 ¶ 3). The Plan was again restated in 2013, and except for a few limited amendments, the terms that existed in the 2013 Plan are still in effect. See (id. ¶ 4).

A. The 2013 Plan

The Plan is administered by the retirement Board of Trustees for the City of Decatur (the “Board” or “retirement Board”), and it recognizes the Board and Decatur as the retirement plan's fiduciaries. (Doc. 66-1 at 46). The Plan dictates when Decatur employees are entitled to retire and how the employees' retirement benefits are calculated under the Plan.

Under the 2013 Plan, the normal retirement age for a Decatur public safety employee was the later of age 60 or the employee's age upon completion of 10 years of vesting service. (Id. at 4). But a Decatur public safety employee was also permitted to retire early and receive a disability benefit upon a finding by the Board that the employee was disabled. (Id. at 17).

A public safety employee could receive a disability benefit under the 2013 Plan if the Board determined that he or she incurred a disability “either as a result of his/her [e]mployment (regardless of his/her age and length of service), or after he/she has reached age 50 and completed 10 Years of Vesting Service.” (Id.). The Board considered a public service employee “totally and permanently disabled” if the employee was “wholly prevented, by a physical and/or mental condition, from performing the usual duties of his/her job in a safe and efficient manner, and that such condition [was] reasonably expected to result in death or to be of long continued and indefinite duration.” (Id.). In determining whether an employee had incurred a disability, “the Board [could] rely on the examination and opinion of licensed physicians, and on such medical and other evidence as the Board considers appropriate.” (Id.).

The 2013 Plan provided the following Claims Procedure for employees who wished to apply for retirement and/or disability benefits:

9.4 Claims Procedure. All Participants and beneficiaries must submit their applications or benefits to the Board. Upon receipt of an application, the Board will determine all facts necessary to establish the claimant's right to benefits and the amount of any benefits due under the Plan. Upon request, the Board will provide the claimant the right to a hearing with respect to any finding of fact or determination of eligibility. Unless a claimant has timely exhausted the administrative remedies described in this Section 9.4, he/she will not have standing to file a lawsuit based on the Board's denial of his/her claim. After a claimant has exhausted his/her administrative remedies, he/she may file a lawsuit based on the claim denial within 180 days after the date the Board issues its final written claim denial decision. No legal action may be commenced or maintained later than 180 days after the Board issues its final written claim denial decision.

(id. at 50). To calculate a public service employee's monthly disability benefits under the 2013 Plan, a percentage of the employee's final average earnings^[1] was multiplied by the number of years of service the employee would have earned if the employee had continued to work until his or her normal retirement date. (Id. at 12, 18).

Critically, the terms of the Plan are not set in stone. Decatur “reserves the right to amend the Plan from time to time.” (Id. at 44). At its discretion, the Board may draft an amendment, triggering the following enactment procedure:

Each amendment must be approved by a majority of the Board members present at a Board meeting with a quorum, and by a majority of the City Commissioners. The City Commissioners then in office will adopt each amendment by placing their signatures thereon.

(id.). Thus, while the Board initiates and has the first vote in the amendment process, the City Commissioners have the final say as to whether an amendment is enacted. See (id.); (Doc. 66 ¶ 197).

The Plan notes that the rights of employees “who terminate[] employment before the effective dates of the various [amendments] . . . will be determined under the provisions in effect on the date the employee terminate[s] employment, except as otherwise required by applicable law.” (Doc. 66-1 at iv).^[2]

B. Plaintiff is Injured and the Plan's Claims Procedures Are Amended

In December 2016, Plaintiff was injured in the line of duty while riding in a firetruck. (Id. ¶ 48). Due to her injury, she filed a claim for workers' compensation. (Id. ¶ 49). Although Plaintiff attempted to continue performing light-duty work, she ultimately received a spinal fusion surgery. (Id. ¶ 50).

At some point in September 2018, Plaintiff's orthopedic surgeon drafted a letter to Decatur indicating that due to her injury, Plaintiff should only work light duty for the foreseeable future. (Doc. 66 ¶ 51).

On September 1, 2018, Decatur's 2013 retirement Plan was amended to revise the “Claims Procedures” by which employees apply for retirement and/or disability benefits. See (2018 Plan, Doc. 66-2 at iv). Under the new procedures, applications would no longer be submitted directly to, and exclusively processed by, the Board. Instead, they provided:

9.4 Claims Procedure. All Participants and Beneficiaries must submit their applications for benefits to the City's Director of Human Resources.

(a) Initial Determination of Eligibility. Upon receipt of an application, the Director of Human Resources will compile information, data, and documentation needed to determine whether the claimant is eligible for benefits. If the Director of Human Resources determines that the claimant is eligible, he/she will compile all data required to determine the amount of benefits due (including an actuarial benefit calculation), the form of payment due and the payment beginning date.

(b) Trustees' Review of Determination. The Director of Human Resources will email to all Trustees a copy of the pension application, related information such as the Participant service and compensation data and actuarial calculation, and the Director of Human Resources' recommendation of approval or denial.

(c) Trustees' Input. Any Trustee who has a question, additional information, or input about any application, must describe it in an email to the Director of Human Resources. The Director of Human Resources will consider any such information that relates to a relevant Plan provision or relevant data, in determining whether to approve or deny the application.

(d) Limits of Director of Human Resources' Authority. The Director of Human Resources will have authority to approve or deny any application except (1) his/her own application; and (2) any application from an individual in a supervisory position over the Director of Human Resources. Pension applications for the Director of Human Resources and any individual in a supervisory position over the Director of Human Resources must be submitted to the Director of Human Resources, but will only be approved or disapproved by the Board of Trustees at a meeting.

(e) Notice to Applicant. Within a reasonable period of time not to exceed fourteen (14) days, the Director of Human Resources will provide written notice to the applicant by email and/or U.S. mail, whether the application has been approved or denied.

(f) Implementation of Approved Application. If the application is approved, the Director of Human Resources will arrange for the commencement of pension payments as of the appropriate date requested by the claimant, or if later, the earliest date permitted by the Plan.

(g) Contents of Denial Letter. If the application is denied, the written notice will include the reason(s) for the denial, the relevant Plan provisions, and a copy of this Section 9.4 Claims Procedure.

(h) Delivery of Notices to Trustees. The Director of Human Resources will provide a copy of the written notice of approval or denial by email to all Trustees.

(i) Ratification or

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