A former Chattanooga firefighter has won a remand of his case against the Chattanooga Fire and Police Pension Board.
Casey Phillips worked as a Chattanooga firefighter for approximately 20 years. During his tenure, and as enumerated in detail in his petition, Mr. Phillips said he witnessed many “horror inducing events.” As a result of “his prolonged exposure to tragedy and trauma at work, he (allegedly) developed permanent and chronic PTSD.”
He filed for disability benefits with the pension fund, which denied his application by letter dated Oct. 27, 2020. On June 28, 2021, he filed a request for rehearing with the board; the board denied rehearing by letter dated Aug. 19, 2021.
On Sept. 10, 2021, he filed a petition for writ of certiorari seeking review in the trial court, and the CFPPF moved to dismiss under Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 12.02. Chancellor Jeffrey Atherton held that the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act applied and further held that the board’s Oct. 27, 2020 was not compliant with the UAPA requirements for final orders.
Nonetheless, the trial court held that the Oct. 27, 2020 letter was a final order so as to trigger the 60-day time for filing for review in the trial court and dismissed the petition with prejudice.
The Tennessee Court of Appeals said, "Because the Oct. 27, 2020 order was not UAPA-compliant, it did not constitute a final order so as to trigger the running of the 60-day statute of limitations. As such, the trial court erred in dismissing Appellant’s petition with prejudice. Reversed and remanded."