Dodosh v. County of Orange

Opinion

LEVITT, J.

*

Peter J. Dodosh became employed by the County of Orange as a deputy sheriff on February 9, 1979. During the course of his employment he was a member of the Orange County Employees Retirement System. Dodosh took a two-month leave of absence due to an injury Dodosh claimed occurred in the course and scope of his employment. Dodosh’s physician notified the county Dodosh could return to work, subject to certain work limitations for the first six weeks after returning. Dodosh, however, voluntarily resigned effective July 19, 1979, stating, in writing, he had accepted employment elsewhere which required his leaving the Orange County area August 3, 1979. He then, on July 20, 1979, applied for and received from the retirement system, a

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refund of all monetary contributions he had made to it. Dodosh sought a disability retirement allowance by signing and submitting an application form on or about July 10, 1980. The board of retirement of the retirement system determined Dodosh was not eligible to apply for a disability retirement and took no action on his application. Dodosh filed a petition for writ of mandate, which was denied by the trial court, and now appeals.

The sole issue for us to decide is whether Dodosh was eligible to apply for a disability retirement.

1

Only a member of the retirement system may apply for a disability retirement. (Gov. Code, § 31720.

2

) The Orange County Employees Retirement System operates pursuant to sections 31450-31898 and the statutory provisions relating to disability retirement are contained in sections 31720-31740. These sections refer to “members.”

Section 31470 defines “member” as “... any person included in the membership of the retirement association ... or any person who has elected in writing to come within the provisions of Article 9.” Article 9 (§§ 31700-31706) sets forth provisions wherein an employee who leaves county service and elects to leave accumulated contributions on deposit may receive a deferred retirement allowance and thereby remain a member of the retirement system. Dodosh’s voluntary resignation and withdrawal of retirement contributions thus precluded him from being a “member” when he applied for a disability retirement allowance.