LAUDERDALE v. DETROIT GENERAL RETIREMENT SYSTEM, 459 Mich. 941 (1999)

590 N.W.2d 67

Nos. 110886, 111145.Supreme Court of Michigan.
Decided February 25, 1999.

Summary Dispositions February 25, 1999:

In lieu of granting leave to appeal, the judgment of the Court of Appeals is vacated, and the case is remanded to the Court of Appeals for consideration of the issues raised by the plaintiff as appellant in that Court. MCR 7.302(F)(1).

In 1993, the worker’s compensation magistrate ruled that the city of Detroit “shall not coordinate the duty disability pension being received by plaintiff pursuant to MCL 418.354(14) [MSA 17.237(354)(14)].” The statutory subsection, MCL 418.354(1); MSA 17.237(354)(1), describes circumstances under which “the employer’s obligation to pay or cause to be paid weekly [worker’s compensation] benefits . . . shall be reduced. . . .” The

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subsection, MCL 418.354(14); MSA 17.237(354)(14), says that certain disability pension benefits “shall not be coordinated pursuant to this section.” It is undisputed that the plaintiff’s worker’s compensation benefits were never reduced (except to repay an unrelated advance in his benefits). Instead the defendants reduced disability benefits, in apparent reliance on terms of the city charter, city ordinances, or the collective bargaining agreement. Whether reduction of those benefits was appropriate is not a question that is controlled by the magistrate’s statement that the worker’s compensation benefits were not to be reduced. Jurisdiction is not retained. Court of Appeals No. 195662.