Raitport v. Commonwealth
Raitport v. Commonwealth
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
Eli Raitport (Petitioner) appeals from a decision of the Department of Public Welfare (DPW) affirm
Petitioner raises two issues for our consideration:
Numerous regulations relating to public assistance and related programs, such as the food stamp program, require that information provided to DPW officials in determining or redetermining eligibility for benefits must be verified and that the burden of proving that the eligibility requirements have been met is upon the applicant. See 55 Pa. Code §§125.2l, 133.23, 201.1 and 205.3. Verification may be accomplished in a number of ways. 55 Pa. Code §205.3. Whatever method is used, however, it must be sufficient to prove to Board personnel that the expenditure is valid. In fact, federal regulations relating to the food stamp program authorize the states to deny or terminate food stamp allocations if an applicant refuses to cooperate in providing the information necessary for making an eligibility determination. 7 C.F.R. §271.3.
Petitioner’s second argument has even less merit than the first. While the record plainly discloses that Petitioner was asked who the principals were in the Corporation (an inquiry we judge to be perfectly legitimate under the circumstances of this case), nowhere does it appear that either the Board or the DPW “demanded” the names of the principals. Rather, it appears that the inquiry was directed as to whether or not the Petitioner was a principal, a question which for reasons best known to the Petitioner he did not answer. In any event, the Board’s adjudication is based solely upon the Petitioner’s failure to verify his rental payments.
Order affirmed.
Order
And Now, this 5th day of April, 1979, the order of the Department of Public Welfare, dated December 6, 1977, is affirmed.
In its brief, DPW argues that tbe only issue before us is whether the decision of the Board was supported by the record. We agree with DPW that that order is supported by substantial evidence but since Petitioner has not argued the question of substantial evidence, there is no need to further discuss that issue.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.