Coleman v. Commonwealth, Department of Public Welfare
Coleman v. Commonwealth, Department of Public Welfare
Opinion of the Court
Opinion bv
Petitioner appeals here from a Department of Public Welfare (DPW) decision denying him a special grant in the form of a moving allowance.
After judgment was entered in Municipal Court of the City of Philadelphia against petitioner on July 2, 1979, he was served with a writ of possession on August 10, 1979 giving him fifteen days to vacate his apartment. Petitioner, being a General Assistance recipient at the time, requested a moving allowance from the County Assistance Office (CAO) on August 13, 1979. Upon CAO’s request, petitioner obtained two estimates of the cost of the move from two moving companies. The CAO caseworker also requested that
Tbe DPW regulation at issue here reads in pertinent part :
(3) Other special transportation needs. Actual minimum cost of transportation and necessary related expenses . . . will be authorized ... if any of tbe following circumstances exist:
(i) A client must move . . . because be has received an order to vacate bis present home ... Allowance for transportation will conform with tbe following:
*159 (A) Actual minimum cost of transportation includes transportation of clients and their household effects, not storage, to their new residence and any necessary expenses related to transportation enroute. The most acceptable method of determining actual minimum cost of transportation is to have the client secure bids from PUC-licensed moving companies. Only two bids are required.
(B) ... Payment for transportation will not be made for moves by unlicensed moving companies, except in the following situations:
(I) Moves out of this Commonwealth . . .
(II) Moves by bona fide associations of their members.
(III) Moves by household members.
Section 175.23(b) (3) (i) (A), (B) of the Public Assistance Eligibility Manual (PAEM), 55 Pa. Code §175.23(b) (3) (i) (A), (B).
Petitioner first argues that moving by way of a commercial PUC-licensed mover is not the exclusive means by which DPW will reimburse a recipient’s move; that flexibility is allowed to meet the needs of different recipients and this flexibility should be stretched to include reimbursement for petitioner’s non-PUC-licensed moving company expense. Although it is clear that the regulations provide some flexibility in the manner which a recipient may move and gain reimbursement, see PAEM §175.23(b) (3) (i) (B) and (C), 55 Pa. Code §175.23(b) (3) (i) (B) and (C) , it is also clear that if a commercial mover is chosen, the move will not be reimbursable unless the company is a PUC-licensed one or is the type of move which fits within one of the specified exceptions allowing unlicensed moving companies stated in PAEM §175.23(b) (3) (i) (B)(1), (II), or (III), 55 Pa. Code §175.23(b)(3)(i)(B)(I), (II), or (III). Because peti
Petitioner secondly argues that the CAO was required to assist him immediately when he went into the office on Friday, August 24,1979, (we are not told the hour) and informed him that his request (we are not told what it would be) could be considered on Monday, August 27, 1979. Certainly the law could not expect much less require the CAO to drop everything immediately, putting aside other urgent work, and listen to petitioners then urgent request to assist with a move he had had over 15 days to arrange. Indeed the judgment requiring petitioner to move had been entered July 2,1979, a writ of possession served on August 10, 1979, culminating in the alias writ of possession on August 24, 1979. Petitioner had been advised specifically that a move by Mr. Nock would not be reimbursed and that the CAO could not advance funds for a deposit on a van rental.
Accordingly, we will enter the following
Order
And Now, February 26, 1981, the Final Order of the Department of Public Welfare in case number 7218-754-D, dated November 2, 1979 is hereby affirmed.
Dissenting Opinion
Dissenting Opinion by
I respectfully dissent.
While I cannot fault the Executive Director of the Hearing and Appeals Unit for requiring strict compliance with the regulations of the Department of Public Welfare, I think that those same regulations under the circumstances of this case would require the County Assistance Office to have acted expeditiously on the
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.