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ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANTS
Gavin M. Rose ACLU of Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana Jacquelyn Bowie Suess Indianapolis, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEES
Gregory F. Zoeller Attorney General of Indiana David L. Steiner Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

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Indiana Supreme Court
_________________________________ No. 49S02-1107-PL-437 SHEILA PERDUE, ET AL., v.

In the

FILED
Mar 22 2012, 11:13 am
of the supreme court, court of appeals and tax court

CLERK

Appellants (Plaintiffs below),

MICHAEL A. GARGANO,1 ET AL., Appellees (Defendants below). _________________________________ Appeal from the Marion Superior Court, No. 49D10-0803-PL-13340 The Honorable David J. Dreyer, Judge _________________________________ On Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 49A02-1003-PL-250 _________________________________ March 22, 2012 Dickson, Justice.

In this challenge to the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration's (FSSA) automated system of processing claims for Medicaid, Food Stamps, and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) benefits, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and hold that the FSSA's denial notices are insufficiently explanatory but that the FSSA may deny an application

In the trial court and the Court of Appeals, the named defendant-appellee was Anne W. Murphy in her official capacity as the Secretary of the Family and Social Services Administration. Ms. Murphy was succeeded by Michael A. Gargano as Secretary in the intervening time. As such, Mr. Gargano has been automatically substituted for Ms. Murphy as the defendant-appellee pursuant to Indiana Appellate Rule 17(C)(1).

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for Food Stamp benefits when the applicant fails to cooperate in the eligibility determination process. We affirm in part the trial court's grant of Perdue's motion for summary judgment and hold that Sheila Perdue is entitled to reasonable accommodations in applying for benefits but that this does not necessarily require providing a caseworker or case management services.

The plaintiffs brought this class action complaint seeking declaratory and injunctive relief alleging violations of their federal statutory and constitutional rights. The plaintiffs consist of three plaintiff-classes (Class A, Sub-class A, and Class C) and Sheila Perdue individually. The plaintiffs in Class A and Sub-class A allege that the notices used by the FSSA to inform applicants2 for Medicaid, Food Stamp, and TANF benefits of an adverse determination of eligibility violate their rights under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and federal Medicaid regulations.3 These plaintiffs contend that the adverse action notices do not provide a sufficient explanation of the reasons for the FSSA's eligibility determination. The plaintiffs in Class C allege that the FSSA violates federal Food Stamp law when it denies plaintiffs' applications for benefits based upon a determination that the applicant has "failed to cooperate" in the application process.4 These plaintiffs contend that federal law only permits an applicant to be denied benefits for affirmatively "refusing to cooperate." Alternatively, the plaintiffs in Class C claim that, even if the FSSA's grounds for determining that the plaintiffs have "failed to cooperate" in the application process are sufficient to support a determination that the plaintiffs have "refused to cooperate," the FSSA has violated the due process rights of the plaintiffs by providing the incorrect reason for the agency's adverse eligibility determination. Lastly, Sheila Perdue claims that, in discontinuing her Food Stamp and Medicaid benefits, the FSSA violated her rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
For simplicity, "applicant(s)" is used to refer to both first-time applicants seeking initial certification of eligibility and current benefits recipients seeking recertification of eligibility. Adverse determinations are generally termed "denials" for new applicants and are termed "discontinuations" for current beneficiaries. The processes for certification and recertification are described in detail elsewhere in the opinion. 3 Specifically, the plaintiffs claim that the FSSA has violated Title 42, Section 431.205(d) of the Code of Federal Regulations, which pertains to Medicaid. Appellants' Br. at 25 n.11. Section 431.205(d), however, mandates only that the Medicaid hearing procedures comply with "the due process standards set forth by Goldberg v. Kelly, 397 U.S. 254 (1970)." 42 C.F.R.

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