JEFFERSON CITY — The state of Missouri has agreed to pay $21 million to blind residents who were underpaid from a state safety net fund.
Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley announced the settlement March 1, and all parties agreed to ask a judge to approve the settlement in a March 30 hearing.
The agreement would end a 10-yearlong court battle between the state and the Missouri Council of the Blind and other plaintiffs over payments from the Blind Pension Fund. The fund was created in 1921 to provide monthly benefits to blind Missourians and is funded by the state.
The lawsuit began in 2006 over allegations that Missouri Department of Social Services and the Family Support Division incorrectly calculated how much money recipients were supposed to get each month. This settlement includes $11.4 million toward the underpayments plus $9.5 million in interest.
Both sides agreed they are pleased the long court battle is done.
“This issue has been drawn out for over ten years and I am pleased an agreement has been reached without having to delay the issue any longer in court,” Hawley said in a statement.
Denny Huff, president of the Missouri Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired, expressed relief the case is over.
“This has been a frustrating case for MCB," he said. "We felt as though this should have been settled several years ago but, as you know, it took almost 12 years to reach a settlement. We are very relieved that the case has been settled and that the blind pension recipients will finally receive the money they were entitled to.”
The court had ordered a settlement of $5 million more, but Huff says MCB settled for this amount to expedite the start of payments.
“We could have stayed with the full amount but the state most likely would have appealed once again,” Huff said. “We probably would have won the appeal but that would have meant that it would be another two years before it was settled.”
If a judge approves the deal, pensioners will start receiving money early next year.
Huff went on to say there were a lot of doubters about MCB’s ability to win the case.
“We felt as though the recipients needed someone to stand up for them and fight for what was right,” he said. “Many of the recipients of the blind pension depend on this income for their livelihood and to short them even a few dollars each month meant they had to decide to either buy food or medication.”
As to why the state finally decided to settle the case after more than a decade, Huff could only speculate.
“My personal opinion on why the state settled now after such a long battle is that Hawley wanted it closed out and have it done on his watch,” he said. “Was politics involved? I am sure it was, but again, that’s only my opinion.”