DLEG Unemployment Insurance Agency v Darden – 18.15

By | October 22, 2004

DLEG Unemployment Insurance Agency v Darden
Digest no. 18.15

Section 62(a)

Cite as: DLEG Unemployment Ins Agency v Darden, unpublished opinion of the Oakland County Court, issued October 22, 2004 (Docket No. 04-059568-AE).

Appeal pending: No
Claimant: Yvonne Darden
Employer: Mastanuono & Assoc., Inc.
Docket no.: FSC2004-00036-173164W
Date of decision: October 22, 2004

View/download the full decision

CIRCUIT COURT HOLDING: When adjudicating whether the Agency has jurisdiction to issue a determination or redetermination requiring restitution, the 3-year limitation provision of Section 62(a) is applicable, not the 1-year period contained in Section 32a(2).

FACTS: The Agency issued a redetermination November 25, 2003 requiring restitution for benefits improperly paid for 5 weeks ending in November 2002. The Board of Review held that under Section 32a(2) the Agency did not have jurisdiction to issue the redetermination on November 25, 2003 because more than one year had passed since the unemployment checks had been issued and there was no finding of fraud on claimant’s part.

DECISION: The Agency may pursue the recovery of restitution.

RATIONALE: When two statutes cover the same general subject matter, the more specific statute must prevail over the more general statute. MESC v Westphal, 214 Mich App 261 (1995). The 3-year provision of Section 62(a) takes precedence over the 1-year provision of Section 32a(2) because Section 62(a) is more specific.

Digest Author: Board of Review (original digest here)
Digest Updated: 11/04