CHARLESTON — A man says the Charleston Firefighter's Pension and Relief Fund and the West Virginia Municipal Pension Oversight Board for allegedly calculating his pension wrong.
Paul Harrison was a firefighter for Charleston for 19 years received a work-related disability pension made effective on April 16, 2016, according to a complaint filed in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Harrison claims the defendants did not calculate his pension benefit by the previously used method and instead, used another method. He claims he appealed the decision in 2020 and the appeal was denied. He then appealed that decision to the court, which was dismissed because the court found that it did not have jurisdiction.
Harrison claims he then filed the declaratory judgment action.
"Petitioner, through counsel, provided notice to the Municipal Pension Oversight Board by letter dated July 23, 2023, to Board Chairman Stephen G. Neddo that this suit would be filed," the complaint states.
Harrison is seeking for the court to declare that the defendants must follow prior policy in calculating his pension benefit and to pay back benefits and interest. He is represented by Andrew J. Katz of the Katz Working Families Law Firm in Charleston.
The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Jim Rowe.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 23-C-957
