East Lyme- The state Supreme Court has ruled in the town's favor in a lawsuit brought by a constable who was trying to receive the same heart and hypertension benefits as police officers.
The ruling was a defeat for Edward Genesky, an inactive East Lyme constable who initially filed a disability claim through the Workers' Compensation Commission.
James Berryman represented the town in Genesky v. Town of East Lyme, while the case made its way through the commission and the Compensation Review Board. Berryman's colleague at Suisman Shapiro, Michael Carey, argued on behalf of the town when the case reached the state Supreme Court in October 2004.
Berryman, who usually represents claimants, said, "Mr. Genesky has some very serious cardiac problems," problems which led Genesky to file a heart and hypertension claim under state statutes.
In 1977, the General Assembly passed legislation that provided benefits for policemen and firemen disabled by heart disease or hypertension.
Nearly 20 years later, in 1996, the General Assembly repealed the law, but grandfathered-in those who were hired as of July 1 of that year.
Genesky began working for the East Lyme Police Department in 1988 and became a full-time employee the following year.
On behalf of the town, Berryman argued that the heart and hypertension statute did not apply to constables. He based his argument on Zimmer v. Essex.
Charles Zimmer was a constable in Essex, who, diagnosed with heart disease, was unable to work. He filed for heart and hypertension benefits, a claim that was denied by the Workers' Compensation Commission and the Compensation Review Board. Both decided he was ineligible for the supplemental benefit because he was not a member of a municipal police department.
In 1982, Zimmer's case went to the appellate session of the state Superior Court, which agreed with both the commission and board.
Talking about the state Supreme Court's decision against Genesky in August, Berryman said, "The long and short of it is, everybody upheld Zimmer."
Kenneth DeLorenzo is a staff attorney with the police union.
"I think the Supreme Court was wrong in its judgment," DeLorenzo said. "These constables are real police officers."
That was the argument that Genesky's lawyer, Nathan Shafner, made on his client's behalf, according to Berryman and Harry Calmar, an attorney at Suisman Shapiro, who represents the town on labor issues.
"Nathan (Shafner) was trying to overturn Zimmer," Calmar said. "And we were trying to uphold it."
Neither Genesky nor Shafner returned calls for comment.
To Berryman, the language of the statute is clear and was never meant to include constables.
"Why wasn't there some bill introduced to amend it (after Zimmer)?" he asked.
East Lyme Resident State Trooper Sgt. Michael Collins said Genesky is "not an active member of this department," and that, "He is not a policeman in this town."
Paul Renshaw, president of the town's police union, said, "We don't ever expect (Genesky) to come back to work because of his disability."