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Contracts Keyed to Barnett
Ortelere v. Teachers’ Retirement Board of New York
Citation:
25 N.Y.2d 196, 250 N.E.2d 460, 303 N.Y.S.2d 362, 1969 N.Y. 1673Facts
Grace Ortelere was a 60-year-old teacher with 40 years of service who had been on sick leave for several months due to depression and was receiving psychiatric treatment. In October 1964, she changed her retirement benefits election from a reduced payment with survivorship benefits for her husband to a maximum payment with no survivorship benefits. She was hospitalized for mental illness in February 1965, and died in April 1965. Medical evidence indicated she suffered from cerebral arteriosclerosis and senile brain disease, and her psychiatrist testified that she was incapable of making a rational decision about her retirement benefits. The Retirement Board had been informed of her condition through medical reports submitted for her sick leave.
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