Respers

Plaintiff Ella Respers appeals from a judgment denying her petition for writ of mandate (Code Civ. Proc., § 1094.5). Plaintiff sought to compel respondent University of California Retirement System (hereafter UCRS) to set aside its decision denying disability benefits.

On appeal plaintiff contends: (1) the trial court should have reviewed UCRS’s decision using the independent judgment test rather than the substantial evidence test; (2) the UCRS Board (hereafter Board) abused its discretion by rejecting the findings of its hearing officer as to the credibility of evidence and witnesses; (3) assuming the substantial evidence test applies, the Board’s decision is not supported by substantial evidence; and (4) the Board failed to make findings sufficient to enable appellate review of its decision.

We conclude the last of plaintiff’s contentions has merit. We therefore reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand with directions that a peremptory writ of mandate issue commanding the Board to vacate its decision and to make findings sufficient to support its decision and facilitate judicial review. We also conclude that, on any judicial review following remand, the…