George F. Delno v. Anthony J. Celebrezze, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare

This is an appeal from a summary judgment sustaining a decision of the Appeals Council of the Social Security Administration which denied appellant' Delno’s application for old-age insurance benefits under section 202(a) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C.A. § 402 (a).

Appellant and his wife purchased an undivided one-half interest in a thirty-unit apartment house in 1956, and entered into a contract for the operation of the property with the couple owning the other one-half interest. It was agreed that income and operating expenditures would be divided equally between the two couples. Appellant was to “act as manager of said property and apartment house, collecting the rents and accounting for all income and expenditures.” In addition to his share of profits, he was to be paid $300 per month, later increased to $400, “as an operating expense * * * when the operation shows a net profit to the parties thereto.”

The general purpose of the old-age, survivor and disability insurance provisions of Title II of the Social Security Act is to protect workers and their dependents from the risk of loss of income due to the insured’s old age, death, or disability. Accordingly, entitlement…