Norma Denton v. United States

Plaintiff Norma Denton appeals from the district court’s denial of her motion for summary judgment and grant of defendant’s motion for summary judgment. We affirm.

This case chronicles the Kafkaesque plight of a hapless citizen whose claims to widow’s benefits regrettably must be denied despite clear evidence that she has been the victim of bureaucratic error.

Appellant is the widow of Lieutenant Colonel Charles K. Denton. In 1962, Lt. Col. Denton transferred to the Retired Reserve of the United States Army, after having completed 28 years of military service with the National Guard. Had he lived, Lt. Col. Denton would have been eligible for retirement pay at age 60; Lt. Col. Denton died in 1975 at age 57. His widow was not entitled to any survivorship benefits because Lt. Col. Denton died before he was eligible to draw retirement pay.

In 1974, Congress amended the Veterans’ Insurance Act to extend coverage under Servicemen’s Group Life Insurance (SGLI) to individuals such as Lt. Col. Denton, who were members of the Retired Reserve of a uniformed service, who had completed at least 20 years of creditable service, but who had not yet received the first increment of retirement…