“That was the biggest frustration,” Mark Wilson says. “The moment I realized she technically owed the money, I started trying to figure out what her options were.” ✱ ✱ ✱
photo by: Robert Ross
Cunningham was in her late 50s when her troubles started. Her kidneys were failing and she had to undergo peritoneal dialysis. While it was inconvenient, she maintained her strength and continued to work for the credit and activation division at AT&t Wireless. When her kidney problems worsened, she was put on hemodialysis and could no longer work because the procedure was too draining. She went on long-term disability and started receiving Social Security payments. After about six months, she returned to
peritoneal dialysis, and since she was barely making ends meet with the monthly Social Security checks, she got a part-time job. At the time, she was aware she could only work part time because she was receiving disability. Once she found a job, she let the Social Security Administration know she was earning $9 an hour for 20 hours a week. In 2009 she had a kidney transplant and continued working for as long as she was able. There were some months when there were three pay periods. It was during those times Cunningham made more than she was entitled to, according to Social Security guidelines. If she had to pay that money back, it would have been devastating to Cunningham, now 66. “I would have lost my house,” she says. “I would not have had anywhere else to live.”
{ After a 10-year separation caused by civil war in Somalia, a family was reunited April 16, thanks to successful legal advocacy by members of the Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic at Elon Law. }
LAW CLINICS AT A GLANCE Students put legal theory into practice, gain experience and advocate for clients with financial needs in four free law clinics offered through Elon’s School of Law. Wills Drafting Clinic A part-time clinic that started in 2008 and offers services in estate planning, wills, power of attorney and health-care directives to low-income clients. Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic Started in December 2010 and provides free immigration legal services to refugees, asylum seekers, victims of human trafficking, Cuban and Haitian parolees and special immigrants from Iraq and Afghanistan in North Carolina.
The Elder Law Clinic Opened in August 2012 and offers a range of free civil legal services to low-income Guilford County residents who are 60 years and older. Services include public benefits eligibility and advocacy, long-term care planning, guardianship, consumer protection, divorce, grandparents’ rights and estate planning. Small Business & Entrepreneurship Clinic Started in January 2014 and provides business-related legal services to entrepreneurs and small business owners who can’t afford legal representation. Students review contracts, draft financial documents and licensing agreements, offer human resource advising and assist with regulatory compliance.
For more information about the clinics, visit elon.edu/law. 16 the MAGAZINE of ELON
The first thing law students were able to do was get Cunningham’s monthly payments temporarily reinstated. In addition, Mark Wilson prepared a brief requesting the Social Security Administration waive the debt. But when the semester ended, the issue still wasn’t resolved. Cunningham’s case was handed off to other students. Adam Kerr L’13, who is now practicing law in Greensboro, and his clinic partner, Haley Price L’13, had to resubmit the brief after the Social Security Administration misplaced the first one. “This was pretty significant,” Kerr says. “If it didn’t go the right way, she was going to lose her home.” Rachel Jeanes L’14 picked up the case last summer. She and her clinic partner, Michael Bunch L’14, represented Cunningham at a hearing and argued on her behalf. In September 2013, Cunningham received a letter from Social Security stating the debt had been waived. “I was thrilled with the outcome,” Jeanes says. “We couldn’t ask for a better result.” In order for an overpayment to be waived, a person has to show substantial hardship and that they were not at fault in creating the overpayment. With the clinic’s help, Cunningham was able to show that without continued receipt of her full Social Security income, she would be homeless and have no means to support herself. The clinic was also able to prove that she had accurately reported her part-time income to the Social Security Administration in a timely manner. It wasn’t until nearly four years later that Social Security actually notified Cunningham that she had been overpaid. During most of that overpayment period, Cunningham would have been eligible to collect early retirement benefits. Ultimately, the local Social Security office agreed to treat the debt as uncollectable. However, despite her letters and phone calls, Cunningham was unable to resolve the issue on her own. “In many ways, it was a matter of knowing how to work within the system,” Kerr says. Since receiving assistance from the Elder Law Clinic, Cunningham also was able to get her mortgage refinanced so her monthly payments are now less, a silver lining for Cunningham, who plans to continue living in her home for as long as her health allows. “I am still grateful to them for being able to come through for me,” Cunningham says of the students who worked on her case. “People have more dramatic circumstances. But when you have a problem, your problem seems the biggest to you. They can help a lot of people so I’m glad they are here.”