- 48 -
practice” and wanted to know about the severance monetary
benefits available to him. On March 28, 2001, Teplitzky & Co.
informed Dr. Domingo that he needed to establish a severance
event in order to qualify for benefits under the plan and had to
establish to the satisfaction of the plan’s independent fiduciary
that the termination was for good cause within the meaning of New
York State Unemployment Insurance Law. Teplitzky & Co. enclosed
examples of “good cause” under New York law and advised Dr.
Domingo to call Mr. Mamorsky if he had any questions.
On June 17, 2001, Dr. Domingo relayed to the STEP plan
administrator his revised request for severance benefits,
including a formal “Request for Benefit Payments” and an attached
“Reason for Termination of Service”. The revised claim removed
all reference to his prior statement that he had “completely
retired” from his surgical practice. The revised claim stated
that on October 5, 1998, VRD/RTD asked him to terminate his
association with the group effective January 1, 1999, because his
financial contribution to the group was not satisfactory. Dr.
Domingo claimed that his compensation for the last 12-month
period before his termination of service was $323,334.
On July 16, 2001, VRD/RTD mailed to Teplitzky & Co. an
“Employer Request for Payment of Benefits” for Dr. Domingo
listing the date of severance as January 1, 1999, and stating
that the compensation paid to Dr. Domingo for the last 12-month
Page: Previous 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 Next
Last modified: March 27, 2008