Donald H. Johnson; Juanita L. Johnson; Eugene v. Mariani

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
No. 01-3774
DONALD H. JOHNSON; JUANITA L. JOHNSON;
EUGENE V. MARIANI; DOROTHY MARIANI;
MARY LOU FLEMING; WILLIAM R. FLEMING;
WILLIAM C. SCHAIBLE; PHYLLIS R. SCHAIBLE,
by her Court Appointed Guardian;
LOIS BENEDETTO; GERALD BENEDETTO;
DONNA R. BANKS; CHARLES V. BANKS, Estate of;
RAYMOND O. DENMAN, JR.; FRANCES C. DENMAN;
CHARLES N. HICKS; MARIE L. HICKS;
ANN B. SILBERNAGEL; NORMAN V. SILBERNAGEL;
ANNA PRYSTASCH; STANLEY PRYSTASCH;
MARY M ACKRON; ANTHONY MACKRON, Estate of;
JANET WHALON; HAROLD B. WHALON, JR.;
BERNADINE WEISER; RICHARD C. WEISER;
GRACE LAFORGE; BLACE LAFORGE; JOHN FILLMORE;
MARY FILLMORE; JOHN DOE, (1-5 fictitious names);
JANE DOE, (1-5 fictitious names);ROBERT GROSS;
GEORGE ALLEN; Social Services;
THOMAS KOELHOFFER; FRANCES KOELHOFFER;
WILLIAM KELLY; KATHRYN KELLY;
MARCELLA FINKEL; JACK FINKEL; EDNA ALLEN;
WILLARD NICKERSON; ETHEL NICKERSON;
GERALDINE ANN SAHL; GEORGE J. SAHL;
MARGARET BAKERIAN; VASGEN BAKERIAN;
CHARLES DERROT; LOUISE DERROT;
MIGUEL OBREGON; ONELIA OBREGON;
ROY W. MCDOWELL; JUNE M. MCDOWELL;
JOSEPH MEZZO; CARMELLA MEZZO;
MATHILDA GROSS
v.
MICHELLE K. GUHL, Commissioner; STATE OF
NEW JERSEY, DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES,
MARGARET A. MURRAY, Director, Division of
Medical Assistance and Health Service;

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JOHN ROE, (1-5 fictitious names) their
agents, servants, employees, and/or
assigns, jointly, severally or in the
alternative; EDWARD TESTA, Director,
Bergen County Board of Social Services;
ELIZABETH LEHM ANN, Director, Morris
County Board of Social Services;
JAM ES WILLIAM S, Director, Essex County
Board of Social Services; JANE ROE,
Director, ABC County Board of Social
Services, (1-5 fictitious names);
ESSEX COUNTY BOARD OF CHOSEN FREEHOLDERS
ESSEX COUNTY BOARD OF SOCIAL SERVICES;
Donald H. Johnson, Juanita L. Johnson,
William C. Schaible, Phyllis R. Schaible,
Charles N. Hicks, Marie L. Hicks,
Ann B. Silbernagel, Norman V. Silbernagel,
Anna Prystasch, Stanley Prystasch,
Appellants
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of New Jersey
(D.C. Civil Action No. 99-cv-05403)
District Judge: Honorable Dennis M. Cavanaugh
Argued April 22, 2003
Before: SCIRICA, AM BRO and W EIS, Circuit Judges
(Opinion filed February 6, 2004 )
Donald M. McHugh, Esquire (Argued)
McHugh & Macri
49 Ridgedale Avenue
East Hanover, NJ 07936

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National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
New Jersey Chapter
Eugene Rosner, Esquire
1093 Raritan Road
Clark, NJ 07066
Attorneys for Appellants
David Samson
Attorney General of New Jersey
Michael J. Haas
Assistant Attorney General
M. Elizabeth Doyle (Argued)
Deputy Attorney General
Office of Attorney General of New Jersey
Division of Law, P.O. Box 112
R. J. Hughes Justice Complex
25 Market Street
Trenton, NJ 08625
Edwin C. Eastwood, Jr., Esquire
Law Offices of Edwin C. Eastwood, Jr.
723 Kennedy Boulevard
North Bergen, NJ 08047
Daniel W. O’Mullan
O’Mullan & Brady
57 Whippany Road
Whippany, NJ 07981
Attorneys for Appellees
ORDER AMENDING PUBLISHED OPINION
AM BRO, Circuit Judge
It is now ordered that the published Opinion in the above case filed
February 6, 2004, be amended as follows:

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On page 3, second column, first full paragraph, line 4, move the apostrophe
in “spouse’s” after the second “s”, so that it reads “spouses’”.
On page 5, second column, first full paragraph, line 9, delete the word “an”
and add an “s” to the word “exception” so that the phrase reads, “...right to apply for
undue hardship exceptions.”
On page 7, second column, line 9, delete the words “the individual”, so that
the phrase reads, “the benefit of [the institutionalized spouse...”.
On page 11, first column, line 8, insert the word “as” between “treat” and
“countable” so that the phrase reads, “...and instead could have chosen to treat as
countable assets in any annuities”.
By the Court,
/s/ Thomas L. Ambro, Circuit Judge
Dated: March 26, 2004

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