Appellate Court Agrees With BBP That Covid-19 Pandemic Did Not Constitute "Extraordinary Circumstance" In Pension Case

Finding that the COVID-19 pandemic did not constitute an extraordinary circumstance for purposes of tolling certain payment requirements in the Illinois Pension Code, the Appellate Court last month affirmed the decision of the Retirement Board of the County Employees’ and Officers’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Cook County (the “Retirement Board”) to deny a retired deputy sheriff's untimely submission of a payment to purchase additional service credit.

Daniel Moreci, a former deputy sheriff, sought to purchase additional service credit consisting of some 1,400 hours of sick time after he retired from the Cook County Sheriff's Department in 2020. Under the relevant section of Article 9 of the Illinois Pension Code, which governs the Cook County Pension Fund (the "Fund"), a participant seeking to purchase additional service credits is required to do so within 30 days from withdrawal from service. It was undisputed that Moreci’s payment was received by the Fund beyond that 30-day time frame. Consequently, the Retirement Board determined that he was not eligible to purchase the credits.

Moreci filed suit against the Retirement Board in the Circuit Court seeking reversal of the Retirement Board’s decision. His principal argument was that the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global business operations and everyday life, constituting an extraordinary circumstance that prevented the timely submission of his payment to the Fund from a third-party custodian directed by him to make the payment.

In affirming the Retirement Board’s decision, the Appellate Court first conducted a thorough analysis of when the doctrine of “equitable tolling” is relevant under Illinois law. It then carefully scrutinized the Retirement Board’s application of the doctrine to the facts before it and found that the COVID-19 pandemic did not constitute an extraordinary circumstance that excused Moreci’s compliance with the statutory deadline. “It was Moreci’s burden to establish that the Illinois doctrine of equitable tolling applied to his claim based on his exercise of due diligence and the fact that an extraordinary circumstance prevented him from timely purchasing his service credits," the Appellate Court wrote. “He did not meet that burden.” The Appellate Court also found persuasive the Retirement Board’s argument that the fact that other participants had successfully used their deferred compensation accounts to timely pay for additional service credits during the pandemic undercut plaintiff’s argument that the pandemic constituted an extraordinary circumstance and that he had exercised due diligence.

BBP partner Vincent D. Pinelli litigated the administrative review case in the circuit and appellate courts with associate Jack T. Grochowski.

Click here for a copy of the full Rule 23 Order: Moreci v. Retirement Board of the County Employees’ and Officers’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Cook County, 2025 IL App (1st) 242373-U