Oley Valley district faces claim for death benefits [Reading Eagle, Pa.]

Oct. 30--The common-law wife of the former superintendent of the Oley Valley School District, who is also running for a seat on the school board, is in a legal tussle with the district over his death benefits.

Dawn E. Zackon, 59, of Oley Township filed a fatal claim petition, which seeks death benefits, with the state Bureau of Workers' Compensation earlier this year. Zackon is the common-law wife of the late Dr. Jeffrey Zackon, the district superintendent who collapsed on the steps of a castle and died while supervising students on a school-sponsored trip to Switzerland on April 20, 2011.

If the petition is approved, the district's insurance provider must pay benefits to Dawn Zackon for the remainder of her life, causing higher insurance costs for the district, school officials said.

The claim does not specify how much money she would receive, but it would be a portion of his $139,000 annual salary, school officials said. Dawn Zackon is retired.

AmeriHealth Casualty, the district's insurance provider, initially denied workers compensation benefits on May 10, 2011, stating the employee did not suffer a work-related injury.

Dawn Zackon filed the fatal claim petition May 2.

A fatal claim petition is filed by the dependent of a deceased employee generally for a workplace fatality in cases when the employer has not voluntarily paid death benefits, medical bills or other workers' compensation benefits. Workers' compensation is provided if an employee suffers an injury on the job, work-related illness or dies from a work-related cause.

Joanne Ludwikowski, an attorney from McCormick Law Firm in Williamsport represents AmeriHealth Casualty Services.

Ludwikowski declined to comment on the case because it is in litigation. Dr. Tracy S. Shank, Oley Valley district superintendent, and district solicitor John M. Stott referred comments on the case to Ludwikowski.

School board member Stephen Burns said if the petition is granted, it will cost the district a substantial amount of money.

"If she wins the claim, and our insurance company is forced to pay out, the Oley Valley School District will likely be paying higher insurance premiums," said Burns, who is not up for re-election this year.

A hearing on the petition was originally scheduled for August but has been postponed several times. It is scheduled for Nov. 18 in Reading.

Dawn Zackon declined to comment on the case because it is pending, but said she was upset it was being discussed so close to the election in which she is seeking a seat on the school board.

"I am running a clean campaign with grace," she said.

Dawn Zackon is one of five candidates vying for the four open seats on the board. The other candidates are incumbents Christopher Hannum, Joanne Ewing and Ralph Richard and former Oley Valley teacher Mary Lou Parry.

Common-law marriage

Jeffrey Zackon first listed Dawn E. Zackon as a dependent on an insurance form for Capital Blue Cross in December 1994, based on documents obtained by the Reading Eagle. Her legal name was listed as Dawn E. Bertolino on his death certificate and her passport in 2011.

The district's medical benefit contract in 1994 stated an eligible dependent must be the subscriber's spouse under a legally valid existing marriage, based on documents obtained by the Reading Eagle.

A common-law marriage is considered legal even if it is not officially declared, said Jill M. Scheidt, an attorney and a partner in the firm of Masano Bradley in Wyomissing. Scheidt is not involved in the case, but spoke generally on the subject of common-law marriage.

Common-law marriage was abolished in Pennsylvania in 2005. However, the law states any common-law marriage entered into prior to 2005 remains valid.

"It's always been tricky with common-law marriage," Scheidt said. "That's one of the reasons the Legislature stopped it. What I have found in my anecdotal experience as a lawyer for 21 years, it's been a mess. Cases are very unclear and cases are expensive. They are litigating this when they have high stakes or some other type of benefit."

In Zackon's case, the common-law marriage was officially declared on June 4, 2012, by Berks County Court, retroactive to July 16, 1988, and deemed "valid for all purposes."

In a court petition, Dawn Zackon, formerly Bertolino, stated that while she and Jeffrey Zackon had dinner at the Oley Valley Inn on July 16, 1988, he pulled a diamond ring from his pocket and said to her: "You are my wife and I am your husband. I love you with my heart and soul."

She said she responded, "Yes, I am your wife and you are my husband. I love you more than words can say."

The couple lived together in Oley Township.

Zackon has already received a check for about $150,000 from Assurant Employee Benefits from Jeffrey Zackon's life insurance plan, according to documents obtained by the Reading Eagle.

Seeking records

In addition to the pending fatal claim petition, Dawn Zackon also filed a complaint with the state Office of Open Records against Shank, the district superintendent.

The complaint stated that Shank did not provide all the information listed in submitted right-to-know requests. The information requested involved the number of grievances filed in the past school year, a list of secretaries in the administration building and their compensation information, and information about students taking online courses that cost the school district money.

In a letter in response to Zackon's request, Shank said some of the information requested was not available.

For the grievances, Shank provided information as to how many there were, but said there was not a written record showing how those numbers compared with those of previous years. Shank provided information about the secretaries, but only had overtime listed in a lump sum, not broken down for each individual. Shank provided the number of students enrolled in online courses, but said the district did not track the specific courses.

The complaint was denied by the office of open records because it was not filed within the specified time frame.

Contact Stephanie Weaver: 610-371-5042 or [email protected].

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