Blumberg vs. Dept. of Human Svcs.

Frederic Blumberg ("Blumberg") filed a petition against his wife in the Sumner County Circuit Court, seeking all his wife's marital assets and an increase in his minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance. On September 16, 1998, the Sumner County Circuit Court issued an Order requiring Mrs. Blumberg to pay as support for the benefit of Mr. Blumberg, all of her monthly income. Subsequently, Blumberg applied for Medicaid benefits on behalf of Mrs. Blumberg, administered by the Tennessee Department of Human Services ("DHS"), for which he was approved. On October 26, 1998, Blumberg received notice from DHS that his request for an income allocation was denied. Thereafter, Blumberg requested an administrative hearing appealing the denial of spousal allocations. On December 8, 1998, an administrative hearing with DHS was held, and Blumberg's appeal was denied. The Chancery Court affirmed the decision of the DHS, finding that the support order was not validly adjudicated because of lack of notice to DHS. This appeal followed.