Decision  Sheeran v. MTRS, CR-25-0272

Date:	05/23/2025
Organization:	Division of Administrative Law Appeals
Docket Number:	CR-25-0272

• Petitioner: Julianne Sheeran
• Respondent: Massachusetts Teachers’ Retirement System
• Administrative Magistrate: Yakov Malkiel

Order of Dismissal

Petitioner Julianne Sheeran appeals from a decision of the Massachusetts Teachers’ Retirement System (MTRS) denying her request to participate in the benefits program known as Retirement Plus.  See G.L. c. 32, § 5(4).

Appeals from the decisions of the retirement boards are required to be filed “within fifteen days of notification of [the] . . . decision.” G.L. c. 32, 16(4).  This statutory rule is “jurisdictional,” Oxford v. Lawrence Ret. Bd., No. CR-18-5, 2023 WL 11806166 (Contributory Ret. App. Bd. May 17, 2023), meaning that “the reviewing [tribunal] has . . . no authority to enlarge the appeal period,” Commonwealth v. Claudio, 96 Mass. App. Ct. 787, 792 (2020), or to take any action other than dismissing the appeal, Phone Recovery Servs. v. Verizon of New England, 480 Mass. 224, 230 (2018).

MTRS notified Ms. Sheeran of its decision in late January 2025.  She filed her notice of appeal in mid-April 2025, approximately two months late. A prior order therefore directed Ms. Sheeran to show cause why the appeal should not be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.  She was advised that her failure to respond would result in prompt dismissal.

Ms. Sheeran has filed nothing further.  Her deadline has expired.  It is therefore ORDERED that this appeal is DISMISSED.^[1]

Division of Administrative Law Appeals

/s/ Yakov Malkiel

Yakov Malkiel
Administrative Magistrate

[1] For reasons explained briefly in the order to show cause, it also does not appear that Ms. Sheeran possesses a viable claim on the merits.