Schmidt v. Sullivan

This is an appeal from the judgment of the district court refusing to disturb the denial of social security disability benefits to the plaintiff. The plaintiff, who is now 65 years old, suffers from coronary artery disease. (Because of his age, his entitlement to disability benefits, if any, is limited to the period between filing the application for benefits and reaching age 65, the social security retirement age. 42 U.S.C. 416(l), 423(a)(1)(B).) Schmidt had a mild heart attack in 1976. At the time he was a senior vice president of Montgomery Ward, supervising more than a hundred retail outlets and earning in excess of $125,000 a year. Wanting a less stressful job, he took early retirement from Montgomery Ward in 1981. Between 1982 and 1986 he first was president of a subsidiary of another retail enterprise and then operated his own consulting business. He stopped working in 1986 after being hospitalized for symptoms caused by his arterial problems. Although he continues to be physically active and even plays handball, he has mild angina pectoris which his doctor believes would become frequent and severe if he returned to a high-stress executive job.