Lowdown

There is considerable debate, speculation, and prediction afloat about what, exactly, Judge Kantor meant in his recent ruling in the Arken and Robinson cases. In an effort to get the lowdown from one of the attorneys involved in the Arken case - Greg Hartman - I dropped him an email this morning. Greg was kind enough to respond and give me some general answers about what is coming down the line. Obviously we are not alone in being unclear about some elements of the ruling. Hartman (and Coon?) are trying to schedule a hearing with Judge Kantor in order to clarify some of the issues under discussion. From the looks of things, this hearing will be scheduled sometime in the early part of August. The plan is to submit a proposed order that would clarify a number of issues relating to the "scope of the ruling." In addition, Hartman shared with me that he believed Judge Kantor had ruled that 14(b) (the "exclusive remedy") precludes the application of 238.715. He observed "...even if it turns out that the alternatives provided in 14(b) don't work that does not mean that the legislature's decision to limit the application of 238.715 can be attacked." He also remarked that there were a number of issues in Arken that were independent of Robinson and 14b and that he hopes to "encourage" Judge Kantor to address them. In short, it is probably the case that the debate, speculation, and prediction will remain ongoing (or not) until the outcome of August's hearing is known. Once the date of the hearing is known, I will let people know. It would be encouraging to have retirees once again pack Judge Kantor's courtroom.