An email appeared in my box yesterday containing a copy of an October 18, 2010 order from the Oregon Court of Appeals directing the Arken case (and, by implication, the Robinson Case) directly to the Oregon Supreme Court. The Arken/Robinson cases were argued before the Oregon Court of Appeals last month. Instead of ruling on those appeals, the Oregon Court of Appeals wisely decided to fast-track them to the Supreme Court without taking a time for a ruling. They reasoned that both cases pertain to the Supreme Court's own ruling in Strunk and the City of Eugene. Since the Oregon Legislature directed appeals of the Legislative assembly's statutory changes in HB 2003 directly to the Supreme Court, and since these two cases fall directly out of those challenges, the Oregon Court of Appeals felt that the only proper jurisdiction for these cases was the Oregon Supreme Court itself.
I regard this as good news, as it expedites (I hope) the process of litigating these cases. While I still hold to my original prediction of 2012, I am willing to assume that the decision will come sooner in 2012 than I had expected. I don't if there is any more to do with the Oregon Court of Appeals (the White case remains there, but it has a different set of judiciable issues), but I think it is safe to assume that nothing further will be done with Arken and Robinson until the hearings before the Supreme Court, and awaiting the Court's decision. The parties to all the cases will now have to prepare all the appropriate briefing materials for the OSC.
If you want to see a copy of the court's ruling, it should be posted at the PERS Library soon.
3 comments:
There is a certainty irony in this ruling. Note that it is signed by Judge David Brewer. He is the same Judge who provided the background evidentiary report to the Oregon Supreme Court in the aforementioned Strunk Case. If anyone knows how complicated these cases are, he does. I'm appreciative that the OCA decided that there was no value in them ruling on the case when the ultimate ruling would come directly from the Oregon Supreme Court.
Isn't the White case the one regarding the change in the earnings distribution a decade or so ago from 20% to 11.33%
If not, what is it about? If so, why is it taking longer than the other cases and when do you see it being decided?
White case is about the legality of the settlement agreement between PERB and the City of Eugene plaintiffs. It argues that the PERB violated it fiduciary duty to members by entering into an agreement that materially harmed the members whose financial interest they were charged with protecting. It challenges the interest reduction, the use of the Lipcomb method of calculating the variable match, and it challenges the take back methods used by PERS for actives, inactives, and retirees.
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