Tag: Rhode island Supreme Court

Lawyers Meet With Judge As Jury Trial in Rhode Island Pension Lawsuit Nears

Rhode IslandThe long-running lawsuit over Rhode Island’s 2011 pension reforms is set to begin on April 20.

Lawyers will eventually argue the law’s constitutionality in front of a jury. But on Tuesday, the lawyers met with the judge presiding over the case to hammer out scheduling matters as the pretrial process continues.

From WPRI:

Lawyers on both sides of the high-stakes lawsuit challenging Rhode Island’s landmark 2011 state pension overhaul met with the judge behind closed doors Tuesday morning as the pretrial process continued.

John Tarantino, a lawyer representing the state, told WPRI.com the jury trial is still on track to begin April 20, as ordered by R.I. Superior Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter last month.

[…]

Tarantino said Taft-Carter scheduled four pretrial hearings in the suit during Tuesday’s status conference: for Feb. 6, on motions by various municipalities to be removed as defendants; for Feb. 20, on motions to consolidate; for March 6, for advance rulings about the trial; and for March 27, on dispositive motions.

At Tuesday’s status conference, more than two dozen lawyers involved in the case spent about forty minutes meeting with Taft-Carter in a closed courtroom to work through scheduling matters. Taft-Carter made no rulings in the case on Tuesday. She previously said the process for discovery of evidence will end on March 15.

Taft-Carter had previously set a Sept. 15 trial date for the suit but scrapped it as the sides got tied up in pretrial matters.

It’s highly likely the outcome in Superior Court will be appealed to the R.I. Supreme Court no matter which side wins. However, state and union leaders say there is also growing momentum in favor of making another attempt to end the suit with an out-of-court settlement. Raimondo has said she is still open to settling but does not want to change the terms of the settlement agreement that failed last year.

The lawsuit was originally filed in June of 2012 by hundreds of retirees and union members who argue that the state’s reforms aren’t constitutional.

 

Photo credit: “Flag-map of Rhode Island” by Darwinek – self-made using Image:Flag of Rhode Island.svg and Image:USA Rhode Island location map.svg. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Jury Will Hear Rhode Island Pension Lawsuit; Trial Set for April

Rhode Island map and flagA Rhode Island judge sided with the state on Tuesday when she ruled that a jury will hear the lawsuit over the state’s 2011 pension reforms.

More details from WPRI:

Taft-Carter said that while she disagreed with state lawyers’ arguments that they had a constitutional right to a jury trial in the pension case, she would use her discretion to grant a jury trial in light of what she said is the Rhode Island Supreme Court’s long-stated preference for using juries.

“Being mindful of the importance of a jury trial in this country, and our Supreme Court’s expressed preference in favor of having questions of facts to be tried before a jury even where equitable claims are involved, the court is satisfied that these cases should be properly tried before a jury,” Taft-Carter said from the bench.

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R.I. Superior Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter read her lengthy decision about the jury trial from the bench Tuesday morning at Newport County Superior Court, where she is currently assigned to hear cases. She announced the trial date after conferring with lawyers from both sides in a closed-door status conference.

At stake is whether Rhode Island legislators acted constitutionally three years ago when they reduced future retirement benefits to shave roughly $4 billion off the shortfall in the state’s pension fund for government workers and taxpayers.

Reactions from lawyers on both sides of the case:

John Tarantino, a lawyer for the state, said he was pleased by Taft-Carter’s decision but that it was too early to say when jury selection would take place or how many jurors there would be. “We think a jury should decide it,” he told reporters. “I’m a big believer in jury trials.”

Lawyers for the union plaintiffs declined to comment on the state’s legal victory Tuesday.

[…]

Tarantino and the other lawyers representing Gov. Lincoln Chafee and General Treasurer Gina Raimondo argued in court filings that the state, as a defendant, has a constitutional right to a jury trial and should be allowed to have jurors decide the case, rather than just Taft-Carter ruling on her own. The lawyers representing the unions and retirees opposed the idea, saying it didn’t fit the legal issues at hand.

The state’s 2011 pension reforms were especially controversial because they applied to all workers and retirees, not just new hires.