GAINSHARING LAWSUIT UPDATES

8/11/10: The judge is considering the summary judgment arguments from all of the parties. He should rule before November 2010.

6/25/10:  The summary judgment hearing has moved to 7/2/10 in King County.  The second summary judgment hearing remains on the schedule for 7/9/10.

4/5/10:  The summary judgment hearing dates for the union’s PERS 3 gainsharing lawsuit have been set for June 25, 2010, and July 9, 2010. That’s when oral arguments will be made. A ruling is not expected until August 2010. Appeals are possible. The new trial date will be Nov. 8, 2010. Keep up to date online at www.wfse.org > Legal Center.

12/2/09: A new trial date has been set for May 24, 2010. There will be a summary judgment motion hearing before then, which could affect the new trial date.


9/18/09:  This update supersedes the one from 8/25/09: The summary judgment hearing originally scheduled for Oct. 30 has been stricken. Technically, the Dec. 1 trial date remains, but likely will also not take place. No new dates have been set.

8/25/09:  This update superseded by the one from 9/18/09 above: A summary judgment hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 30, 2009, in King County Superior Court. A new trial date has been set for Dec. 1, 2009; however, that date could change depending on what happens in the summary judgment hearing process and if there are any appeals coming out of those.

3/16/09:  The union's lawsuit to overturn the Legislature's 2007 decision to end gainsharing for PERS 3 and PERS 1 members goes to trial Oct. 27 in King County Superior Court.

A hearing on class certification is March 12. The deadline for alternative dispute resolution is Sept. 24. The deadline for hearing pre-trial motions is Oct. 15.

4/25/08:  A trial date on the Federation’s lawsuit against the repeal of gainsharing has been set for April 6, 2009, in King County Superior Court.

A new judge, King County Superior Court Judge Richard Eadie, will preside.

The Federation’s lawsuit has been consolidated with similar suits brought by the Washington Education Association, the Washington Public Employees Association and another group.

The court has set other significant dates, including March 23, 2009. That’s the last day the judge could hear motions that could dispose of the case.

Attorneys for all the parties are now in the process of discovery, basically getting all the facts. That could take a long time because of the complexity of the case.

The suit aims to restore the gainsharing benefit for PERS 3 and PERS 1 members. The Legislature in 2007 repealed the benefit after one last payout this past January. The other major part of that repeal package was enacting earlier retirement benefits for PERS 2 and PERS 3 members; an enrollee with 30 years of service who has reached age 62 will, starting on July 1, 2008, be able to retire with no reduction in benefit.

So the question you may have is what happens to that earlier retirement feature that goes into effect nine months before the gainsharing lawsuit goes to trial?

Here’s what the Department of Retirement Systems says if the repeal of gainsharing is overturned (see web address for full FAQ at the end of this article):

• Plan 2 and 3 members who retire under the new legislation and who receive at least one retirement payment would keep their benefit as calculated.
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• Plan 2 and 3 members who have not retired, or have retired but have not yet received at least one retirement payment, would be subject to the early retirement factors that were in place before the new law went into effect.
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• PERS 1 retirees would not see an increase to the Uniform COLA if the court overturns the gainsharing repeal law before July 2009.
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• If court action striking down the gainsharing repeal happens after the additional July 2009 increase to the Uniform COLA, the additional increase would not be included in future PERS 1 Uniform COLAs.

For information, go online to these Department of Retirement Systems pages:

http://www.drs.wa.gov/Legislative/2007/HB2391.htm

http://www.drs.wa.gov/Member/Communications/FAQ/gainsharingfaq.htm

4/21/08:  Here are the latest happenings on the gainsharing lawsuit. 

• (For those of you who follow cases on the web, the cause number is 07-2-17203-3SEA.)

A trial date has been set for Monday, April 6, 2009, in King County Superior Court on the lawsuit against the repeal of gainsharing benefits for PERS 3 and PERS 1 members. You may remember that the Federation’s lawsuit was consolidated with similar suits brought by the Washington Education Association, the Washington Public Employees Association and another group.

The court has set other significant dates, such as March 23, 2009, which is the last date the judge could hear motions that could dispose of the case.
Keep in mind, hearing dates are often postponed in cases such as this one.

The parties are still engaged in the discovery process, which is anticipated to be quite lengthy. There has been a change of judge to King County Superior Court Judge Richard Eadie.

The Federation filed the lawsuit in July after the Legislature repealed the gainsharing benefit after one last payment to PERS 3 members in January 2008.

Some of you have asked what effect the court case might have on your retirement. Check out this link at DRS for more information:

http://www.drs.wa.gov/Legislative/2007/HB2391.htm