Posted on 03/25/2006 2:51:40 PM PST by NormsRevenge
A judge said this week he is likely to drop five of eight former city and pension officials from a lawsuit San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre filed in an effort to roll back pension benefits he contends the retirement board illegally approved.
Superior Court Judge Steven R. Denton issued a tentative ruling Thursday removing the five officials from a lawsuit Aguirre filed in July.
The lawsuit accuses the eight officials of violating the state's Political Reform Act and contends they had conflicts of interest that should invalidate their role in crafting or approving pension benefit increases in 1996 and 2002.
In a court hearing yesterday, Denton gave both sides 10 days to submit further arguments before he makes a permanent ruling.
Denton left the complaint in place against Lawrence Grissom, the pension system's former administrator; Ron Saathoff, the firefighters union president and a former pension trustee; and Teresa Webster, the former acting city auditor.
The five removed from the suit were Loraine Chapin, the pension system's former general counsel; Bruce Herring, a retired deputy city manager; Cathy Lexin, the city's former human resources director and an ex-pension trustee; John Torres, a city fingerprint analyst and ex-pension trustee; and Sharon K. Wilkinson, a city management analyst and ex-pension trustee.
Denton said in his tentative ruling that he was dropping the five because they did not receive any unique benefits, and therefore did not violate the Political Reform Act.
At yesterday's hearing, Aguirre said he planned to submit additional evidence to the court to buttress the city's case.
But lawyers representing some defendants complained the city was given a chance last year to expand its arguments. Now comes Aguirre, complained one attorney, “begging” for another chance.
Responded Aguirre: “We're not begging. We're just trying to work with a complex situation.”
The eight defendants had filed what's known as a demurrer, which asks a judge to throw out a lawsuit on the basis of certain legal technicalities without challenging the merits of the case itself.
For a year, Aguirre has been trying to force the city to revoke pension benefits granted to city employees in 1996 and 2002.
The city's pension system has a deficit of $1.4 billion, and City Hall is enduring a financial crisis that has led to federal investigations and limited the city's ability to borrow money.
Chapin, Grissom, Lexin, Saathoff and Webster are under federal indictment in connection with the pension underfunding. Lexin, Saathoff, Webster and Wilkinson are also facing state charges of conflict of interest along with Torres and Mary Vattimo, the city's former treasurer.
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