An appellate court denied City Attorney Mike Aguirre’s request on Monday to forego a trial and find that the pension benefits he is challenging are illegal.
Aguirre had argued that his attack on pension upgrades granted to city workers in 1996 and 2002 was solely a matter of law and therefore didn’t require a full jury trial to ferret out fact. But the retirement system and intervening labor unions convinced Judge Jeffrey Barton in July that factual disputes existed. Those disputes are slated to be hashed out in an October trial.
The city attorney reiterated his wish for an expedited ruling by appealing Barton’s decision, but the Fourth District Court of Appeals rejected his request Monday.
Stay tuned this month, as several legal obstacles still exist before trial starts.