HLGR Attorneys Help Secure Decision Resulting in Substantial Savings for PERS Employers

On October 6, 2011, the Oregon Supreme Court issued its decision in Arken v. City of Portland et al and Robinson v. Public Employees Retirement Board, holding that the Public Employees Retirement Board (PERB) is acting lawfully to correct the retirement benefits received by certain PERS retirees who benefited from the prior Board’s unlawful distribution of 1999 PERS Fund earnings. Based on the efforts of HLGR Attorneys Bill Gary, Sharon Rudnick, and Bob Steringer, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that PERB is entitled to end the overpayments going forward and to recover overpayments that have already been made. The court concluded that it would be a breach of PERB’s fiduciary duty to permit some PERS retirees to receive and keep overpayments at the expense of other, current PERS members. This decision results in direct and substantial savings to all PERS employers, and enables PERB to save or recoup approximately $800 million — all of which bodes well for the soundness of Oregon’s PERS system into the future.

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