Hearing focuses on ex-troopers' retirement pay

51 in lawsuit say $2.1M lost over pension interest rates

Attorneys for 51 former Arkansas troopers who say they were shorted more than $2.1 million in retirement benefits go to court today to argue they are owed that money, plus between $200,000 and $800,000 more representing lost interest.

Aside from that compensation, the troopers also are asking Pulaski County Circuit Judge Mackie Pierce to require the Arkansas State Police Retirement System to pay their legal costs, which could add at least another $421,823 to the tab.

Six retired troopers -- Maj. Cleve Barfield, Cpl. Ricky Briggs, Capt. Loyd Franklin, Capt. Myron Hall, Lt. Glenn Sligh and Sgt. Mack Thompson -- sued the 54-year-old pension program in January 2012 over changes in how interest rates on the state police's Deferred Retirement Option Plan, known colloquially as the Drop, have been calculated.

The original rate calculations were established in 1995 when the program was founded, but they were altered by state law in 2007, when the Legislature handed over authority to set rates to the trustees, and again in 2009 by the trustees, according to the lawsuit.

That final rate change was applied in an unconstitutional manner, the troopers argued, and the judge agreed in May, leaving the question of damages to be settled.

Today's hearing is set for 10 a.m.

The troopers say they're owed at least $2,109,117 but are also entitled to the interest they would have earned. Depending on how the interest rate is calculated, the total would be $2,348,980 to $2,929,900, court filings show.

Four of the plaintiffs say they are each owed between $101,169 and $123,335 pre-interest, while another 11 are each due between $51,756 and $94,358, according to their filings.

Another 32 claim between $12,254 and $49,004 in pre-interest losses, with the remaining four plaintiffs reporting losses of between $2,482 and $9,263.

The plaintiff pool grew to 51 officers after Pierce granted the lawsuit class-action status in October 2013, making eligible any trooper who enrolled in the program before March 2007 and whose benefits were affected by the trustees' 2009 rate change.

Pierce already has rejected an argument from the program and its seven trustees that sovereign immunity shields them from liability.

The defendants can't claim immunity because any damages would be paid for out of the retirement fund, not from state coffers, the judge said.

In that September 2012 decision, Pierce did rule that sovereign immunity prevents the plaintiffs from forcing the system to pay their legal expenses.

The retired troopers contracted with Hot Springs attorney Burt Newell to represent them in exchange for 20 percent of any award if the case is successful in circuit court, or 25 percent of any award if they went on appeal to the Arkansas Supreme Court.

In court filings, Newell argues that the judge should require the program to pay the legal expenses in following a federal precedent that allows plaintiffs who sue the government to be reimbursed to discourage government agencies from engaging in unconstitutional actions, particularly those that deprive people of their property.

The remaining plaintiffs are Dale R. Arnold, James P. Baker, Anthony Baughman, William E. Beach, Charles A. Beall, Lynn T. Benedict, John G. Bishop, Terry L. Bolton, Mitchell E. Carolan, Charles M. Carter, William S. Coleman, Gloria A. Cook, Michael D. Davidson, Rick A. Dickinson, Gordon R. Diffee, Danny L. Ferguson, Dennis M. Fletcher, Gary C. Gray, Lester G. Hankins Jr., Andrew D. Harris Jr., Charles A. Hefner, Robert L. Herron, Charles D. Hyden, Nathaniel Jackson, Dennis Johnson Jr., Bryan D. McAllister, Roger G. McLemore, John W. Morrow, Norman V. Nowlin, Steven W. Pickens, Donald C. Sanders, Kathryn D. Sparks, Jackie D. Speer, James M. Sullivan, Frank E. Tappin, Terry L. Taylor, Robert E. Walker, Charles H. Westerman, Terry C. Whitley, Thomas E. Wicker, Andrew L. Wiley, Morstine Willoughby, Edwin F. Wolfe Jr., Joe L. Wright and Robert R. York.

SundayMonday on 11/30/2015

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