Rosa A. Camacho v. Nmi Settlement Fund

STATEMENT OF FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

Article III, section 20(a) of the Commonwealth Constitution provides: “Membership in an employee retirement system of the Commonwealth shall constitute a contractual relationship. Accrued benefits of this system shall be neither diminished nor impaired.” N. Mar. I. Const. art. III, § 20(a).

CAMACHO V. NMI SETTLEMENT FUND

The question here is whether, under § 20(a), Plaintiff acquired an “accrued” benefit, in the form of COLAs, because of her status as a Class II member of the Retirement Fund. 1 Today, two sections of the Northern Mariana Island’s Code bear on the granting of COLAs to Class II members: 1 Northern Mariana Islands Code section 8344, which addresses retirement annuities for Class II members, and 1 Northern Mariana Islands Code section 8358, which covers annual cost-of-living increases generally. 2 We will trace the development of those provisions and the timeline of Plaintiff’s membership before summarizing this action’s procedural history. A. History of COLAs and of Plaintiff’s Membership in the Retirement Fund The Commonwealth created the Retirement Fund in 1980. 1980 N. Mar. I. Pub. L. 1-43 §§ 1, 3…