Board of Retirement v. Superior Court

A retired county employee receiving a disability allowance commits a crime and is ordered to make restitution to the victim. The county retirement system is maintained under the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 (CERL). (Gov. Code, § 31450 et seq.) If the retired employee fails to make restitution, can the trial court order the county retirement system to deduct restitution payments from the employee’s disability allowance? The answer is no. Although the victim has a constitutional and statutory right to restitution, the trust funds held for the employee are afforded constitutional and statutory protections as well. These protections have not been repealed by implication. As we shall explain, they can be harmonized with the victim’s right to restitution. Accordingly, we issue a writ of mandate directing the trial court to set aside its order requiring the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (LACERA) to deduct restitution payments from the disability allowance of real party in interest Teresia O’Riley.

Facts and Procedural History

O’Riley is a retired member of LACERA, which pays her a monthly disability allowance of $1,950. She was convicted of…