Staniforth

Plaintiff Fay Staniforth filed this action, on behalf of herself and similarly situated persons (collectively pensioners), alleging numerous claims against defendant and respondent the Judges’ Retirement System (JRS). The principal claim raised by pensioners’ action was that JRS had not adhered to its obligations to pensioners under Olson v. Cory (1980) 27 Cal.3d 532 [ 178 Cal.Rptr. 568 ; 636 P.2d 532 ] {Olson I) and, as a result, pension payments stretching back over three decades had been underpaid to pensioners (Olson I claims). This action sought a declaratory judgment that, under Olson I, jurists who served on California’s trial court or appellate court bench during the time Government Code section 68203 provided for unlimited cost-of-living adjustments (COLA’s) were entitled to have their (or their surviving beneficiaries’) pensions adjusted upward based on the applicable COLA for each year, and that the cap on the amount of COLA’s (enacted by legislation that amended § 68203 and took effect on Jan. 1, 1977) could not constitutionally be applied to pensions earned by jurists who served on California’s trial court or appellate court bench during the time that section…