William K. Bunyan v. Luis M. Camacho, Don C. Warner, Bertha L. Duenas, Frank C. Cruz and Jesus B. Paulino

This is an appeal from a summary judgment upholding the constitutionality of a Guam statute that grants retroactive retirement credit to local government employees who were Guam residents before they started college. Appellant challenges the district court’s holding that the statute is rationally related to a legitimate governmental purpose. We reverse.

FACTS

In 1978, the Guam Legislature enacted the following statute:

4 Guam Code Ann. § 8113 . Appellant William Bunyan, a high school science teacher who moved to Guam in 1963 after he had already finished college, meets all the statutory requirements for obtaining retroactive retirement credit except that he was not a Guam resident at the time he began his undergraduate studies. He was therefore denied such credit.

Appellant brought a civil rights action against appellees, the members of the Board of Trustees for the Government of Guam Retirement Fund. 42 U.S.C. § 1983 . The complaint alleged that subsection (b) of the statute violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and requested declaratory and injunctive relief. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of appellees, holding that the…