Circuit Court Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Flint’s Transfer of Retirement System
The City of Flint has announced that late Friday Genesee County Circuit Court Judge Richard B. Yuille dismissed a lawsuit filed by Plaintiffs Mary Bland and Sherry Murphy, former trustees of the Flint Employee Retiree System (FERS) contesting the City of Flint's transfer of nearly $500 million in retirements assets to the Municipal Employees Retirement System (MERS). The transfer was approved by FERS vote in July 2012.
Plaintiffs had argued that the action went beyond the scope of the Emergency Manager's authority under Public Act 4 and that the City improperly benefited from the transfer of retirement assets. Judge Yuille agreed that the City's position that the Emergency Manager's actions were proper and legal and the the FERS Board executed the transfer to safeguard the long term health of the pension fund and lower the City's administrative costs. Also supporting his holding was the fact that no City retiree experienced a diminishment of benefits or other services as a result of the transfer. The City was representes by Deputy City Attorney Thomas Kent.