Garney v. Massachusetts Teachers’ Retirement System (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-143-14)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us SJC-11493 RONALD T. GARNEY vs. MASSACHUSETTS TEACHERS’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM. Worcester. April 10, 2014. – August 18, 2014. Present: Ireland, C.J., Spina, Cordy, Botsford, Gants, Duffly, & Lenk, JJ.[1] Retirement. Public Employment, Forfeiture of retirement benefits. School and School Committee, Retirement benefits. Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on January 14, 2010. The case was heard by John S. McCann, J., on motions for judgment on the pleadings. The Supreme Judicial Court on its own initiative transferred the case from the Appeals Court. Robert G. Fabino (James H. Salvie, Special Assistant Attorney General, with him) for the defendant. Michael C. Donahue for the plaintiff. CORDY, J. This case concerns the scope of the pension forfeiture requirement of G. L. c. 32, § 15 (4), and specifically whether forfeiture is warranted where a teacher has engaged in criminal activity that endangers children generally, but does not involve the students whom he taught, the school district for which he worked, or the use of his status as a teacher. The plaintiff, Ronald T. Garney, a ninth grade science teacher, was arrested in 2006 for the purchase and possession of child pornography. Shortly after his arrest, he received notice that he would be dismissed from his position for conduct unbecoming a teacher and resigned prior to his dismissal. He subsequently pleaded guilty to purchasing and possessing child pornography. In August, 2007, when he reached retirement age, Garney filed a retirement application with the defendant, the Massachusetts Teachers’ Retirement System (MTRS), and received retirement benefits until 2009, when the MTRS board (board) issued a decision concluding that Garney’s benefits were forfeited by operation of G. L. c. 32, § 15 (4), due to his convictions.[2] A District Court judge affirmed the board’s decision, and Garney petitioned for certiorari review in the Superior Court pursuant to G. L. c. 249, § 4. A Superior Court judge reversed the decision of the District Court and vacated the decision of the board. MTRS appealed, and we transferred its appeal to this court on our own motion. Although cognizant of the severity of the offenses of which Garney was convicted, we conclude that on the specific facts of this case, those offenses neither directly involved his position as a teacher nor contravened a particular law applicable to that position, and therefore did not come within the forfeiture provision of […]
Categories: News Tags: 1014314, Garney, Lawyers, massachusetts, Retirement, System, Teacher's, Weekly
Massachusetts Teachers’ Retirement System v. Contributory Retirement Appeal Board, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-162-13)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us SJC‑11287 MASSACHUSETTS TEACHERS’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM vs. CONTRIBUTORY RETIREMENT APPEAL BOARD & another.[1] Suffolk. May 6, 2013. ‑ August 28, 2013. Present: Ireland, C.J., Spina, Cordy, Botsford, Gants, Duffly, & Lenk, JJ. Contributory Retirement Appeal Board. Retirement. Public Employment, Retirement. School and School Committee, Retirement benefits. Interest. Administrative Law, Regulations, Agency’s interpretation of regulation, Agency’s interpretation of statute. Regulation. Statute, Construction. Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on August 20, 2010. The case was heard by Janet L. Sanders, J., on a motion for judgment on the pleadings. The Supreme Judicial Court on its own initiative transferred the case from the Appeals Court. James C. O’Leary (James H. Salvie, Special Assistant Attorney General, with him) for the plaintiff. Kirk G. Hanson, Assistant Attorney General, for Contributory Retirement Appeals Board. Timothy J. Smyth, for Boston Retirement Board, amicus curiae, submitted a brief. DUFFLY, J. We are called upon to settle a dispute between two administrative agencies, the Massachusetts Teachers’ Retirement System (MTRS) and the Contributory Retirement Appeal Board (CRAB), concerning the validity of a regulation promulgated by MTRS. James T. Walsh had been a professional electrician for many years when, in 1980, he was certified by the Department of Education to teach in his occupational field. In October, 1987, he began full-time employment at a vocational school and became a member of MTRS. In December, 2005, before the effective date of his retirement the following June, Walsh applied to MTRS to increase his anticipated retirement allowance by adding to his “creditable service” (his years of service as a member of MTRS) through the “buyback” of three years of creditable service, based on his work experience as an electrician. Walsh sought credit for service performed from February 1, 1977, through January 31, 1980. This buyback required Walsh to pay certain “makeup payments” into the annuity savings fund of MTRS, in accordance with a formula set forth in G. L. c. 32, § 4 (1) (h1/2) (trade service credit statute). That statutory formula calls for “buyback interest” to be paid on such makeup payments. Pursuant to 807 Code Mass. Regs. § 14.05 (2005), a regulation promulgated by MTRS, MTRS assessed buyback interest to commence as of February 1, 1977, the beginning of the three-year period for which Walsh sought trade service credit. […]
Categories: News Tags: 1016213, Appeal, Board, Contributory, Lawyers, massachusetts, Retirement, System, Teacher's, Weekly
How Do You Feel About The New T Alerts System?
The MBTA launched its new alerts system Tuesday, and as promised the alerts are detailed and timely, but depending on what you clicked when you signed up, you may be bombarded with emails or texts. The service offers a variety of clickable options and you can opt in or opt out as you please. In the early going, have you found the new service helpful, or are you busy deleting unwanted emails and avoiding your phone’s texts? Tell us in the comments. South End Patch
Mayor Menino: Don’t Let Candidates ‘Tear This School System Down’
Mayor Tom Menino cautioned Boston residents not to focus on negative portrayals of the Boston Public School system as the city’s mayoral race heats up. Speaking at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new playground at Harvard-Kent Elementary School in Charlestown on May 10, Menino touted the progress public schools have made in recent years and asked residents not to allow anyone to “tear this school system down” in the coming months. “We’ve made a lot of progress in the Boston Public Schools in the last several years. It’s because of a lot of reasons—teachers, principals, the superintendent, the community—and I tell you, the graduation rate is up, dropout rates are down, more kids are going on to college,” Menino said. He spoke of how the schools work to educate every child, from every background and learning level. “Don’t let anybody over the next several months, as this campaign heats up, tear this school system down. This is a great school system. We’re not perfect, but with the new assignment plan we can make that happen,” Menino said. “To all of you out there: Stay positive about what’s happening in the schools. The most important thing we can do in our society today is to educate our children, and I think over the last few years we’ve done an incredible job. We have some ways to go. Don’t have this become an issue of tearing down the schools, because these kids out here are the future of our city.” Menino also spoke highly of Boston Public Schools Superintendent Carol Johnson, a Charlestown resident, who recently announced she will be retiring at the end of the school year. “She has done a remarkable job for the young people of our city over the last several years—driving up test scores and graduation rates, improving access to the arts and making projects like [the Harvard-Kent schoolyard] an important part of learning,” Menino said. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Mass. To Install High Speed, Cashless Toll System
Want less waiting in line and sifting for loose change on the Mass Pike? According to state transportation officials, you’ll soon get your wish. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation will install electronic tolling system that replaces the current E-ZPass and toll-taker set up with overhead censors that read E-ZPasses on cars traveling at high speeds and would generate a monthly bills to drivers who do not have an E-ZPass, according to WBUR. The system would cost $ 100 million to build, but if the toll takers are eliminated, the system will pay for itself in about two to three years, the story says. The new system could put about 400 toll collectors out of work, but some could be retained and placed in other state position, according to the story. WBUR reports the Tobin Bridge tolls will be replaced by 2014 and the Mass Pike tolls will be gone before 2016. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Hubway System to Reopen in April
There’s still snow on the ground and it still feels like the dead of winter, but a staple of summer in Boston will be back online before you know it. Bicycles will be available throughout the Hubway bike sharing system the first or second week of April, according to Nicole Freedman, director of bicycle programs for the city of Boston. In the South End, three stations from previous years will be back, including the Tremont Street station in front of the South End Library, one at Tremont and Berkeley Streets, and Columbus Avenue at Mass. Ave. Three new stations are planned for the South End, including Washington Street at Rutland Street, Boston Medical Center and Washington Street at Waltham Street. Freedman also said that Hubway officials still have their sights set on setting up a network of stations in Jamaica Plain. “We’re very optimistic,” she said of a JP expansion. She said the JP stations would be opened in late summer. Thirty to 50 stations will be reopened throughout Boston leading up to the April full system launch, Freedman said. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch