Facts

Sonoma County Association of Retired Employees, or SCARE, is a nonprofit corporation created to promote the interests of retired employees of the county. In August 2008, the county passed a resolution to cap its healthcare benefit contributions to $500 per month for all retirees.

SCARE then filed suit against the county, arguing that this new cap would harm many retirees.

The district court initially dismissed the case in November 2010, and later the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal in 2013 and remanded back to the district court.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
SCARE argued that the cap was a breach of the county's obligations to pay for its retirees' healthcare benefits. It argued that the county had promised to do so into perpetuity, and that it was now violating that agreement.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
The county moved to dismiss the suit, arguing that SCARE could not establish that it had promised to provide retirees with healthcare benefits.

Result

The court granted the county's motion to dismiss in part, but denied it in part. It allowed the plaintiffs' claims that were based on various promises allegedly implied in Memorandums of Understanding ratified by the Board of Supervisors, but disallowed its other claims.

Other Information

The only alternative claims that can proceed are based on MOU'S identified in the operative complaint and only for retirees hired after 1990 and retiring prior to the changes plaintiff's challenge.