The original Jersey Supreme Court has delivered a victory to Gov. Chris Christie, ruling the state does not owe public pensioners cost-of-living payments suspended under a 2011 law.
The ruling Thursday effectively keeps the state from having its unfunded liability increased by approximately $17.5 billion.
The court heard oral arguments in March in the case that reaches back to a nearly five-year-old law passed by a Democrat-led legislature and signed by Christie that suspended cost-of-living adjustments.
It's the latest case in a battle between the Christie administration and pensioners and unions. The court delivered the administration a victory final year by declining to require specific pension payments required under the same 2011 law.
A group of retired prosecutors brought the case. Public unions support their effort.
Source: wnyc.org