Aguirre's Pension Lawsuit Could Hinge on Statue of Limitations

By Alison St John / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published August 3, 2007 at 12:34 PM PDT

This story was published more than 17 years ago.

A San Diego Superior Court Judge has handed down a final decision that appears to have squelched city attorney Mike Aguirres effort to roll back hundreds of millions of dollars in pension benefits.

A San Diego Superior Court Judge has handed down a final decision that appears to have squelched city attorney Mike Aguirre’s effort to roll back hundreds of millions of dollars in pension benefits. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

Judge Jeffrey Barton’s final decision is based on two events that happened last month, both involving the statute of limitations for prosecuting government conflict of interest.

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Aguirre argued pension increases were granted by the city’s retirement board, motivated by its own personal gain: that’s known as a 1090 violation.

The alleged wrongdoing came to light back in late 2002, when pension board member Diann Shipione blew the whistle. But Aguirre didn’t file his complaint until 2005.

Until now, it wasn’t clear if 1090 claims could be filed up to one or three years after the event. But just last month a state appeals court ruled in favor of a one year limit, effectively disqualifying Aguirre’s suit.

Ironically, the governor has just signed a law that would extend that time limit on conflict of interest charges to four years. But that wont help Aguirre’s case -- the state law won’t go into effect until 2008.

Alison St John, KPBS News.

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.

Aguirre's Pension Lawsuit Could Hinge on Statue of Limitations

A San Diego Superior Court Judge has handed down a final decision that appears to have squelched city attorney Mike Aguirres effort to roll back hundreds of millions of dollars in pension benefits.

A San Diego Superior Court Judge has handed down a final decision that appears to have squelched city attorney Mike Aguirres effort to roll back hundreds of millions of dollars in pension benefits.