Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Jury on Friday dismissed CalPERS’ request that she certify the pension giant’s direct appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a decision that San Bernardino officials have said will save the city time and money in its already sprawling fight with CalPERS, the San Bernardino County Sun reported on Saturday. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) was seeking for a second time to appeal Jury’s decision that the city is eligible for bankruptcy protection. “The procedure asserted by CalPERS, in the Court’s view, is duplicative and not an efficient use of judicial resources,” Judge Jury wrote. “If this court had granted certification, CalPERS has proposed to also file a Motion for Leave in the 9th Circuit. This duplication is inefficient and possibly may lead to inconsistent results.” CalPERS should instead allow the district court to rule, then may request the district court certify the direct appeal, Jury wrote. After a year of hearings and over CalPERS’ objections, Jury ruled in August that San Bernardino was eligible for chapter 9 bankruptcy protection.
