The largest U.S. public employee pension fund said yesterday that it would appeal an August court ruling granting chapter 9 protection to the city of San Bernardino, Calif., Reuters reported today. The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has fiercely opposed San Bernardino's bankruptcy since the Southern California city asked for protection from its creditors in 2012. The city, reeling from a housing bust, a decades-long decline in manufacturing, and soaring employee salary and pension costs, said it had run out of cash to meet its daily obligations. The city suspended its $1.2 million bimonthly payments to CalPERS at that time — an unprecedented move — though it resumed payments in July 2013. In August, a U.S. bankruptcy judge ruled San Bernardino eligible for chapter 9 bankruptcy protection. CalPERS said yesterday that it would appeal "on the grounds that the city did not consider alternatives to filing for chapter 9 protection, did not file its bankruptcy petition in good faith, and has not provided reliable financial information."
