A Santa Clara County Superior Court judge issued a tentative ruling stating the city of San Jose will pay the attorney fees for several unions challenging the legality of Measure B, the pension reform measure passed by voters.
Even though the city gained victories in 10 of the 13 issues in Measure B brought before her courtroom, Judge Patricia Lucas ruled, “The court’s task does not consist of tallying up the number of individual issues on which each side prevailed.”
City Attorney Rick Doyle told NBC Bay Area the city has set aside $2 million in reserves in case the judge’s ruling becomes final. A hearing on the issue is scheduled for Nov. 6.
The unions that were victorious in the tentative ruling are the SJPOA, AFSCME and the retirees.
The measure, approved by voters in 2012, requires city workers, police and firefighters to pay more for their pension funds. Unions have blamed Measure B for police and firefighters leaving the city to take jobs elsewhere.
