LOS ANGELES — The California Public Employees' Retirement System and San Bernardino have requested another extension to file court documents in CalPERS' appeal of the city's eligibility to be in bankruptcy.
The city and the pension fund cited progress made in confidential mediation, according to court documents filed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
"The parties, working with Judge Zive, have engaged in extensive negotiations and have made significant progress, and Judge Zive is planning to schedule further mediation sessions," according to court documents. "Given the progress in the mediation, the parties and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Gregg Zive felt it was appropriate to continue the briefing schedule for this appeal."
CalPERS originally received certification Dec. 17 from the California Central District Court to appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The pension fund followed up on Jan. 16 with a request to expedite the case. The Ninth Circuit granted CalPERS leave to appeal on Feb. 26.
The court set up a briefing schedule and placed the appeal on the August 2014 calendar in Pasadena, Calif.
Calpers, San Bernardino and the city's other creditors since Nov. 24 have been participating in a confidential mediation with Judge Zive, ordered by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Jury, the primary judge in the bankruptcy case.
The briefing deadlines for CalPERS' opening brief have been extended from to July 21 from May 19; and for the city's responding brief from Aug. 20 to June 20. In the joint filing, the parties also requested that the appeal be calendared as soon as possible only after briefing has been submitted by both sides.
The city, estimated to owe CalPERS $17 million in back payments, is the first of California's bankrupt cities to try to impair the pension fund in its bankruptcy.
