As reported by NJ.com, the New Jersey Supreme Court agreed to decide whether Governor Chris Christie broke the law when he slashed $1.6 billion from this year’s payment into the public worker pension system.  Christie’s administration, which had previously indicated it would file in the Appellate Division, last week asked the Supreme Court to relax its rules and hear the case.  The Supreme Court today granted Christie’s motion.  Oral argument will be held May 6.

The State is appealing a February Superior Court ruling that it broke a contract with labor unions when Christie diverted $1.57 billion in planned pension funds to fill a budget deficit.  Judge Mary Jacobson ordered Christie to work with the Democratic-controlled legislature to restore the full payment.  Some lawmakers and Christie’s administration have argued that coming up with that cash with just a few months left in the fiscal year would be crippling.  But, Jacobson wrote in her ruling, “the court is unwilling to rely on what has now become a succession of empty promises.” Attorneys for Christie had argued before Jacobson that the contract was invalid from the start and the Governor cannot be forced to restore the payment.

The law at the center of the dispute required the State to ramp up payments into the struggling pension system over seven years.  Christie slashed payments in the fiscal year ending last June and the fiscal year beginning last July when tax collections came up short.  In requesting the High Court’s ear, the State noted that the case invokes federal and state constitutional provisions, separation of powers, the State’s appropriations, veto, debt limitation and contracts clauses.  “Billions of dollars are at issue,” the State said, “and the ultimate adjudication of this matter will critically impact the State’s budget and appropriation processes.”

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DONALD C. BARBATI, JR.

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues…

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues litigated before the courts and administrative tribunals throughout the State of New Jersey. In addition, Mr. Barbati also routinely represents individuals in various types of public pension appeals, real estate transactions, and general litigation matters. He is a frequent contributor to the New Jersey Public Safety Officers Law Blog, a free legal publication designed to keep New Jersey public safety officers up-to-date and informed about legal issues pertinent to their profession. During his years of practice, Mr. Barbati has established a reputation for achieving favorable results for his clients in a cost-efficient manner.

Mr. Barbati has also handled numerous novel legal issues while representing New Jersey Public Safety Officers. Most notably, he served as lead counsel for the Appellants in the published case In re Rodriguez, 423 N.J. Super. 440 (App. Div. 2011). In that case, Mr. Barbati successfully argued on behalf of the Appellants, thereby overturning the Attorney General’s denial of counsel to two prison guards in a civil rights suit arising from an inmate assault.  In the process, the Court clarified the standard to be utilized by the Attorney General in assessing whether a public employee is entitled to legal representation and mandated that reliance must be placed on up-to-date information.

Prior to becoming a practicing attorney, Mr. Barbati served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Linda R. Feinberg, Assignment Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer Vicinage. During his clerkship Mr. Barbati handled numerous complex and novel substantive and procedural issues arising from complaints in lieu of prerogative writs, orders to show cause, and motion practice. These include appeals from decisions by planning and zoning boards and local government bodies, bidding challenges under the Local Public Contract Law, Open Public Records Act requests, the taking of private property under the eminent domain statute, and election law disputes. In addition, Mr. Barbati, as a certified mediator, mediated many small claims disputes in the Special Civil Part.

Mr. Barbati received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, magna cum laude, from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Upon graduating, Mr. Barbati attended Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware. In 2007, he received his juris doctorate, magna cum laude, graduating in the top five percent of his class. During law school, Mr. Barbati interned for the Honorable Joseph E. Irenas, Senior United States District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey, assisting on various constitutional, employment, and Third Circuit Court of Appeals litigation, including numerous civil rights, social security, and immigration cases.