Feds Must Face Constitutional Suit Over Teamsters Pension Cuts

United Parcel Service Inc. retirees who sued the federal government over a 2014 pension law that authorized 29% cuts to their benefits advanced their lawsuit alleging an unconstitutional governmental taking of property, according to a U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruling.

The retirees have a valid property interest in their right to receive unreduced payments of their vested pension benefits under the terms of their plan, Judge Richard A. Hertling said in an April 8 opinion.

He denied the government’s request for summary judgment on the retirees’ claim under the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause.

He said the retirees’ property interest ...