Rhode Island Retirees’ Suit to Toss Benefits Settlement Fails

Retired Rhode Island public employees failed to convince a federal court to consider their objections to changes in the state’s retirement benefits because state courts had already resolved the issues, the First Circuit said.

The Rooker-Feldman doctrine barred the litigation, in which nearly 50 retirees raised questions over a class action settlement involving the terms of the statewide pension system that had been approved by the Rhode Island Supreme Court, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit said.

The doctrine prohibits federal courts from hearing “cases brought by state-court losers complaining of injuries caused by state-court judgments,” the ...