LINCOLN, Neb (KMTV) — There aren’t many lawsuits that last over a decade and there aren’t many lawsuits that have hundreds of plaintiffs.
But in the Nebraska Attorney General's Office, there has been one case that has hung over the office for the last 12 years.
“We did file this on behalf of 407 troopers a long time ago, and they have had to endure 12 years of this,” said Gary Young, an attorney representing the plaintiffs in this case.
The dispute is centered around state troopers and their pensions.
The troopers in this case argued that the legislature violated the contracts clause of the constitution by increasing the percentage of a trooper's salary that had to be paid to get the state to pay matching contributions in their pension plan.
They argue this happened seven times between 1995 and 2011 when the lawsuit was filed.
“At a very high level, the claims really revolved around allegations over the withholding of retirement contributions and the allegations that the state may have over-withheld those contributions,” said Attorney General Mike Hilgers.
Hilgers says the case itself is one of the largest and most complex the Attorney General's Office has had to handle and it could have drug out even longer without the settlement.
That settlement, $18.75 million, will be paid out to the 407 plaintiffs. The amount paid to each trooper will be different, but the numbers average out to just over $46,000 per plaintiff.
The man in charge of the state patrol, Colonel John Bolduc, says the benefits go far beyond monetary compensation.
“It's a moral boost for our troops. There are many people who have been involved in this for many years. This really is a demonstration of the support for our troopers both currently employed and those who are retired in the course of the litigation,” said Bolduc.
The settlement comes at a time when the State Patrol is struggling to fill out its ranks.
Late last year the state gave troopers a 22% raise to help retention and recruitment and Bolduc says this settlement shows the state will step up to support any new troopers it hires.
“If someone has a choice to go to this agency or that agency, sometimes they look at which agency is more supportive of the men and women who do the difficult work of law enforcement and I think this does send that message,” said Bolduc.
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