Todd v. McNichols

McCOMB, J.

This is an appeal on the judgment roll from a judgment denying any relief to petitioner, a retired member of the City Employees’ Retirement System of the City of Los Angeles, who sought a writ of mandate to compel the respondents to calculate the amount of his retirement allowance in the manner for which he contends as opposed to the method so far used in other similar cases by respondent. The trial judge sustained a demurrer without leave to amend to the petition.

Article XXXIV of the Charter of the City of Los Angeles was adopted in May of 1937 to become effective as of July 1st of that year. It for the first time provided a retirement or pension system for employees of the city other than firemen and policemen. Very briefly, and with certain specific exceptions not necessary to be herein noted, all civil service employees must, and non-civil service employees may, become members of the retirement system. Those members who have completed ten or more years of .city service as defined in the article may, upon their own application, at any time after age sixty, be retired; and every member reaching age seventy is automatically retired. Upon retirement every member is to be paid a retirement allowance which consists of three items:

(1) An annuity purchased by his own contributions to the retirement fund;

(2) A pension to be paid by the city on account of service subsequent to July 1, 1937, and

(3) A pension to be paid by the city on account of service prior to said date.

[450]

In addition to the three items just mentioned there is a fourth item to be allowed in certain cases of compulsory retirement at age seventy. The only question involved on this appeal has to do with the manner in which the amount of this additional pension to be paid by the city shall be computed.

There is no dispute as to the facts in this case. Appellant, for a period of eight years, commencing January 1, 1897, and ending December 31, 1904, served first as secretary to the mayor and then as a member of the city council. He reentered the city service July 1, 1933, as a deputy city attorney, which position he continued to occupy until April 1, 1940, a period of six and three-quarters years. He became a member of the retirement system as of July 1, 1937, and was compulsorily retired on account of having reached age seventy April 1, 1940.