California: Teacher retirement fund wins round in suit against credit rating firms

Spurning arguments that their lawsuit attacked free speech rights, a San Francisco Superior Court judge ruled that CalPERS could continue their legal battle against credit-rating firms, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. The public pension system accused the firms of negligence in making careless investment ratings. -db From the San Francisco Chronicle,  January 14, 2012, by Bob [...]

California: Sacramento County ordered to turn over pension data

A California appeals court has ordered Sacramento County’s retirement system to release pension data to the Sacramento Bee. The Bee and the First Amendment Coalition had brought a lawsuit to reveal data about the pension benefits ncluding the names and benefits of individual members. Said Joyce Terhaar of The Bee, “It’s part of our mission [...]

Californai judge rules that ratings by bond-rating companies are protected speech

A California judge ruled that what was alleged to be “wildly inaccurate” ratings by Moody’s, Fitch, S&P were protected speech and insulated by the state’s anti-SLAPP law. -db Bloomberg BusinessWeek December 11, 2010 By Karen Gullo Ratings by Moody’s Investors Service Inc., Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings Ltd. described as “wildly inaccurate” in a [...]

CalPERs docs on FAC website raise new questions on failed $100M real estate deal

Documents released this week to FAC show CalPERS sensed trouble with its East Palo Alto real estate investment about two years before Page Mill’s collapse. Documents: CalPERS’ $100 million Page Mill loss Pension fund lost $100 million by investing in Page Mill Properties of Palo Alto by Gennady Sheyner Palo Alto Online StaffIn December 2008, [...]

FAC posts online confidential CalPERS’ docs ordered released by Court

The First Amendment Coalition has posted on the internet more than 1,700 CalPERS documents relating to an East Palo Alto real estate investment in which CalPERS lost all of its $100 million investment.  The records–which include the partnership agreement, offering memorandum and email exchanges about the failed investment—were ordered released by the Superior Court in [...]

CalPERS sued for documents related to failed $100 million investment in Page Mill properties

The First Amendment Coalition has sued CalPERS to obtain records on why the pension fund invested $100 million in Page Mill Properties, the biggest residential landlord in East Palo Alto -SMD Palo Alto Daily News By Bonnie Eslinger July 20, 2010 A nonprofit public interest organization has sued CalPERS to obtain records that may shed [...]

PRESS RELEASE: FAC Suit Against CalPERS Seeks Records on Controversial E Palo Alto Real Estate Investment

FAC—Monday July 19—The First Amendment Coalition (FAC) today announced that it has sued CalPERS, the retirement system for California government workers, over access to records about the agency’s ill-fated investment in an East Palo Alto residential real estate development that has gone bust–at a loss to CalPERS of all of its $100 million stake in [...]

First Amendment Coalition & SacBee file suit for names of Sacramento County retirees with highest pensions

The Sacramento Bee and the First Amendment Coalition have filed a lawsuit to force the Sacramento County Employees’ Retirement System to release the names of all its retirees with pensions of over $100,000. -db The Sacramento Bee April 16, 2010 By Robert Lewis The Sacramento Bee and the First Amendment Coalition on Thursday filed a [...]