Michael Aguirre, a onetime federal prosecutor and crusading plaintiff's lawyer, was elected city attorney in San Diego in 2004 on a promise to undo controversial deals that had left the city's pension fund with a growing deficit. As part of that effort, he sued to strip away some of the enhanced benefits that had contributed to the pension fund's $1.4-billion shortfall. It was thought to be the first time that a municipality had gone to court seeking to nullify a labor deal it had approved. Now, Orange County is preparing to pursue the same strategy by seeking a court injunction to invalidate a portion of its 2001 agreement with sheriff's deputies, a deal that sweetened their pensions but created more financial obligations than the county has money to cover.
See "San Diego's pension saga offers a cautionary tale for O.C", Christian Berthelsen, Los Angeles Times, August 23, 2007