The November 18 Port Authority Board action eliminating the
E-ZPass benefit for PA employees and retirees prompted immediate action by your PARA Board. First, we sent a series of e-Bulletins right away to our members, mindful of the 10-day veto period, telling them about that action and urging them to tell their NY and NJ legislators and governors to veto the PA Board item. PARA President Richard Helman wrote letters to Governor Paterson, urging a veto, and had personal contact with the Governor's office to assure that the message was received and would be considered. He also wrote to Chris Ward and the PA's Board of Commissioners plainly stating the unfairness of the sudden withdrawal of the E-ZPass benefit. Next, PARA Board representatives met with PA Executive Director Chris Ward in December to stress retiree concerns regarding erosion of our retirement benefits. Most recently, the full PARA Board met with Chris Ward on March 16 to discuss the wrongful elimination of a promised benefit (E-ZPass) and other issues of concern to the PA and our PARA members. We emphasized our expectations that the PA would uphold its agreements and commitments to retirees, especially with respect to our overall benefits package.
We will be pursuing further discussion with the Port Authority and others and we will keep you informed as appropriate.
Some of you may be aware of a "Notice of Claim" form regarding the elimination of the E-ZPass benefit circulated by an attorney Tom Westfield, Esq., (PAPD retired) that individual retirees could serve on the PA. PARA has been assessing for some time the best strategy, including legal options for retirees, for dealing with the E-ZPass elimination and its implications for retirees. PARA has been in discussions with Tom Westfield, Esq., and is in the process of initiating a meeting with Tom and his brother Ed (also an attorney) to discuss how best to proceed.
To facilitate addressing the legal options analysis related not just to E-ZPass, PARA's Board has authorized the expenditure of some of its funds to retain an attorney to advise PARA on the best approach to protect our retiree benefits package, and to assess the likelihood of success in any potential litigation. A PARA Board subcommittee has been appointed to interview a number of attorneys and to retain an attorney. Several attorneys have already been contacted and that effort is proceeding. PARA believes it would be advantageous to get the input from these attorneys on the content of the "Notice of Claim" form that might be used. In the next PARA (print) newsletter -- due to be published in early June -- we anticipate asking you to complete a questionnaire so that we can gather some key facts and documents that an attorney will need as background in doing a legal analysis. PARA's e-Bulletins will continue to update you on a regular basis.
You should of course be aware of the date by which any such "Notice of Claim" must be served by an individual on the Port Authority. It seems to us it would be prudent to assure such a claim is RECEIVED BY THE PA by September 10th, 2011 in order to minimize any question regarding timely service.
Any actual lawsuit following the timely service of Notice(s) of Claim(s) must be commenced within one year of the triggering incident. The PA might argue that the triggering incident could be as early as November 18, 2010 (when the E-ZPass item came before the PA Board). Using the above September 10th date for receipt by the PA of the Notices of Claims should avoid expensive and unnecessary time consuming litigation over the "timeliness" of the Notice of Claim.
But importantly therefore, our understanding is that there clearly is still enough time before any such deadline comes due and there is no need to run to the post office right now.
That being said, we are providing a copy of Tom Westfield's recent e-mail providing his suggested Notice of Claim form, which may or may not be exactly the one recommended by our attorney once retained. Thus PARA is not in a position to comment on his analysis and the information contained in his communications; however, we thank Tom Westfield Esq. for this information and his continuing cooperation with PARA representatives aimed at advancing our common interests.
Meanwhile, in the coming weeks, the PARA Board will pursue this assessment and preparation phase. With your cooperation in providing the information in the questionnaire we anticipate sending to PARA members, we will be in a better position for PARA's attorney to advise us how best for individuals to proceed including the possibility of joining with others or individually retaining an attorney. Our basic goal is to allow each of our members to reach an informed decision about the possibility of taking legal action prior to the deadline dates for serving any "Notice of Claim" and subsequent lawsuit. And as always, PARA's ultimate goal is to protect retirees' earned benefits, with the help and support of our membership.
Sincerely,
Your PARA Board
* DISCLAIMER--The Port Authority Retirees Association, Inc. does not provide, and this notice does not constitute, legal or other professional advice. We recommend you contact your own professional advisor for such matters as neither The Port Authority Retirees Association, Inc., nor anyone associated with this notice, assumes responsibility for your relying on the information provided, even though we have attempted to ensure that it reflects our understanding of what is presented.
