Arena v. City of Providence

OPINION

Chief Justice WILLIAMS,

for the Court.

In what we hope will be the final chapter of this contentious dispute over pension rights, the defendants, the City of Providence and members of the City Council of the City of Providence (defendants), appeal a bifurcated judgment of the Superior Court in favor of the plaintiffs, retired members of the Providence Fire Department and the Providence Police Department or their widows (plaintiffs). 1 The defendants first contend that the trial court erred when it determined that the Superior Court had jurisdiction to decide the status of the plaintiffs’…