Faulkenbury v. Teachers' & State Employees' Retirement System

WEBB, Justice.

The principal question raised by this appeal is whether a change in the law, which reduced plaintiffs’ disability retirement payments, violates Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution of the United States, which provides in part: “No state shall. . . pass any . . . law impairing the obligations of contracts.” U.S. Const, art. I, § 10. In order to resolve this question, we must first determine whether there was a contract. If there was a contract, we must determine whether the contract was impaired. Finally, we must determine whether the impairment was reasonable and necessary…