State Attorney General George Jepsen has withdrawn the state’s petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule a judicial panel’s decision in May that former Gov. John Rowland illegally targeted union workers for layoffs in 2003.
Jepsen said he withdrew the appeal after the plaintiff, the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition, requested settlement negotiations. Since the lawsuit was filed in 2003, the two sides have had no substantive discussions about resolving the matter, he said.
“Withdrawal of the petition is a necessary condition for meaningful negotiations to take place,” Jepsen said.
He said both the union and the state face an uncertain outcome in the case, so settling may be the cheapest option for taxpayers.
“Continued uncertainty benefits no one, and both the unions and the state acknowledge the very real potential of many more years of expensive litigation if the case does not settle,” Jepsen said.
If discussions go poorly, the AG said he can refile the petition for writ of certiorari, which asks the Supreme Court to take up the May ruling in the case by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, which reversed a 2011 judgment by a U.S. District Court judge in favor of the state.
