Ruster v. Ruster’s Empirical Analysis
1974
Citation profile
2 district · 13 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 15 later decisions — most recently February 2000
2 district · 13 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on Abbott v. City of Los Angeles · 45 Cal. 2d 128 - Allen v. City of Long Beach · 35 Cal. 2d 212 - Packer v. Board of Retirement · Lyon v. Flournoy · Abbott v. City of San Diego
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 15 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“Such a change is allowable provided that it bears a material relation to the theory of a pension system and its successful operation, and that changes which result in disadvantage to employees should be accompanied by comparable new advantages.... Doubtless one of the purposes ... was to provide certainty as to the identity of a beneficiary following marriage, or dissolution or annulment thereof, or the birth or adoption of a child.... [[Image here]] But besides this, the Legislature reasonably could decide to make provision for payment to those whom in ordinary circumstances the law requires an employee to support, that is, a spouse or a child; and conversely, removes from the beneficiary status upon dissolution or annulment of a marriage, a spouse or putative spouse whose rights are to be determined in the dissolution or annulment proceedings. By and large, the statute effectuates in part the general obligation of support, giving protection against failure on the part of the employee by reason of inadvertence, neglect or delay in the giving of notice. Although the statute automatically makes the change without notice by the employee, it expressly permits the member to make a change against the one made by the statute. Here again, we must assume that the Legislature found a benefit to the employee, not only by helping him to meet an obligation which he might otherwise have overlooked, but also by comporting with what he would most likely have desired had he been attentive.”
1 later decision quote this exact passagee.g. Dillon v. Beal“A member’s marriage, dissolution of marriage, annulment of his marriage, the birth of his child, or his adoption of a child shall constitute an automatic revocation of his previous revocable designation of beneficiary. Any revocable designation of beneficiary in effect on the operative date of this section which was filed prior to the occurrence of any of the conditions specified herein shall become void and of no effect on that date. [ ¶ ] Upon revocation of any beneficiary designation, a member may designate the same or another beneficiary. by a writing filed with the board.”
1 later decision quote this exact passagee.g. Dillon v. Beal
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.