United States Seventh Circuit

In an action for breach of a collective bargaining agreement and breach of the duty of fair representation brought under the Labor Management Relations Act, district court judgment is affirmed where: 1) the court did not err in ruling against plaintiff in his claim that co-defendant International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 399 breached its duty of representation as no rational jury could find that the union was irrational in executing the memorandum of agreement with the company, and the union did not abandon the arbitration of plaintiff's termination in bad faith; 2) plaintiff's argument that the enactment of the substance abuse policy breached the collective bargaining agreement failed as the memorandum of agreement the union entered into operated as an amendment to the collective bargaining agreement, and thus any claim that the company breached the agreement was resolved by the memorandum; and 3) the court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant's motion Rule 11 sanctions against plaintiff as defendant has not shown that plaintiff litigated in bad faith or that he advanced a frivolous claim.

Appellate Information

• Argued 06/04/2009
• Decided 08/03/2009
• Published 08/03/2009

Judges

• FLAUM, Circuit Judge., Before FLAUM, WOOD, and TINDER, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Seventh Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Lee W. Barron (argued), Alton, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellant, Cross-Appellee., Ian P. Cooper (argued), Tueth, Keeney, Cooper, Mohan & Jackstadt, St. Louis, MO, for Defendant-Appellee., William A. Widmer, III (argued), Carmell, Charone, Widmer, Mathews & Moss, Chicago, IL, for Defendant-Appellee, Cross-Appellant.