Perkins v. Pepsi-Cola General Bottlers, Inc.

511 N.E.2d 901, 158 Ill. App. 3d 893, 110 Ill. Dec. 724, 1987 Ill. App. LEXIS 2915
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJuly 29, 1987
Docket2-86-0907
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 511 N.E.2d 901 (Perkins v. Pepsi-Cola General Bottlers, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Perkins v. Pepsi-Cola General Bottlers, Inc., 511 N.E.2d 901, 158 Ill. App. 3d 893, 110 Ill. Dec. 724, 1987 Ill. App. LEXIS 2915 (Ill. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

JUSTICE UNVERZAGT

delivered the opinion of the court:

The plaintiff, Ronald Perkins, appeals from the judgment of the circuit court which granted the motions of the defendant, Pepsi-Cola General Bottlers, Inc. (Pepsi), for summary judgment of his wrongful discharge claim and to dismiss his libel claim. On appeal the plaintiff argues, first, that the lower court’s decision to grant the defendant’s motion for summary judgment promotes fraud and intentional misconduct. Additionally, the plaintiff contends that the trial court’s decision to dismiss his libel claim violates section 2 — 616(b) of the Code of Civil Procedure (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 110, par. 2 — 616(b)).

The following facts are relevant to this appeal. On October 15, 1982, the plaintiff worked as a mechanic in the defendant’s Aurora facility. He belonged to the Automobile Mechanics Local No. 701, International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO (union). A bargaining agreement between the union and Pepsi governed the relationship of all union members at Pepsi. This agreement was in effect on October 15, 1982. Article XI provided that no employee could be discharged except for “just cause.” Article XVIII set forth the specific grievance and arbitration procedures whereby any employee discharged or otherwise disgruntled by any employment-related decision of Pepsi’s could seek to have the matter resolved.

On October 15, 1982, the plaintiff left work without permission from Pepsi and without having punched his time card. This action violated Pepsi’s “General Rules of Conduct.” According to these rules, the prescribed discipline for the plaintiff’s act was termination. Accordingly, on October 18,1982, the defendant discharged the plaintiff.

On that same day, Gene Staniszewski, the plaintiff’s union business representative under the collective-bargaining agreement, called a meeting at which the plaintiff and Pepsi’s representatives were present to discuss the plaintiff’s discharge. At the meeting the plaintiff admitted leaving work without permission and. further conceded asking someone else to punch out his time card. Staniszewski then advised the plaintiff that the union would institute a formal grievance and arbitration proceeding if the plaintiff requested. He expressed pessimism, however, in view of the plaintiff’s admitted fault. The plaintiff never requested the institution of any formal grievance.

On December 18, 1982, the plaintiff filed a complaint seeking compensatory and punitive damages based on his allegedly wrongful discharge. Specifically the plaintiff alleged that his discharge resulted from a “set-up,” as well as the defendant’s arbitrary and fraudulent enforcement of unpromulgated work rules contrary to the defendant’s customary practice and procedure.

On June 14, 1985, the plaintiff filed an amended complaint containing a second count that for the first time charged Pepsi with libel. On September 13, 1985, the plaintiff filed a second amended count II which added specificity to his libel allegations.

On August 29, 1986, the court granted Pepsi’s motion for summary judgment on count I, the discharge claim, and its motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s claim for libel. Specifically, the court found the plaintiff’s discharge claim barred by his failure to exhaust grievance and arbitration remedies provided in the agreement. The count also found the plaintiff’s libel claim barred by section 13 — 201 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the one-year statute of limitations applicable to libel actions. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 110, par. 13 — 201.) The plaintiff then filed this appeal.

On appeal the plaintiff argues that the court granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment with regard to count I, the discharge claim, on the erroneous basis that the collective-bargaining agreement and section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) (29 U.S.C.A. sec. 185 (West 1978)) preempted his State court action alleging intentional tortious misconduct. It is the plaintiff’s position that the contractual rights available to him under the collective-bargaining agreement are not the only remedy, but rather are merely additional, alternative remedies to those already available under State tort law. Our first concern in this appeal then is whether the plaintiff’s alleged State law claim is preempted by the LMRA.

' The preemption doctrine has its basis in the supremacy clause of the United States Constitution (U.S. Const., art. VI, cl. 2). Federal law, under this doctrine, is deemed to override or preempt State laws on the same subject in some instances. (See generally Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp. (1947), 331 U.S. 218, 229-31, 91 L. Ed. 1447, 1458-59, 67 S. Ct. 1146, 1151-53.) The question of whether State action is preempted by Federal law is one of congressional intent. Allis-Chalmers Corp. v. Lueck (1985), 471 U.S. 202, 208, 85 L. Ed 2d 206, 213,105 S. Ct. 1904, 1910.

An example of the preemption doctrine is found in the recent Illinois Supreme Court decision of Bartley v. University Asphalt Co. (1986), 111 Ill. 2d 318, 333. In that case the Illinois Supreme Court held that the plaintiff’s cause of action against his union for civil conspiracy was preempted by Federal labor-contract law as it was substantially dependent upon analysis of the terms of the collective-bargaining agreement. This finding was based on the court’s analysis of the plaintiff’s complaint wherein the plaintiff alleged that a collective-bargaining agreement was in force between the defendants; that the employer violated the terms of the agreement; that the union conspired with the employer to violate the terms; and that the union breached its statutory duty of fair representation. The court concluded that the plaintiff’s State tort claim was “inextricably intertwined with consideration of the terms of the labor contract.” 111 Ill. 2d 318, 332, citing Allis-Chalmers Corp. v. Lueck (1985), 471 U.S. 202, 213, 85 L. Ed. 2d 206, 216-17, 105 S. Ct. 1904, 1912; see also Sagen v. Jewel Cos. (1986), 148 Ill. App. 3d 447, 452.

The Bartley court’s conclusion was facilitated by an analysis of the Supreme Court decision of Allis-Chalmers Corp. v. Lueck (1985), 471 U.S. 202, 85 L. Ed. 2d 206, 105 S. Ct. 1904, where the court held that the State tort claim against the plaintiff’s employer and its insured, alleging bad faith in the handling of his disability claim, was preempted by section 301 of the LMRA. The court further stated that congressional policy favored a uniform body of Federal labor-contract law and that any State rule that purports to define the meaning or scope of a term in a labor contract suit is preempted. (471 U.S. 202, 210, 85 L. Ed. 2d 206, 214-15, 105 S. Ct. 1904, 1911.) The Lueck court then concluded that the same policy considerations require application of the preemption doctrine to many State tort claims:

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Bluebook (online)
511 N.E.2d 901, 158 Ill. App. 3d 893, 110 Ill. Dec. 724, 1987 Ill. App. LEXIS 2915, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/perkins-v-pepsi-cola-general-bottlers-inc-illappct-1987.