Opinion ID: 1252664
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Unwarranted Prosecution Claim

Text: We now turn to Mr. Smart's claim of unwarranted prosecution under Illinois law. The defendants argue that, under applicable state law, the allegations of unwarranted prosecution fail as a matter of law; indeed, the district court dismissed the claims on this basis. Alternatively, the defendants maintain that the claim is preempted by section 301 of the LMRA, 29 U.S.C. § 185, [11] because it necessarily requires interpretation of the CBA. [12] If these additional state-law claims necessarily require the interpretation of a CBA, they are cognizable only under section 301 of the LMRA. The basic rule that governs such a preemption analysis is set forth in Lingle v. Norge Division of Magic Chef, Inc., 486 U.S. 399, 108 S.Ct. 1877, 100 L.Ed.2d 410 (1988): [A]n application of state law is pre-empted by § 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 only if such application requires the interpretation of a collective-bargaining agreement. Id. The Lingle approach, we have explained, is straightforward because the policy concern requiring preemption in the section 301 context is also straightforward. Federal labor policy mandates that uniform federal law be the basis for interpreting collective bargaining agreements. This policy reduces the possibility that individual contract terms might have different meanings under state and federal law. Conflicting interpretations of contract terms would inevitably exert a disruptive influence on the collective bargaining process. Not every dispute tangentially involving a CBA is preempted by the LMRA. Douglas v. American Info. Techs. Corp., 877 F.2d 565, 569 (7th Cir.1989) (footnote omitted) (quoting Local 174, Teamsters v. Lucas Flour Co., 369 U.S. 95, 103, 82 S.Ct. 571, 7 L.Ed.2d 593 (1962)). To prevail on an unwarranted prosecution claim in Illinois, Mr. Smart must show that the defendants brought the underlying suits maliciously and without probable cause and that the underlying suits were terminated in Mr. Smart's favor. See Cult Awareness Network v. Church of Scientology Int'l, 177 Ill.2d 267, 226 Ill.Dec. 604, 685 N.E.2d 1347, 1350 (1997). Here, the suits underlying the unwarranted prosecution claim focused on the IBEW's effort to enforce an arbitration award in its favor and also to collect unpaid employee benefit contributions due under the CBA. [13] There is, however, no need to interpret the CBA in this case because, as the district court correctly noted, Mr. Smart's pleadings have made clear that, at the time that he filed his complaint in this case, he already had failed to prevail in these actions. Local 702 prevailed on the merits in both. [14] Mr. Smart's claim, therefore, fails as a matter of law on that element. We need not reach the question of whether the suits were pursued without probable causethe only element that might involve interpretation of the CBA. Owen v. Carpenters' Dist. Council, 161 F.3d 767, 773 (4th Cir.1998) (noting that a district court may pretermit the preemption question when the action is clearly without merit); Childers v. Chesapeake & Potomac Tel. Co., 881 F.2d 1259, 1263 (4th Cir.1989) (same); Washington v. Union Carbide Corp., 870 F.2d 957 (4th Cir.1989). Cf. Foy v. Giant Food, Inc., 298 F.3d 284, 290-91 (4th Cir.2002) (observing that the question of whether employer's action in prosecuting employee was malicious involved evaluation of whether motive was improper, which, in turn, required interpretation of the collective bargaining agreement). Therefore, even if Mr. Smart's unwarranted prosecution claim would have required interpretation of the CBA and therefore was preempted, the claim still would fail because his submissions to the district court did not contest that he failed to prevail on the underlying actions.