Opinion ID: 412736
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Merits of Plaintiff's Suit

Text: 5 We are confronted at the outset with counsel's argument that the exhaustion requirement was not so clearly established that plaintiff's suit was frivolous. This argument is without merit. The exhaustion requirement was clearly established long before plaintiff filed suit. See Republic Steel Corp. v. Maddox, 379 U.S. 650, 85 S.Ct. 614, 13 L.Ed.2d 580 (1965); Fox, Section 301 and Exhaustion of Intra-Union Appeals: A Misbegotten Marriage, 128 U.Pa.L.Rev. 989 (1980). Furthermore, Woolley stated in his motion to set aside the award that he was fully aware of the exhaustion requirement but that plaintiff had insisted that he file suit against the A & P. Finally, the argument that plaintiff was somehow excused from the duty to exhaust because her rights were personal is simply a misstatement of the law. 2 6 This is not a case in which an attorney is unable to establish the factual basis of a claim at the time suit is filed, but reasonably believes that discovery or trial will cure any defects. Nor is this a case in which an attorney urges that prior holdings should be re-examined. In either of these situations an attorney could be said to be litigating in good faith. This suit was simply a frivolous piece of litigation. 7