Co-authored by Ms Miriam R. Nemetz & Mr Andrew H. Schapiro
The Supreme Court granted certiorari in three cases of potential interest to the business community.
1. National Labor Relations Act - Liability for Retaliatory Lawsuits.
The Supreme Court granted certiorari today in BE&K Construction Company v. National Labor Relations Board, No. 01-518, to decide whether, under the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA"), an employer may be held liable for filing, with a retaliatory motive, a lawsuit against employees or unions that, although ultimately unsuccessful, was not necessarily objectively baseless.
In 1987, BE&K Construction Company ("BE&K") sued several non-employee unions, alleging various forms of interference with a large construction project in California. Over the next several years, all of BE&K's claims were either dismissed or voluntarily withdrawn. The National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") then found that BE&K was liable for prosecuting an unsuccessful lawsuit for
