Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Punishment by litigation

Sometimes doubling down on a doomsday strategy can work, but more often than not, it does not, is expensive, and has dire ultimate consequences. The issue of retaliatory litigation and whether a labor organization can prevail against an employer is a significant one. The Supreme Court addressed the issue in BE and K Construction. More after the jump.
On Remand, NLRB Held: “[W]e find that, just as with an ongoing lawsuit, a completed lawsuit that is reasonably based cannot be found to be an unfair labor practice. “In determining whether a lawsuit is reasonably based, we will apply the same test as that articulated by the Court in the antitrust context: a lawsuit lacks a reasonable basis, or is ‘objectively baseless,’ if ‘no reasonable litigant could realistically expect success on the merits.’ [citing] Professional Real Estate Investors, 508 U.S. at 60.”