Gerhardson, et al v. Gopher News Co., et al, No. 11-2991 (8th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CasePlaintiffs were unionized delivery drivers covered by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which established a pension plan operated by a third-party pension management firm. After a dispute arose in 2006 after the drivers' employers and union re-negotiated the CBA, the drivers sued their employer, the union, and the pension management firm for various breaches of duty. Because the drivers failed to establish that equitable tolling applied, the court held that their complaint was untimely and the district court's summary judgment dismissal was proper. The court also held that the employer failed to identify a compelling reason why it could not have brought its claims against the union in an NLRB proceeding. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court's judgment that the drivers' claims were barred by the statute of limitations under 29 U.S.C. 160(b) and that the other claims were dismissed, including the employer's crossclaims against the union.
Court Description: Civil case - Labor law. The statute of limitations on the drivers' claims had run and there were no grounds for equitable tolling; district court did not err in finding Gopher News' crossclaims against the union were preempted under the National Labor Relations Act. Judge Colloton, concurring in part, and dissenting in part.
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