S&C Litigation partner Julie Jordan, co-head of S&C’s Labor and Employment Group, was named Litigator of the Week by The American Lawyer for her win on behalf of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The case, a putative class action brought by members of the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (“UAW”), attempted to raise private claims under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act stemming from an ongoing federal criminal probe. Describing her win, The American Lawyer said: “In a case with no direct precedent, Jordan persuaded the U.S. Court of Appeals to uphold the dismissal with prejudice of a putative class action that could have cost the automaker hundreds of millions of dollars.”
The team representing Fiat on this matter is led by Julie Jordan and also includes special counsel Jacob Cohen and litigation partner Steve Holley.
In their suit, the autoworkers had asserted a “hybrid claim” under the LMRA against Fiat Chrysler for breach of contract and against the UAW for breach of its duty of fair representation. In its September 12 ruling in Swanigan et al v. FCA US, LLC et al., the unanimous panel agreed with S&C’s argument that the plaintiffs had not alleged that the automaker breached any agreement with the UAW, and they could not bring a disguised claim under the LMRA for collusion, which does not provide a private right of action.
To read The American Lawyer’s profile of Julie, click here.