Lamb v. Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 36, 293 Neb. 138

Background

Thomas Lamb, a Washington County sheriff's office captain and member of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 36, was investigated and then terminated in April 2013.
Lamb alleges the union (Lodge No. 36) refused requested representation during the investigation, breaching the labor agreement and the duty of fair representation.
Lamb sued Lodge No. 36 for breach of contract and breach of the duty of fair representation, and sued Sheriff Michael Robinson for tortious interference with his relationship with the union.
Lodge No. 36 moved to dismiss arguing jurisdiction lies with the Commission of Industrial Relations (CIR) and that Lamb failed to pursue the contract grievance process; Robinson moved to dismiss on sovereign-immunity grounds.
The district court granted both motions; Lamb appealed. The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part: it found the district court erred in dismissing for failure to file a grievance but held the CIR— not the district court—has jurisdiction over Lamb’s duty-of-fair-representation claim against the union.
The court also held Sheriff Robinson was entitled to sovereign immunity because his alleged interference was committed within the scope of his official duties as county sheriff.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Lamb’s suit against Lodge No. 36 should be dismissed for failure to exhaust the contract grievance procedure	Lamb: No grievance was required because his claim is that the union breached the contract/duty to represent him and the contract’s grievance process is against the county, not the union	Lodge No. 36: Lamb failed to invoke the contract grievance procedure and thus his claim should be dismissed or heard by CIR	Court: Dismissal for failure to file a grievance was error; filing a county grievance would have been futile because the procedure does not provide a remedy against the union
Whether the district court has jurisdiction over the claim against Lodge No. 36 (CIR v. district court)	Lamb: The claim is a breach of contract (district court jurisdiction)	Lodge No. 36: The claim concerns a prohibited practice/duty of fair representation and falls within CIR authority	Court: The duty-of-fair-representation claim is a prohibited practice under the Industrial Relations Act and belongs before the CIR, not the district court
Whether Lamb, as an individual, can sue for breach of the labor contract	Lamb: As an aggrieved employee he can pursue contract remedies	Lodge No. 36: Lamb is not a party to the contract and not an identified third-party beneficiary	Court: Lamb is not a party or alleged third-party beneficiary to the contract, so he cannot maintain a breach-of-contract claim in district court
Whether Sheriff Robinson is immune from suit (sovereign immunity)	Lamb: Robinson acted individually and tortiously interfered with Lamb’s relationship with the union	Robinson: Actions were within his official role as county sheriff and thus shielded by county sovereign immunity	Court: Robinson’s actions were within the scope of his employment as sheriff; sovereign immunity applies and dismissal was proper

Key Cases Cited

SID No. 1 v. Adamy, 289 Neb. 913 (discusses standard of review for motions to dismiss)
Republic Steel v. Maddox, 379 U.S. 650 (1965) (grievance procedures are commonly used to resolve contract disputes involving unions)
Transport Workers of America v. Transit Auth. of City of Omaha, 205 Neb. 26 (addresses jurisdictional limits between courts and administrative labor bodies)
Davis v. Fraternal Order of Police, 15 Neb. App. 470 (recognizes duty-of-fair-representation/prohibited-practice context)
Stick v. City of Omaha, 289 Neb. 752 (explains strict construction of statutory waivers of sovereign immunity)
Big Crow v. City of Rushville, 266 Neb. 750 (construing Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act in harmony with State Tort Claims Act)
Jasa v. Douglas County, 244 Neb. 944 (discusses remedies and scope of actions against political subdivisions)