Roy Allan Slurry Seal v. Laborers International Union of North America Highway & Street Stripers/Road & Street Slurry Local Union 1184

This case requires us to determine the relationship between a state attorney’s fees provision and federal labor law. Specifically, we must consider whether California Civil Code section 1717, which renders reciprocal an otherwise unilateral contractual provision for attorney’s fees, is preempted by the federal Labor Management Relations Act (“LMRA”). Because an award of fees under section 1717 would read a new term into the collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”), thereby undermining two primary goals of the LMRA-interpreting CBAs uniformly, and respecting the intentions of the CBA’s signatories-we conclude that section 1717 is preempted here. Therefore, we reverse the award of fees, and remand for consideration of whether' fees are otherwise available under federal law.

I. Factual And Procedural Background

For many years, Plaintiff/Appellee Roy Allan Slurry Seal (“RASS”) 1 has supplied road slurry under subcontract to two general contractors, the R.J. Noble Company (“R.J.Noble”) and the Southern Pacific Milling Company (“S.P.Milling”), neither of which is a party to this litigation. Important here, RASS is a non-union contractor.

In 1992, the Southern California General…