ROSE M. STAFFORD, APPELLANT,
v.
LESLIE AMENIA MEEK, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Rose Stafford sued union attorney Leslie Meek for legal malpractice after Meek advised the UTD not to file exceptions to a hearing officer's recommendation to terminate Stafford's employment. The court affirmed summary judgment in Meek's favor, holding that union attorneys representing members in collective bargaining activities enjoy immunity from individual legal malpractice actions.
A union attorney representing a member in a collective bargaining activity enjoys immunity from a legal malpractice action filed by an individual grievant. Meek, as a union attorney representing Stafford pursuant to the UTD's duty of fair representation in a grievance proceeding, is immune from liability.
[1] A union attorney representing a member in a collective bargaining activity is immune from a legal malpractice action filed by the individual grievant.
[2] Union agents acting on behalf of the union in a collective bargaining activity may not be held individually liable.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“a union attorney representing a member in a collective bargaining activity enjoys immunity from a legal malpractice action filed by an individual grievant”
Statement of the holding establishing the core legal principle that union attorneys cannot be sued individually for malpractice in representing union members.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceStafford, a Dade County School Board employee, was represented by Meek, a UTD attorney, at an administrative dismissal hearing pursuant to a collectiv…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Grievance Proceedings cases and more on FLexlaw
SHEVIN, Judge.
Rose Stafford appeals a final summary judgment in favor of Leslie Meek in a legal malpractice action. We affirm.
Stafford, a Dade County School Board employee, filed a legal malpractice action for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty against Meek. Meek, a United Teachers of Dade [UTD] attorney, represented Stafford, on behalf of the UTD, at an administrative dismissal hearing. The UTD affords union members representation pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement between the School Board and the UTD. After the hearing, the UTD followed Meek’s advice and decided not to file exceptions to the hearing officer’s recommendation that the Board terminate Stafford’s employment. Stafford filed an unfair labor practices charge against the UTD with the Public Employees Relations Commission [PERC], alleging that the UTD violated its duty of fair representation by failing to represent her competently. PERC dismissed the charges, finding that the charges were untimely filed and that Stafford did not present a prima facie case. Subsequently, Stafford filed this action against Meek. The court entered summary judgment in Meek’s favor. We .affirm the judgment holding that the action against Meek provides no avenue of relief for Stafford: a union attorney representing a member in a collective bargaining activity enjoys immunity from a legal malpractice action filed by an individual grievant. It is well settled that union agents may not be held individually liable when they act on behalf of the union in a collective bargaining activity. See Atkinson v. Sinclair Refining Co., 370 U.S. 238, 82 S.Ct. 1318, 8 L.Ed.2d 462 (1962), overruled, on other grounds, Boys Markets, Inc. v. Retail Clerks Union, 398 U.S. 235, 90 S.Ct. 1583, 26 L.Ed.2d 199 (1970). In De Grio v. American Fed’n of Gov’t Employees, 484 So. 2d 1 (Fla.1986), the Florida Supreme Court discussed the public policy reasons that afford unions a different standard of care in representing union members and recognized the extension of' union-agent immunity to union attorneys:
We note these policy reasons have motivated courts to hold that attorneys may not be held individually liable for their ¡malpractice in representing union members where the union provides the attorneys’ services as part of its duty of fair representation to an employee in a grievance or termination proceeding.
DeGrio, 484 So. 2d at 3 (citing Peterson v. Kennedy, 771 F. 2d 1244 (9th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1122, 106 S.Ct. 1642, 90 L.Ed.2d 187 (1986)). See Arnold v. Air Midwest, Inc., 100 F. 3d 857 (10th Cir.1996); Breda v. Scott, 1 F. 3d 908, 909 (9th Cir.1993); Montplaisir v. Leighton, 875 F. 2d 1, 4-7 (1st Cir.1989). Here, Meek, a union attorney, represented Stafford pursuant to the UTD’s duty of fair representation in a grievance proceeding. Therefore, De Grio 1 bars the legal malpractice action against Meek as she is immune from liability. Accordingly, the judgment is affirmed.
Affirmed.
. Although the quoted language is dicta, we accord it the weight of persuasive authority.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Fla. Educ. Ass'n v. Wojcicki, 930 So. 2d 812 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006)…jcicki’s complaint. The attorney successfully argued the general rule that union agents may not be held individually hable when they act on behalf of a union in a collective bargaining activity and was dismissed from the case. See Stafford v. Meek, 762 So. 2d 925, 926 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000) (holding that “a union attorney representing a member in a collective bargaining activity enjoys immunity from a legal malpractice action filed by an individual grievant”). However, the circuit court rejected the FEA’s argume…
Authorities Cited
- Boys Mkts., Inc. v. Retail Clerks Union, 398 U.S. 235 (U.S. 1970)
- Atkinson v. Sinclair Ref. Co., 370 U.S. 238 (U.S. 1962)
- Davis v. City of Roswell, 475 U.S. 1122 (U.S. 1986)
- Peterson v. Kennedy, 771 F.2d 1244 (9th Cir. 1985)
- Montplaisir v. Leighton, 875 F.2d 1 (1st Cir. 1989)
- Joella DeGRIO v. Am. Fed'n OF Gov't Emps., 484 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 1986)