Zander v. Carlson

Summary

The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed dismissal of a terminated police officer’s malpractice and related claims against his union and the union attorney who represented him in arbitration. The court held that a union attorney is immune from personal liability for actions taken on the union’s behalf in the collective-bargaining process, and that the claim against the union was within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Illinois Labor Relations Board as a duty-of-fair-representation claim. The court also held that the officer forfeited an argument concerning liability limited to malpractice-insurance coverage by raising it for the first time in a motion for reconsideration.