Batson v. Shiflett3/12/1992
ally dependent" upon analysis of the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. The Court first noted that "the pre-emptive effect of § 301 must extend beyond suits alleging contract violations." Id. at 210, 105 S.Ct. at 1911, 85 L.Ed.2d at 215. The Court continued, however, that "not every dispute concerning employment, or tangentially involving a provision
of a collective-bargaining agreement, is pre-empted by § 301 or other provisions of the federal labor law." Id. at 211, 105 S.Ct. at 1911, 85 L.Ed.2d at 215. The Court found that " n extending the pre-emptive effect of § 301 beyond suits for breach of contract, it would be inconsistent with congressional intent under that section to pre-empt state rules that proscribe conduct, or establish rights and obligations, independent of a labor contract," Id. at 212, 105 S.Ct. at 1912, 85 L.Ed.2d at 216, and that those claims which are preempted are those "state-law rights and obligations that do not exist independently of private agreements, and that as a result can be waived or altered by agreement of private parties." Id. at 213, 105 S.Ct. at 1912, 85 L.Ed.2d at 216.
In the present case, Shiflett's claims of libel, slander, and intentional infliction of emotional distress are rights that exist, under Maryland law, independent of any provision of the National Union's Constitution or By-laws. Consequently, these claims are not the type of claims which the Lueck Court would have concluded were "inextricably intertwined with consideration of the terms of the labor contract."
Petitioners' reliance on McCormick v. AT & T Technologies, Inc., 934 F.2d 531 (4th Cir.1991) (en banc), is also misplaced. In that case, an employee alleged that by carelessly disposing of the contents of his work locker after his discharge, his employer engaged in intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, conversion, and negligence in care of a bailment. The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the claims were preempted because the defense raised by the employer would require interpretation of the collective bargaining agreement to determine whether the employer was authorized to act as it did.
Shiflett's tort claims based on Flyer No. 3 involved issues much different from those involved in the NLRB proceeding, and did not require an interpretation or application of any federal labor law or any labor agreement. The jury properly heard those claims, together with the other separate
and distinct acts of defamation, about which the National Union and Batson have raised no preemption concerns.
IV.
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution requires that before a public figure may recover for defamation, clear and convincing evidence must establish that the statements in issue were: (1) defamatory in meaning, Hearst Corporation v. Hughes, 297 Md. 112, 119, 466 A.2d 486, 489-90 (1983); (2) false, Jacron Sales Co. v. Sindorf, 276 Md. 580, 597, 350 A.2d 688, 698 (1976); see Fitzgerald v. Penthouse Intern., Ltd., 639 F.2d 1076, 1079 (4th Cir.1981); and (3) made with "actual malice." New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 279-80, 84 S.Ct. 710, 726, 11 L.Ed.2d 686, 706 (1964); see Masson v. New Yorker Magazine, Inc., U.S. , , 111 S.Ct. 2419, 2429, 115 L.Ed.2d 447, 468 (1991); Hustler Magazine v. Falwell, 485 U.S. 46, 56, 108 S.Ct. 876, 882, 99 L.Ed.2d 41, 52-53 (1988); Linn, 383 U.S. at 65, 86 S.Ct. at 664, 15 L.Ed.2d at 591; Capital-Gazette Newspapers v. Stack, 293 Md. 528, 538, 445 A.2d 1038, 1043, cert. de
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