Fowler v. Ill. Sports Facilities Auth. & Chi. White Sox, Ltd.
Fowler v. Ill. Sports Facilities Auth. & Chi. White Sox, Ltd.
Opinion of the Court
Dustin Fowler, a professional baseball player, brought this suit against the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority and Chicago White Sox, Ltd. (together, "the White Sox") in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, after he was seriously injured while playing at Guaranteed Rate Field, the White Sox's stadium. Doc. 1-1. The complaint characterizes Fowler's claims as negligence claims arising under Illinois law. Defendants removed the suit to this court under
Background
On June 29, 2017, the New York Yankees played the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. Doc. 1-1 at ¶¶ 6-8. Fowler made his Major League debut that day, *825playing right field for the Yankees.
The terms of Fowler's employment as a professional baseball player are governed by the 2017-2021 Basic Agreement, a collectively bargained agreement between the Major League Clubs and the Major League Baseball Players Association. Doc. 1 at ¶ 3.
Discussion
As noted, the White Sox premise federal jurisdiction on the ground that Fowler's negligence claims, which he characterizes as arising under Illinois law, are completely preempted by § 301 of the LMRA. See
Settled precedent holds that § 301 completely preempts state law claims "founded directly on rights created by collective-bargaining agreements, and also claims substantially dependent on analysis of a collective-bargaining agreement." Caterpillar ,
Section 301 preemption is not boundless. "[A] state-law claim is 'completely preempted' only when it is inextricably intertwined with consideration of the terms of the labor contract."
Under Illinois law, the elements of a negligence claim are "the existence of a duty of care owed by the defendant to the plaintiff, a breach of that duty, and an injury proximately caused by that breach." Simpkins v. CSX Transp., Inc. ,
As noted, Fowler alleges that the White Sox violated their duty of care when they installed a hidden, unpadded box in the wall on the right foul line. The White Sox contend that Fowler's claim is preempted by § 301 because resolving the claim requires interpretation of Article XIII of the Basic Agreement. Doc. 35 at 6-7. Article XIII establishes a joint Safety and Health Advisory Committee, "comprised of an equal number of members representing the Association and representing the Clubs," "to deal with emergency safety and health problems as they arise" and "to engage in review of, planning for and maintenance of safe and healthful working conditions for Players." Doc. 1-2 at p. 70, Art. XIII(A)(1). Committee meetings can be called by any member who believes an emergency safety problem requires attention, and otherwise occur at least once a year "for purposes of review and planning." Id. at p. 70, Art. XIII(A)(2). The Committee can make non-binding recommendations to the clubs and players. Id. at p. 71, Art. XIII(A)(3). The Players Association is not required to raise a safety issue with the Committee before filing a formal grievance in arbitration. Id. at p. 71, Art. XIII(A)(4).
The White Sox argue that, by establishing the Committee and empowering it to plan for and maintain safe working conditions for the players, Article XIII "lessens the scope of the White Sox's duty" to independently ensure the safety of the facilities, as "they c[an] reasonably rely on the Joint Committee's guidance in that regard." Doc. 35 at 17. Put another way, the White Sox conclude from Article XIII that, absent any objection from the Committee, the injury that Fowler suffered when he ran into the box was not reasonably foreseeable-and therefore that his negligence claim fails. See Clifford ,
If the White Sox's argument were plausible, then a court would need to interpret Article XIII to determine whether (or to what extent) the White Sox owed Fowler a duty of care, and Fowler's negligence claim would be completely preempted. See Boogaard ,
Comparison with Duerson v. National Football League ,
That principle explains the results in Duerson and Dent . In Duerson , the estate of a former Chicago Bears player alleged that the National Football League ("NFL") negligently failed to inform him of the risks of brain injury after repeated concussions,
That principle is inapposite here. Article XIII leaves no doubt that the clubs were in a vastly better position than the Committee to assess the safety of their own premises. The clubs did not give up any control over their premises to the Committee, nor did they even grant it any consistent supervisory role. The Committee may act only if called to session by one of its members, or in one of its annual meetings "for purposes of review and planning." Doc. 1-2 at p. 70, Art. XIII(A)(2). And Article XIII acknowledges that players can take their safety concerns straight to arbitration, without attempting to convene the Committee. Id. at p. 71, Art. XIII(A)(4). When the Committee does address *828a safety concern, its recommendations are only advisory, leaving final authority over the premises with the clubs. Id. at p. 71, Art. XIII(A)(3). It would have been wholly unreasonable for any club to delegate its responsibility to ensure the safety of its playing field to the intermittent and weak Committee described in Article XIII.
That conclusion applies with particular force to a small, hidden hazard like the metal box that injured Fowler. Because the box was hidden from players' view (as Fowler alleges, Doc. 1-1 at ¶ 17, and the White Sox do not dispute), no player could have realized the risk it posed and attempted to convene the Committee to address the problem. And it strains credulity to suppose (and the White Sox do not assert) that the Committee would examine such granular details of individual ballparks in its occasional meetings "for purposes of review and planning." It follows that the White Sox's interpretation of Article XIII is not plausible, that the Basic Agreement therefore will not affect the White Sox's duty of care to Fowler, and therefore that Fowler's claims are not completely preempted under Section 301. See Baker ,
The White Sox also argue, briefly, that determining Fowler's damages will require interpretation of the CBA provisions stating that players shall receive their full salary and "reasonable medical and hospital expenses" while injured. Doc. 35 at 26. But those provisions determine the clubs' obligations to their own injured players, not the obligations of clubs that allegedly injure another teams' player, which is the situation presented here. Doc. 1-2 at 349 (providing, in the Uniform Player's Contract that players enter into with the individual clubs for which they play, that a player is entitled to "reasonable medical and hospital expenses incurred by reason of the injury" on the conditions that written notice of the injury is "served upon and received by the Club" and that the club may designate the player's health care providers).
Conclusion
Because Fowler's claims are not completely preempted by § 301 of the LMRA, they are true state law claims. And because complete preemption is the sole ground on which the White Sox premise removal, Doc. 1, any other grounds for removal have been forfeited. See W.C. Motor Co. v. Talley ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Dustin FOWLER v. The ILLINOIS SPORTS FACILITIES AUTHORITY and Chicago White Sox, Ltd.
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published