International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 v. Lowe Excavating Company

State: Illinois

Docket No: 101231 Rel

Preview:Docket Nos. 101231, 101347 cons..

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS

INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS, LOCAL 150, Appellant and Cross-Appellee, v. LOWE EXCAVATING COMPANY, Appellee and Cross-Appellant. Opinion filed November 30, 2006.

JUSTICE FITZGERALD delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Justices Freeman, Kilbride, Karmeier, and Burke concurred in the judgment and opinion. Justice Garman dissented, with opinion. Chief Justice Thomas took no part in the decision.

OPINION This case involves litigation spanning 18 years between plaintiff, Lowe Excavating Company (Lowe), and defendant, International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150 (the Union). In 1988, Lowe filed a multicount complaint against the Union in the circuit court of McHenry County, generally alleging that the Union picketed a Lowe work site with placards containing false information. After a bench trial, the trial court ruled in favor of the Union. The appellate court reversed, concluding that Lowe proved a cause of action for trade libel because the evidence showed that the Union made false

statements and the statements were made with actual malice. On remand, the trial court awarded Lowe $4,680 in compensatory damages and $525,000 in punitive damages. The appellate court reduced the punitive damages award to $325,000. 358 Ill. App. 3d 1034. We granted the parties' petitions for leave to appeal. For the reasons that follow, we reverse the judgment of the appellate court. BACKGROUND Lowe is an Illinois corporation that performs excavating and sitepreparation services. In February 1988, Lowe was performing excavation work at the Canterbury Place Retirement Community in McHenry County. Specifically, Lowe was working on a portion of the project known as Ballashire Hall, which was funded by the federal government through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In order to obtain the contract on this project, Lowe had to certify its payroll with the federal government, and thus had to demonstrate that it was paying its employees prevailing wages and benefits established by the United States Secretary of Labor. 40 U.S.C.

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