Akins v. United Steelworkers of America

OPINION {1} In this case, we determine that there is no need to address the first-impression question of choosing which statute of limitations applies to civil suits between public employees and their unions. The options rest between the six-month statute of limitations for prohibited practices under the Public Employee Bargaining Act (the PEBA) and the four-year catch-all statute of limitations applied by the district court to this common-law suit for breach of a union's duty of fair representation (the DFR). Determining that the six-month statute of limitations does not apply retroactively in this case, we affirm the district court's application of the four-year common-law statute of limitations. Proceeding to the merits of the claim, we hold: (1) the district court's award of both compensatory and punitive damages against the Union was proper; and (2) the district court's refusal to allow either evidence of or a jury instruction concerning intentional infliction of emotional distress was proper. We affirm.