Texas Supreme Court hears argument on whether Railway Labor Act preempts pilots' tort claims against Boeing

The Supreme Court of Texas heard argument in Boeing v. Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (No. 230676) over whether the Railway Labor Act (RLA) preempts state-law claims that require interpretation of collective bargaining agreements and whether the union has standing to pursue its members' claims. The court set aside 20 minutes per side for argument and allowed five minutes of rebuttal for the petitioner.

Why it matters: The court's decision could determine whether state courts in Texas may hear tort and other state-law claims that implicate airline collective bargaining agreements when the employer is not a party. Counsel for Boeing told the court that longstanding federal precedent bars state resolution of disputes that require CBA interpretation and that allowing state suits against non-signatories would undercut the RLA's uniform dispute-resolution framework.

Petitioner counsel, identified in the record as Miss Johnson, argued that the RLA preempts state claims that require interpretation of a collective bargaining agreement and that allowing the union's suit against Boeing (a non-signatory to the pilots' CBAs) would permit state courts to construe CBAs in proceedings from which the employer is absent. "For decades, the RLA has stood for one fundamental principle," Johnson told the court, "No court, state or…