Supreme Court dismisses appeal in right-to-work case

By, TheIndianaLawyer.com

The Indiana Supreme Court dismissed a Lake County lawsuit challenging the state’s right-to-work law after the state and plaintiffs filed a motion to dismiss.

The motion by Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller and plaintiffs, including United Steel, comes after the justices ruled last month that Indiana’s right-to-work law does not violate the Indiana Constitution. That ruling came in Gregory F. Zoeller, Attorney General and Rick J. Ruble, Commissioner of the In. Dept. of Labor v. James M. Sweeney, David A. Fagan, Charles Severs et. al., 45S00-1309-PL-596. Lake Superior Judge John M. Sedia found last year that I.C. 22-6-6-8 and 22-6-6-10 violate Article I, Section 21 of the Indiana Constitution.

In the United Steel case, Lake Circuit Judge George Paras in July struck down the law, finding it “null and void.”

The justices declined to consolidate the two cases.

The order issued Tuesday by the Supreme Court vacates Paras’ judgment, dismisses the appeal with prejudice and remands to the trial court with instructions to dismiss United Steel’s complaint with prejudice.

The law, which prohibits involuntary union dues, was passed in 2012.