Lucas v. Milford Police Union, No. Cv99 0068796s (Feb. 13, 2001)

**Police Officer Wins Right to Sue Union for Poor Representation** Police officer Lucas sued the Milford Police Union, claiming the union failed to properly represent him and retaliated against him. Lucas argued the union breached its legal duty to fairly represent all members and sought monetary damages for the harm this caused him. The union tried to get the case thrown out of court before it even started. They argued that Lucas should have first gone through the State Board of Labor Relations, a government agency that handles labor disputes, before filing his lawsuit. The court disagreed and denied the union's request to dismiss the case. The judge ruled that Lucas had presented enough evidence to move forward with his claims. More importantly, the court found that Lucas didn't need to exhaust other administrative processes first because the State Board of Labor Relations cannot award the type of monetary damages he was seeking - only the court could do that. **What This Means for Workers:** This ruling shows that union members can sue their own unions when they believe the union has failed to represent them fairly. Workers don't always have to go through lengthy government processes before taking legal action, especially when seeking financial compensation that those agencies cannot provide.