Paradise v. Paradise
| Decision Date | 27 June 1994 |
| Docket Number | No. 88-15012,88-15012 |
| Parties | NOTICE: Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3 provides that dispositions other than opinions or orders designated for publication are not precedential and should not be cited except when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. Nicholas William PARADISE, Julia Ann Paradise; William Michael Paradise; Edward Donald Kuball; William Michael Paradise as next friend of Stacey Michelle Paradise, a minor, and William Michael Paradise as next friend for Nicholas Michael Paradise, a minor Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Camille Ricca PARADISE; Marlene Zychowicz; Bonnie Supin; Children's Clinic, Saycich, Baker, Dushman, a professional corporation; John Samolovitch, individually and in his capacity as a police officer for the Metropolitan Police Department; Sherry Richardson-Crawford, individually and in her capacity as a police officer for the Metropolitan Police Department; City of Las Vegas; John Does Police, individually and in their capacities as unidentified police officers of Las Vegas; Gloria Powell; Mary Spencer; Trans World Airlines, Inc.; and Henry Does, individually and in their capacities as unidentified employees, servants of Trans World Airlines, Inc., Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
Before: FARRIS, O'SCANNLAIN, and TROTT, Circuit Judges.
Plaintiffs appeal from the district court's order finding their state tort claims, as stated in their complaint filed in federal court, preempted by the Railway Labor Act, 45 U.S.C. Sec. 151, et seq., and dismissing their complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. We dismiss the appeal.
On February 2, 1984, William M. Paradise, Nicholas W. and Julia A. Paradise (his parents), Julie A. Paradise (his sister), and Edward D. Kuball (his sister's boyfriend) were arrested and charged with sexually abusing William Paradise's son and daughter. The Paradises and Kuball denied the charges, which they asserted arose out of William Paradise's contentious divorce from Camille R. Paradise. At a preliminary hearing on February 17, 1984, a state court in Clark County, Nevada dismissed the charges, based on the lack of physical evidence and its determination that the child who had made the allegations was incompetent to testify.
Later that spring, Trans World Airlines, Inc., after reviewing the District Attorney's files, fired Julie Paradise and Kuball. They appealed their terminations pursuant to the arbitration system established in collective bargaining agreements between TWA and the pilots' and flight attendants' unions. Separate arbitration boards eventually reinstated Julie Paradise and Kuball.
While preparing for arbitration, TWA investigated the charges further and hired medical experts to examine the children. The experts concluded that the children had been molested. TWA made its experts' findings available to the District Attorney, who continued to pursue criminal charges against the Paradises and Kuball. A grand jury indicted the Paradises and Kuball three times, but courts dismissed the indictments. Finally, on October 6, 1987, with the statute of limitations drawing near, the District Attorney decided not to seek another indictment.
On December 11, 1987, the Paradises and Kuball filed an action in federal court against Camille Paradise, members of the Las Vegas Police Department, TWA, and medical experts used by Camille Paradise and TWA. The complaint included, among several other claims, a cause of action under Nevada law for malicious prosecution. Regarding TWA, the malicious prosecution claim asserted that the airline had ignored exculpatory evidence, hired medical experts who engaged in inappropriate and misleading investigations, and, in an effort to strengthen its arbitration cases, assisted and encouraged the Paradises' and Kuball's criminal prosecutions.
On May 10, 1988, the Paradises and Kuball filed a "Motion for Voluntary Dismissal Without Prejudice With Leave to File In State Court." Along with their motion, they submitted a copy of a complaint they had filed in state court.
The district court concluded that the Paradises' and Kuball's claims were preempted by the Railway Labor Act, 45 U.S.C. Secs. 151, et seq., which requires all claims arising out of the employment relationship of employees and airlines to be submitted to arbitration. 1 Noting that it lacked authority to grant a party leave to file a complaint in state court, the district court dismissed without prejudice the Paradises' and Kuball's federal complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
The Paradises and Kuball appealed, seeking a reversal of the district court's determination that the RLA preempted their claims. This appeal was stayed pending the Nevada Supreme Court's ruling on an appeal from the state trial court's dismissal of the state complaint. On December 20, 1990,...
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