Kline V. Security Guards

Daulph Kline and Terry Kline brought suit in the Court of Common Pleas of Berks County, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, against Dana Corporation ("Dana"), Security Guards, Inc. ("SGI"), and Radio Maintenance, Inc. ("RMI"; collectively, the "Defendants") asserting nu merous claims arising unde r Pennsylvania law. Defendants thereafter removed the case to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, contending that Appellants' claims were completely preempted by § 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act ("LMRA"), 29 U.S.C. § 185. RMI was ultimately dismissed as a party and judgment was entered in favor of Dana and SGI. This appeal followed. Because we conclude that the District Court did not have subject matter jurisdiction over any of the state law claims asserted in the complaint, we will vacate the judgment and remand to the District Court with instructions to return this case to the employees at the Reading facility, Terry and Daulph Kline, learned from certain SGI guards operating the guard booth that the surveillance system had the capacity to transm it to the monitor oral communications taking place in the entryway. The Klines then reported this fact to their Union representatives. Over the course of the following weeks, the Union made inquiries of Dana's management concerning its use of the surveillance system. These inquiries resulted in the removal of the system on October 29, 1998.