- Court: Oregon Court of Appeals
- Area(s) of Law: Administrative Law
- Date Filed: 06-22-2016
- Case #: A158937
- Judge(s)/Court Below: Shorr, J. for the Court; Tookey, P.J.; & DeHoog, J.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (Union) appealed a decision of the Employment Relations Board (Board) dismissing its Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act (PECBA) complaints against the Port of Portland for lack of jurisdiction. The Board applied the "law of the case" doctrine in dismissing the complaints. The Board determined that there was no employment relationship between the Port and the Union in a previous, related case and applied that "law of the case" to its determination that PECBA could not apply unless there was an employment relationship to begin with. The "law of the case" doctrine precludes an appellate court from revisiting an issue but does not preclude a new case from overruling the issue, as was the case here. The Board must ground its decisions in this matter on the arguments and evidence presented during its investigation. Reversed.