Massachusetts Coastal Railroad v. Marsh

A worker sued his employer, a railroad, for failing to pay him the prevailing wage required by Massachusetts law for his work on public works projects. The railroad moved to dismiss, arguing that the federal ICC Termination Act preempts the state-law claims. The trial court denied the motion, and the state supreme court affirmed. The railroad then petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for review. Serving as co-counsel in the Supreme Court, we filed a brief in opposition to the petition. The brief explained that the Supreme Court does not have jurisdiction to review the state-court decision below because the case was not final. It also explained that unresolved legal and factual issues made the case a poor candidate for review, that the state supreme court’s decision was correct, and that it did not conflict with the decision of another court. In May 2024, the Supreme Court denied the petition.