Appeal of Faehnrich v. Bentz Metal Products Co. (In Re Bentz Metal Products Co.)

BAUER, Circuit Judge,

joined by FLAUM, Chief Judge, COFFEY, RIPPLE, and KANNE, Circuit Judges, dissenting.

I respectfully dissent. Ours is still the sole Circuit to address whether a state’s mechanic’s lien law is preempted by § 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, 29 U.S.C. § 185(a), and although alone on the matter, we have given it much attention. Two panels of this Court and the en banc panel have eyed it, and this dissent takes one more look. I agree with the majority that the applicable legal principles are far “easier to mouth than to apply,” ante at 286, but I disagree…