Sacco v. Pataki, 95 Civ. 8627(MGC).

Citation114 F.Supp.2d 264
Decision Date25 September 2000
Docket NumberNo. 96 Civ. 9291(MGC).,No. 95 Civ. 8627(MGC).,95 Civ. 8627(MGC).,96 Civ. 9291(MGC).
PartiesThomas SACCO, et al., Plaintiffs, v. George E. PATAKI, et al., Defendants. Judith Abramson, et al., Plaintiffs, v. George E. Pataki, et al., Defendants.
CourtUnited States District Courts. 2nd Circuit. United States District Courts. 2nd Circuit. Southern District of New York

Proskauer Rose, LLP, New York City by Steven E. Obus, Charles S. Sims, Tamar Niv, for Defendants.

OPINION

CEDARBAUM, District Judge.

These two actions were filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Each action has multiple plaintiffs. The sixty-two plaintiffs in Thomas Sacco, et al. v. George E. Pataki, et al., 95 Civ. 8627, are current or former members of the Truck Drivers Local Union 807 ("Local 807") of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (the "International"). The two hundred plaintiffs in Judith Abramson, et al. v. George E. Pataki, et al., 96 Civ. 9291, are current or former members of Local 829 of the Exposition Worker's Union. Neither of these actions is a class action. Although both amended complaints repeatedly refer to "plaintiffs" collectively, each individual plaintiff has the burden of proving his or her claim.

All except one of plaintiffs' claims have been dismissed. Sacco v. Pataki, 982 F.Supp. 231 (S.D.N.Y.1997). The only remaining claims in these related actions are that each plaintiff was deprived of a liberty interest without due process of law in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Each plaintiff claims deprivation of a liberty interest by state officials who made highly publicized statements about corruption at the Javits Convention Center at a time when those state officials denied each plaintiff employment at the Javits Center.

Defendants New York Convention Center Operating Corporation ("NYCCOC"), Robert Boyle, President and CEO of NYCCOC, and William Mack,1 Chairman of the Board of Directors of NYCCOC, move for summary judgment on the ground that plaintiffs are unable to prove essential elements of their claims. Defendants Boyle and Mack also move for summary judgment on the ground of qualified immunity. For the reasons that follow, the motions are granted.

UNDISPUTED FACTS
BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs in both actions are union members who formerly worked at the Javits Center, but did not obtain employment there after hiring at the Javits Center was reorganized by the State of New York.

The Javits Center is a large convention hall established in 1986 by the State of New York. NYCCOC is a New York public benefit corporation created by the State to operate the Javits Center. N.Y. Pub. Auth. Law §§ 2560-72. Prior to June 30, 1995, trade shows held at the Javits Center were organized by trade show contracting companies.

Prior to June 30, 1995, private trade show companies, not NYCCOC, hired the labor necessary to handle freight and erect displays for each trade show held at the Javits Center. Trade show companies typically hired labor on an as-needed basis from three labor unions, members of two of which are plaintiffs in these related actions. Union members seeking work would shape up at the Javits Center on the day of a trade show. Those needed for the job were hired by the trade show companies in accordance with collective bargaining agreements with the unions. Seniority lists determined hiring priority.

The Javits Center was confronted with allegations of corrupt labor practices as early as 1990. One newspaper article reported the long history of allegations that organized crime had a substantial hold on the Javits Center:

In 1990 ... one Manhattan federal prosecutor called [the Javits Center] "a hiring hall for mobsters and former convicts." In 1992, 23 center employees were indicted for "labor union corruption and theft." The Mob's Glass House, New York Magazine, Jan. 9, 1995.

On February 24, 1995 another article reported:

Plagued by shakedowns, thefts and union-linked violence since it opened in 1986, the Jacob Javits Convention Center has become the shame of the city— an embarrassing symbol of large-scale corruption. Investigators say the glittering glass palace is a hiring hall for mobsters—a virtual subsidiary of the Genovese crime family. Blue Moonlighting, New York Post, Feb. 24, 1995.

On March 8, 1995, the International took control of Local 807, the union to which the Sacco plaintiffs belong, and announced that outside trustees would oversee Local 807. The International president, Ron Carey, stated that "[c]orruption at the Javits Center and Local 807 is robbing this city." Teamsters Seize Local on Costs at Javits Center, New York Times, Mar. 9, 1995. The International had acted on reports that jobs at the Javits Center "went to well-connected union members, sometimes ex-convicts with ties to organized crime." Id.

The Javits Center was also criticized for high labor costs. As an article in the New York Times explained:

The most frequent complaint from show managers and exhibitors is the high cost of setting up a trade show—more than in any other American city. "Even if it takes two seconds to get something done, you have to pay for a minimum of one hour and you might have to use three people," said Dr. Howard B. Mennell, who was in charge of a dental trade show in November. Unions at Javits Center Are Accused of Abuses, New York Times, Jan. 21, 1991.

These high costs were blamed on union control of hiring:

Officials say the center has no control over the hiring of union employees, leaving the unions with extraordinary power —and the center with escalating labor costs. Blue Moonlighting, New York Post, Feb. 24, 1995.

Such costs made the Javits Center the most expensive exposition center in the country. Id.

The State took action in response to allegations of corruption and inflated labor costs in June of 1995. On June 30, 1995, NYCCOC announced a fundamental change in hiring practices at the Javits Center. Under the new arrangement, NYCCOC itself would hire labor for the Javits Center, and those hired would be considered state employees. Javits Center Is Hiring, and Crowds Turn Up, New York Times, July 1, 1995. On June 30, 1995, NYCCOC first interviewed union members who had worked at the Javits Center before. Union members who had not worked at the Javits Center waited in line for interviews for a chance at Javits Center work that they had not been able to obtain prior to the NYCCOC takeover. Id. On July 1, 1995, job interviews were conducted with members of the general public. Id.

NYCCOC hired or offered work to nine of the plaintiffs in these related actions. (Suppl. Sacco Submission; Suppl. Abramson Submission Ex. G.) The employment histories of the remaining plaintiffs following the state takeover of hiring at the Javits Center vary, but the majority obtained employment in the trade show industry following the state takeover.

THE STATEMENTS

The statements of which each plaintiff complains did not name any particular plaintiff. The statements appeared in news coverage of the change in hiring practices at the Javits Center. Each plaintiff contends that defendants' statements to the news media led the public to believe that any worker at the Javits Center who was not hired by the State after the takeover had ties to organized crime. Because the statements that each plaintiff identifies are repetitive, in that different members of the media reported the same event, every statement identified is not repeated here.2

Approximately one week before the State took control of hiring at the Javits Center, the Daily News reported that investigations by state officials revealed that 60% of "Javits Center exposition workers" had past felony convictions. Bid to Cut Mob from Javits, Daily News, June 21, 1995. The next day, the same newspaper reported that "Javits officials have chosen a top-secret `D-Day,' when all trade show employees will start working for the state and measures to dump mob-linked workers will begin." Javits Center Labor Reform to Start, Daily News, June 22, 1995. Describing the plan, the New York Times reported:

Although some of the workers may come from the current union rolls, officials said the jobs will be open to anyone, and they expect that about 200 carpenters, teamsters and exposition employees with tainted backgrounds will be permanently removed from the workforce.

"We want to clean up the enormous featherbedding that we now have as well as the notorious presence of organized crime," said Robert E. Boyle, the center's new executive director. "Whether we will succeed in doing that is still questionable." State to Hire a Workforce at Javits Hall, New York Times, June 24, 1995.

On July 1, 1995, the day NYCCOC completed interviews, Boyle was interviewed by a television news reporter. In that interview Boyle stated, "Monday, I hope to be able to tell you that this Center is mob free." NY1 News at 9:30 p.m., July 1, 1995.

On July 6, 1995, after the State had hired a permanent workforce for the Javits Center, Governor Pataki and Boyle held a press conference at the Javits Center. The press release issued by the Governor's office summarizes the statements that Pataki and Boyle made to the press at that press conference. The press release stated in pertinent part:

GOVERNOR PATAKI ANNOUNCES SWEEPING REFORMS AT THE JACOB K. JAVITS CONVENTION CENTER

New labor contracts will root out organized crime, eliminate featherbedding and return Center to national preeminence.

Governor George E. Pataki today announced a series of major reforms that will sweep out corruption, eliminate featherbedding and return the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center to preeminence among the country's great exhibition halls.

. . . . .

"Today we send a clear message to those in organized crime that this great...

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