HIGHWAY TRUCK DRIVERS & HELPERS, ETC. v. Cohen

• Decision Date: 02 November 1960
• Docket Number: No. 13262.,13262.
• Parties: HIGHWAY TRUCK DRIVERS AND HELPERS, LOCAL 107, of the INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, an unincorporated association, by Thomas Graham, Carmen Grasso, Anthony Hnizdo, Jr., Karl M. Jensen, John C. Jones, Edward P. McCormick, John Regan, William D. Stasen and Robert D. Thomas, Trustees ad litem, v. Raymond COHEN, Joseph E. Grace, Edward Battisfore and Edward Walker, Appellants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

284 F.2d 162 (1960)

HIGHWAY TRUCK DRIVERS AND HELPERS, LOCAL 107, of the INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, an unincorporated association, by Thomas Graham, Carmen Grasso, Anthony Hnizdo, Jr., Karl M. Jensen, John C. Jones, Edward P. McCormick, John Regan, William D. Stasen and Robert D. Thomas, Trustees ad litem, v. Raymond COHEN, Joseph E. Grace, Edward Battisfore and Edward Walker, Appellants.

No. 13262.

United States Court of Appeals Third Circuit.

Argued October 21, 1960.

Decided November 2, 1960.

As Amended December 14, 1960.

Rehearing Denied December 19, 1960.

Samuel Dash, Philadelphia, Pa., for appellants.

Edward B. Bergman, Philadelphia, Pa., for appellees.

Before McLAUGHLIN, KALODNER and HASTIE, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM.

Nine members of the named union local, charging the local's governing officers with conspiring to cheat and defraud the local of large sums of money, were granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting said officers "from further using any of the funds of Local 107 * * * to pay for any legal fees in the defense of civil or criminal actions presently pending as of March 24, 1960 against them in the Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or in this court arising out of the alleged misuse of the funds of said Local 107 * * *". The charges in the state litigation arise out of the same alleged acts and conduct of the officers as are detailed in the complaint before us. No answer has as yet been filed by appellants.

The cause of action arises under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, P.L. 86-257. That statute holds labor organizations, employers, and their officials "to the highest standards of responsibility and ethical conduct in administering the affairs of their organizations, particularly as they affect labor management relations." 29 U.S.C.A. § 401(a). Under "Safeguards For Labor Organizations", Section 501 (a) makes it the duty of "The officers * * * to hold its the labor organization money and property solely for the benefit of the organization and its members and to manage, invest, and expend the same in accordance with its constitution and bylaws and any resolutions of the governing bodies adopted thereunder, to refrain from dealing with such organization as an adverse party or in behalf of an adverse party in any matter connected with his duties and from holding or acquiring any pecuniary or personal interest which conflicts with the interests of such organization, and to account to the organization for any profit received by him in whatever capacity in connection with transactions conducted by him or under his direction on behalf of the organization. A general exculpatory provision in the constitution and bylaws of such a labor organization or a general exculpatory resolution of a governing body...