AIR LINE STEWARDS AND STEWARDESSES ASS'N v. Trans World Airlines
| Decision Date | 16 July 1986 |
| Docket Number | No. 70 C 2071,74 C 2063.,70 C 2071 |
| Parties | AIR LINE STEWARDS AND STEWARDESSES ASSOCIATION, LOCAL 550, TWU, AFL-CIO, et al., Plaintiffs, v. TRANS WORLD AIRLINES, INC., Defendants. Anne B. ZIPES, et al., Plaintiffs, v. AIR LINE STEWARDS AND STEWARDESSES ASSOCIATION, LOCAL 550, TWU, AFL-CIO and Trans World Airlines, Inc., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
Before the court are attorneys' fee petition by counsel for both Class A and B plaintiffs. Counsel for Class A plaintiffs seek $57,288 in fees from the Independent Federation of Flight Attendants ("IFFA"). Counsel for Class B plaintiffs seek $177,725 in fees1 from the IFFA and $73,711.85 from defendant Trans World Airlines, Inc. ("TWA"). For the reasons stated herein, Class A plaintiffs' fee petition is granted in its entirety. IFFA is ordered to reimburse the settlement fund $57,258, the amount of Class A attorneys' fees. Class B plaintiffs' petition for fees is denied as to TWA and granted as to IFFA.
This extremely complex case was brought as a challenge to TWA's practice of routinely discharging pregnant stewardesses.2 Sex discrimination charges were filed with the EEOC in June of 1970. The charges were filed by several TWA stewardesses who had fallen victim to TWA's discriminatory practice and by their former collective bargaining representative, the Air Line Stewards and Stewardesses Association ("ALSSA"). In August, 1970, after the EEOC proceedings were completed, this action was filed pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq.3
The case was brought as a class action on behalf of (1) all stewardesses who had suffered a pregnancy-based firing after July 2, 1965 (the effective date of Title VII); and, (2) all then-employed stewardesses who might become pregnant. The named plaintiffs were ALSSA and the terminated stewardesses who had filed with the EEOC. The complaint sought reinstatement, retroactive seniority and backpay for those class members who had been fired and an injunction against future pregnancy-based firings for the then-employed stewardesses.
In October 1970, ALSSA entered into a collective bargaining agreement with TWA that eliminated future pregnancy-based discharges.
In September of 1971, TWA and ALSSA reached an agreement designed to settle this case. The agreement provided that previously terminated stewardesses could return to work as openings occurred. The agreement abandoned the claims for retroactive seniority and backpay. Despite the objections of various class members, Judge Perry approved this settlement agreement on March 17, 1972.
The dissatisfied class members appealed entry of the settlement order and on September 11, 1973, the Seventh Circuit reversed the order. The Seventh Circuit remanded the case with instructions that "one or more of the named plaintiffs or other members of the class ... replace ALSSA as the representative of the class." ALSSA v. American Airlines, Inc., 490 F.2d 636, 643 (7th Cir.1973) cert. denied, 416 U.S. 993, 94 S.Ct. 2406, 40 L.Ed.2d 773 (1974).
TWA and ALSSA had entered into another agreement during the pendency of the appeal. Under this agreement, TWA would rehire all class members except those who refused to relinquish their litigation rights, again without backpay or retroactive seniority. This agreement formed the basis for a second EEOC charge and later a suit against TWA and ALSSA.4
Following remand, proper class representatives were appointed and notice was sent to potential class members. In September, 1974, TWA sought leave to amend its answer to include a third affirmative defense. In this affirmative defense, TWA asserted that the majority of the class members' claims were barred since they had not filed charges with the EEOC within 90 days of their discharge.5 While granting the amendment, Judge McLaren cautioned that TWA's delay in pleading the defense might well constitute a waiver.
On October 15, 1976, Judge McGarr denied TWA's motion to restrict the class to those stewardesses that had filed with the EEOC within 90 days of their discharge. While Judge McGarr agreed that the 90 day filing requirement was a jurisdictional prerequisite not subject to waiver, he held that any violation by TWA continued against all class members until the challenged policy was changed. Thus, the 90 day requirement was satisfied for all class members by the June 1970 EEOC charges.
On October 19, 1976, Judge McGarr granted the plaintiff class's motion for summary judgment as to liability.
At TWA's request, both the liability order and the earlier jurisdictional order were certified for immediate appeal. The Seventh Circuit allowed interlocutory review and subsequently affirmed the summary judgment as to TWA's Title VII liability. In re Consolidated Pretrial Proceedings, 582 F.2d 1142 (7th Cir.1978). As to the jurisdictional issue, however, the Seventh Circuit declined "to extend the continuing violation theory ... to include in the plaintiff class those employees who were permanently terminated more than 90 days before the filing of EEOC charges." Id. at 1149. The Seventh Circuit's ruling effectively barred the claims of approximately 92% of the plaintiff class. See Zipes v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., 455 U.S. 385, 390, 102 S.Ct. 1127, 1130-31, 71 L.Ed.2d 234 (1982).
The Seventh Circuit stayed its mandate pending the filing of petitions for certiorari in the Supreme Court. A petition was in fact filed by the plaintiff class (No. 78-1545) and TWA cross-petitioned (No. 78-1549). The Supreme Court granted motions to defer consideration of the petitions, however, pending completion of settlement negotiations in the district court. 442 U.S. 916, 99 S.Ct. 2834, 61 L.Ed.2d 282 (1979).
As a result of the Seventh Circuit's ruling it was necessary to divide the plaintiff class into two sub classes. Class A plaintiffs were those stewardesses who had been fired within 90 days of the original EEOC charges. Class B consisted of those stewardesses who had been fired prior to that time.
Plaintiffs and TWA continued settlement negotiations. The proposed settlement agreement they eventually came up with provided that TWA would pay $3 million for pro rata distribution between the two plaintiff classes. The agreement also provided each class member with full retroactive company seniority. The agreement specified that competitive (union) seniority has to be decided by the court.
Following submission of the proposed settlement to this court, ALSSA's successor union, the Independent Federation of Flight Attendants ("IFFA"), intervened and objected to the grant of any seniority. IFFA challenged this court's jurisdiction to adjudicate seniority. Despite IFFA's challenge, in October 1979, this court approved the settlement agreement and granted full retroactive competitive seniority.
IFFA appealed. In June of 1980, the Seventh Circuit held that despite its earlier decision that the Class B plaintiffs' claims were jurisdictionally defective, this court had jurisdiction to approve the settlment which compromised on that issue. ALSSA v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., 630 F.2d 1164, 1169 (7th Cir.1980). The Seventh Circuit also affirmed this court's grant of full retroactive union seniority. Id.
IFFA petitioned the Supreme Court for certiorari. On March 9, 1981, the Supreme Court issued a writ of certiorari on IFFA's petition (No. 80-951) and also on the stillpending earlier petitions of the plaintiff class (No. 78-1545) (the class B jurisdictional issue) and TWA (No. 78-1549) (the liability issue). See 450 U.S. 979, 101 S.Ct. 1511, 67 L.Ed.2d 813 (1981). TWA's petition was shortly thereafter removed from argument, see 451 U.S. 980, 101 S.Ct. 2308, 68 L.Ed.2d 836 (1981), and was ultimately dismissed as improvidently granted. 455 U.S. at 392 n. 5, 102 S.Ct. at 1132 n. 5.
On February 24, 1982, the Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Zipes. The Court in Zipes reversed the Seventh Circuit's 1979 decision that the claims of the Class B plaintiffs were barred. The Zipes Court held that Title VII's filing requirement was subject to waiver like any other statute of limitations. 455 U.S. at 392-398, 102 S.Ct. at 1131-35. The Court also found IFFA's claims meritless. Id. at 398-401, 102 S.Ct. at 1135-36.
The instant fee petitions were filed by counsel for both Class A and Class B plaintiffs. Counsel for Class A plaintiffs seek an award against IFFA for those fees generated by IFFA's intervention in this case. Counsel for Class B seek fees both from IFFA for time spent defending IFFA's attacks upon this court's award of competetive seniority and from TWA for one-half of the time spent in the Supreme Court after certiorari was granted. The petition against TWA will be discussed first.
Despite the arguments of counsel for Class B plaintiffs, a review of plaintiffs' 1979 settlement agreement with TWA discloses that TWA's liability for any attorney's fees was fully resolved by that settlement agreement. The settlement agreement expressly excludes TWA from liability for any future payments, including fees.
Section II of the settlement agreement sets forth the purpose of the settlement:
The petitions for certiorari were thus expressly addressed by the settlement.
Section III A of the settlement agreement provides...
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