Anderson v. Panama Canal Company

• Decision Date: 21 April 1961
• Docket Number: 4797.,Civ. No. 4784
• Citation: 194 F. Supp. 765
• Parties: Spencer M. ANDERSON et al., Plaintiffs, v. PANAMA CANAL COMPANY, a Federally Chartered Corporation, Defendant. Arthur MORGAN et al., Plaintiffs, v. PANAMA CANAL COMPANY, a Federally Chartered Corporation, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Panama Canal Zone

194 F. Supp. 765

Spencer M. ANDERSON et al., Plaintiffs, v. PANAMA CANAL COMPANY, a Federally Chartered Corporation, Defendant.

Arthur MORGAN et al., Plaintiffs, v. PANAMA CANAL COMPANY, a Federally Chartered Corporation, Defendant.

Civ. Nos. 4784, 4797.

District Court, Canal Zone Division of Balboa.

April 21, 1961.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

William S. Tyson, Washington, D. C., and Van Siclen & Ramirez, Balboa, Canal Zone, for plaintiffs.

General Counsel of Panama Canal Co., Paul A. Bentz, Balboa Heights, Canal Zone, chief counsel, David J. Markun, Dwight A. McKabney, Theodore P. Daly, Balboa Heights, Canal Zone, Thomas J. Oliver, Rochester, N. Y., trial attys., for Panama Canal Co. CROWE, District Judge.

These findings are made a part of and are in addition to the opinion of the Court and are made from the Stipulation of Facts filed by counsel and from submissions of proposed findings by each party.

In accordance with this plan, the Court finds that:

1. The defendant, Panama Canal Company, is a corporate agency and instrumentality of the Government of the United States of America, created by the Panama Canal Company Act, which act constitutes article 3 of chapter 12 of title 2, Canal Zone Code, consisting of sections 245 to 258 of said title 2, enacted June 29, 1948, c. 706, sec. 2, 62 Stat. 1076, and amended by Act of September 26, 1950, c. 1049, 64 Stat. 1041; that the aforesaid Company is successor to the Panama Railroad Company which was incorporated by private interests under an act of the State of New York passed April 7, 1849, and which latter Company was wholly owned by the United States of America from the year 1905 until that Company's dissolution as a New York corporate entity on June 30, 1948.

2. Spencer M. Anderson, Arthur Morgan, and all other plaintiffs named in the above entitled suits (Civil Nos. 4784 and 4797) have been regularly employed at hourly rates of pay by the defendant Panama Canal Company for all or a part of the time since January 5, 1956; that such employment has consisted of duties aboard floating equipment of the defendant operated by its Dredging Division; and that such floating equipment has included but was not limited to a pipeline suction dredge, a dipper dredge, two small tugboats, and several launches of varying sizes.

3. Spencer M. Anderson, Arthur Morgan, and all other plaintiffs named in the above-entitled suits (Civil Nos. 4784 and 4797), obtained their positions with defendant Panama Canal Company or with The Panama Canal and were appointed to such positions by authority of the Governor of The Panama Canal (if employed prior to July 1, 1951) or the President of the defendant Panama Canal Company (if employed subsequent to June 30, 1951) after their applications for employment had been approved.

4. Pursuant to the Act of September 26, 1950 (64 Stat. 1041), and Executive Order 10263 of June 29, 1951, U.S.Code Congressional and Administrative Service 1951, p. 1050, issued thereunder, there were transferred from the employ of The Panama Canal, now designated Canal Zone Government, to the defendant Panama Canal Company, a total of approximately 10,150 employees, including all of the 171 parties plaintiff in these actions who were employed by The Panama Canal as of June 30, 1951; that the employees transferred as aforesaid had immediately prior to July 1, 1951 performed a wide variety of jobs and functions related to the operation and maintenance of the Panama Canal as a waterway, and to its incidental business activities in the Canal Zone involving services, supply, public utilities, repair and construction, and the maintenance of housing facilities; that upon transfer and immediately subsequent thereto they continued to perform the variety of jobs and functions as aforesaid subject to the control and on behalf of the defendant Panama Canal Company.

5. The scope and general nature of the duties to which the plaintiffs were or might have been assigned by defendant since January 5, 1956 are set forth in the defendant's position descriptions for such employees which may be introduced into evidence either by plaintiffs or defendant at the trial of these actions upon agreement between the parties as to the authenticity of the copies offered.

6. None of the positions occupied by any of the plaintiffs during the period of their employment referred to in paragraph 2 above, have been classified positions under the Classification Act of 1949, 63 Stat. 954, 5 U.S.C. §§ 1071-1153, 5 U.S.C.A. §§ 1071-1153, as amended.

7. The plaintiffs in these suits have been employed by the defendant, during all or a portion of the period for which claim is made, in positions falling into four principal categories, as follows:

Category A—Officers and crew members of the Dredge U. S. Mindi (a 5,000-horsepower, non-self-propelled, cutterhead, pipeline suction dredge with 28-inch discharge) or of the U. S. Mandinga (a 330-horsepower, non-self-propelled, cutterhead, pipeline suction dredge with 10-inch discharge). The plaintiffs who have served since January 5, 1956 in this category are shown below, designated by the order number in which their names appear in the captions of the two complaints filed herein:

Civil No. 4784—Numbers 1-3, 5-11, 13, 17, 19, 20, 24, 26-36, 39, 43-45, 49, 55, 57-59, 61, 63-67, 69, 71, 73-76, 80, 82-84, 86, 91, 92, 94, 96, 97, 100, 102-105, 107-112, 114, 115, 117, 118, 122, 124-127, 129, 130, 133, 134, 137, 143, 144, 149, 151, 152, 154, 156-158.

Civil No. 4797—Number 6.

Category B—Officers and crew members of the Dredge U. S. Cascadas (a 15 cubic yard, non-self-propelled, steam, dipper dredge). The plaintiffs who have served since January 5, 1956 in this category are shown below, designated by the order number in which their names appear in the captions of the two complaints filed herein:

Civil No. 4784—Numbers 4, 5, 9, 12-16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 26, 28, 31, 35-38, 40-42, 47, 48, 50-53, 56, 60, 62, 70, 72, 77, 79, 81, 85, 87, 88, 93, 99, 101, 106, 113, 116, 119, 121, 123, 128, 131, 135, 136, 140-142, 145-147, 153. (Also Gregor Gramlich whose name does not appear in the caption but who was joined as party plaintiff on April 24, 1959.)

Civil No. 4797—Numbers 1-3, 7, 9, 11.

Category C—Officers and crew members of the U. S. Chame and the U. S. Diablo, (small tugboats of steel, welded construction—each licensed for 33 passengers and a crew of 5, with length of 53 feet 6 inches, beam of 14 feet 8 inches, depth of 7 feet 3 inches, displacement of 70 long tons, and powered by one 6-cylinder, 200-horsepower, diesel engine) and of the U. S. Siri (a watchboat of steel, welded construction—licensed for 65 passengers and a crew of 4, with approximate dimensions of 65 feet in length, 15 feet in beam, and 6½ feet in depth, displacing 60 long tons, and powered by two 65-horsepower diesel engines). The plaintiffs who have served since January 5, 1956 in this category are shown below, designated by the order number in which their names appear in the captions of the two complaints filed herein.

Civil No. 4784—Numbers 22, 25, and 78.

Category D—Operators and crew members of various Dredging Division launches representative of which are the U. S. Sawfish and U. S. Trout (launches of wood construction—each one licensed for 40 passengers and a crew of 2, with approximate dimensions of 40 feet in length, 11 feet in beam, and 5 feet in depth, displacing about 11½ and 13 long tons, respectively, and powered by 6-cylinder diesel engines of 100 and 165 horsepower, respectively). The plaintiffs who have served since January 5, 1956 in this category are shown below, designated by the order number in which their names appear in the captions of the two complaints filed herein:

Civil No. 4784—Numbers 46, 54, 68, 89, 90, 95, 98, 120, 132, 138, 139, 148, and 155.

Civil No. 4797—Numbers 4, 5, 8, 10, and 12.

8. The plaintiff Egbert F. R. Watson, appearing as the 150th name in the caption on the complaint in the case designated Civil No. 4784, has not been employed since January 5, 1956 in any of the categories of defendant's Dredging Division employees described in paragraph 7 above. The said plaintiff Watson since the date aforesaid has been employed in defendant's Engineering Division (Hydrographic Section) and for a portion of that time he has performed the duties of a leadsman taking soundings from a small boat. In order to reach the places where such work is performed, he was assigned for a part of the claim period to work with the U. S. Mindi; therefore, for such period his status was similar to that of employees in Category A, as set out in paragraph 7 above.

9. The plaintiffs who are citizens of the United States are those designated below by the order number in which their names appear in the captions of the two complaints filed herein:

Civil No. 4784—Numbers 1-9, 11-29, 31-36, 80. (Also Gregor Gramlich whose name does not appear in the caption but who was joined as party plaintiff on April 24, 1959).

Civil No. 4797—Numbers 1, 2 and 3. The remaining plaintiffs, not designated above, are neither citizens nor nationals of the United States.

10. The plaintiff Oscar Oliver Jones, appearing as the 7th named in the caption on the complaint in the case designated Civil No. 4797, died on May 12, 1958, at which time he was in defendant's employ.

11. The following plaintiffs, with respect to whose claims defendant asserts the defense of res judicata, were parties plaintiff in the United States Court of Claims in actions brought against the United States to recover additional compensation for periods of employment with The Panama Canal prior to 1951 and to their transfer to the employ of defendant, and those actions were based upon an asserted statutory right arising from Section 23 of the Act of March 28, 1934, 48 Stat. 522, 5 U.S.C. § 673c, 5 U.S.C.A. § 673c:

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