Asociacion De Empleados v. Union Internacional
| Citation | 515 F.Supp.2d 209 |
| Decision Date | 11 September 2007 |
| Docket Number | Civil No. 05-1986 (FAB/CVR). |
| Parties | ASOCIACION DE EMPLEADOS DEL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, Plaintiff, v. UNION INTERNACIONAL DE TRABAJADORES DE LA INDUSTRIA DE AUTOMOVILES, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico |
Gina Ismalia Gutierrez-Galang, Jorge Martinez-Luciano, Emil J. Rodriguez-Escudero, Pedro Ortiz Alvarez Law Offices, Ponce, PR, for Plaintiff.
Miguel Simonet-Sierra, Lopez Lay Vizcarra & Simonet, San Juan, PR, for Defendant.
On September 16, 2005, defendant "Union Internacional de Trabajadores de la Industria de Automóviles, Aeroespacio e Implementos Agrícolas, U.A.W., Local 1850" ("Local 1850") removed the instant case to this Court under 28 U.S.C.S. § 1441(a) alleging this Court had original jurisdiction, arising under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act ("LMRA"), 29 U.S.C. § 185. (Docket No. 1).
On October 17, 2005, "Asociación de Empleados del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico" ("AEELA") moved to remand the action for alleged lack of jurisdiction claiming that § 301(a) was inapposite to this case. (Docket No. 8). Local 1850 opposed the motion to remand and the Court requested simultaneous memoranda on the issue of whether AEELA was engaged in an industry affecting commerce. After the parties' compliance, the Court issued an Opinion and Order on August 3, 2006 denying the motion to remand. (Docket No. 16).
On August 14, 2006, Local 1850 answered the Request for Review and filed a Counterclaim against AEELA seeking a permanent injunction enforcing the arbitrator's award and requiring AEELA to comply with the same. (Docket No. 20).
On September 5, 2006, AEELA filed a "Motion to Dismiss the Counterclaim" claiming it failed to state a justiciable matter and, thus, the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the same. The Motion to Dismiss was duly opposed by Local 1850. (Docket Nos. 24 and 30).
On October 30, 2006, upon the parties' consent to proceed before a United States Magistrate Judge, the instant case was referred to the undersigned for all further proceedings. (Docket No. 41).
On November 20, 2006, AEELA filed a "Motion for Reconsideration of the Court's Opinion and Order Denying Plaintiff's Motion for Remand" (Docket No. 43) which was denied by the Court. (Docket No. 45).
On January 10, 2007, the parties were ordered to file reciprocal motions for summary judgment. After requesting several extensions of time, the parties filed their respective motions for summary judgment. (Docket Nos. 58 and 60). In essence, AEELA challenges the arbitration award and the remedies ordered by the arbitrator. In turn, Local 1850 seeks to enforce the arbitration award.
We now entertain the pending dispositive motions which have been fully briefed and for which the proper translations have been filed.
In 1999, AEELA, a non profit savings and loan membership association, terminated five (5) employees (Ana Negrón, Graciela Benítez, Martín Aulet, Eduardo Falcón and Céar T. Colon) for allegedly performing unauthorized transactions which had the effect of erasing outstanding disaster loans and which constituted fraudulent actions detrimental to AEELA.
AEELA and Local 1850 are parties to a collective bargaining agreement ("CBA") under which grievances were filed by the Local 1850 on the employees' behalf claiming the terminations were unjustified because the alleged "unauthorized transactions" were the result of a programming error. The grievances were submitted for arbitration to the Department of Labor and Human Resources where they were consolidated. On July 22, 2005, after extensive hearings were conducted, the arbitrator held the terminations were unjustified and ordered the reinstatement of the employees, back pay and attorneys' fees.
On August 22, 2005, AEELA filed a Request for Review of Findings in the Puerto Rico Court of First Instance alleging error and seeking vacation of the arbitration award. (Docket No. 6, Exhibits 1 and 2). On September 16, 2005, Local 1850 filed Notice of Removal before this Court under 28 U.S.C.S. § 1441(a) alleging this Court had original jurisdiction, arising under Section 361 of the LMRA, 29 U.S.C. § 185. (Docket No. 1). The Request for Review is the object of the instant case for which AEELA is requesting a review of the arbitration award.
AEELA raised in the Request for Review the following five (5) errors: 1) the arbitrator did not evaluate the evidence in accordance to law when it ruled the dismissals were unjustified; 2) the arbitrator ordered remedies (reinstatement, back pay and legal fees) which are contrary to law, the jurisprudence and the CBA; 3) the arbitrator did not apply the applicable legal doctrine to the facts; 4) the arbitrator erred in designing an agreement for submission which is contrary to the CBA, the contention of the parties and the evidence; and 5) the arbitrator erred by ruling over such controversy in a prejudiced manner responding to pressures alien to said controversy, in full breach of the due process of law for the AEELA.
AEELA only raised in its Motion for Summary Judgment that the arbitrator's conclusions that the terminations were unjustified is not supported by the evidence and that, even if the challenged terminations were unjustified, the arbitrator was without legal authority to award reinstatement, back pay and attorney's fees. As such, we only address in detail these two (2) issues which dispose of the case.
Summary judgment is appropriate if "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The party moving for summary judgment bears the initial responsibility of demonstrating the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2553, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Once the moving party has satisfied this requirement, the nonmoving party has the burden of presenting any facts that demonstrate a genuine issue for trial. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); LeBlanc v. Great American Ins. Co., 6 F.3d 836, 841 (1st Cir.1993). The nonmovant must do more than show "some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). An issue is genuine when, based on the evidence, a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). "The mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the plaintiff's position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the plaintiff." Id. at 252, 106 S.Ct. at 2512.
It is well established that a federal court's review of an arbitrator's decision is extraordinarily deferential. See Keebler Co. v. Truck Drivers, Local 170, 247 F.3d 8, 10 (1st Cir.2001); Wheelabrator Envirotech v. Massachusetts Laborers Dist. Council Local 1144, 88 F.3d 40, 43 (1st Cir.1996); Service Employees Int'l Union v. Local 1199 N.E., 70 F.3d 647, 651 (1st Cir.1995); Dorado Beach Hotel Corp. v. Union de Trabajadores de la Industria Gastronómica de Puerto Rico, 811 F.Supp. 41, 44 (D.Puerto Rico 1993). "Judicial review of an arbitration award is among the narrowest known in the law." Maine Cent. R.R. Co. v. Bhd. of Maintenance of Way Employees, 873 F.2d 425, 428 (1st Cir.1989). A reviewing court generally does not hear claims of legal or factual error the way an appellate court reviews a lower court's decisions. United Paperworkers Int'l Union v. Misco, Inc., 484 U.S. 29, 38, 108 S.Ct. 364, 370, 98 L.Ed.2d 286 (1987); Wheelabrator, 88 F.3d at 43. Judicial review of an arbitrator's decision requires the court to consider both the collective bargaining agreement and the arbitral submission. Larocque v. R.W.F., Inc., 8 F.3d 95, 96 (1st Cir.1993); El Dorado Technical Services, Inc. v. Union General De Trabajadores de Puerto Rico, 961 F.2d 317, 320 (1st Cir.1992).
A court should uphold the arbitrator's interpretation of the CBA if, within the four corners of the CBA, there is any plausible basis for that interpretation. Wheelabrator, 88 F.3d at 44; El Dorado, 961 F.2d at 319; Dorado Beach, 811 F.Supp. at 44. A court may not overrule an arbitrator's decision merely because its interpretation of the CBA is different from the arbitrator's. United Steelworkers of America v. Enterprise Wheel and Car Corp., 363 U.S. 593, 599, 80 S.Ct. 1358, 1362, 4 L.Ed.2d 1424 (1960); Boston Med. Ctr. v. Serv. Employees Int'l Union, 260 F.3d 16, 21 n. 4 (1st Cir.2001); Labor Relations Div. of Constr. Indus. v. Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters, 29 F.3d 742, 745 (1st Cir.1994); Dorado Beach Hotel Corp. v. Union De Trabajadores De La Industria Gastronómica De Puerto Rico, 959 F.2d 2, 4 (1st Cir.1992). If the arbitrator is "even arguably construing or applying the contract and acting within the scope of his authority," a court may not overturn the decision, even though the court may be convinced that the arbitrator committed a serious error. Misco, 484 U.S. at 38, 108 S.Ct. at 371; Providence Journal v. Providence Newspaper Guild, 271 F.3d 16, 20 (1st Cir.2001); Labor Relations Div. of Constr. Indus. v. Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters, 29 F.3d at 745. If the CBA's language, taken in context with the surrounding circumstances, is susceptible to different meanings, a reviewing court may not meddle in the arbitrator's choice between two permissible interpretations. El Dorado, 961 F.2d at 320. If a reviewing court had the final say on the merits of an arbitrator's award, the federal policy of settling labor disputes by arbitration would be undermined. United Steelworkers, 363 U.S. at 596, 80 S.Ct....
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Asociacion De Empleados v. Union Internacional
...the parties consented to the jurisdiction of a magistrate judge, who ordered them to file cross-motions for summary judgment. AEELA I, 515 F.Supp. at 212. The magistrate judge's summary judgment ruling confirmed the arbitrator's conclusion that the employees had been improperly discharged. ......