Bartholomew v. Agl Resources, Inc.

Decision Date08 March 2004
Docket NumberNo. 02-16393.,02-16393.
Citation361 F.3d 1333
PartiesRonald BARTHOLOMEW, Benny Childers, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. AGL RESOURCES, INC., Atlanta Gas Light Company, Defendants-Appellees.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

Jonathan Perry Waters, Macon, GA, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.

Cameron S. Pierce, L. Stanford Sherrill, Jr., Littler Mendelson, Atlanta, GA, for Defendants-Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.

Before EDMONDSON, Chief Judge, COX, Circuit Judge, and PAUL*, District Judge.

COX, Circuit Judge:

Five former field service representatives of Atlanta Gas Light Company ("Atlanta Gas") appeal the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of AGL Resources, Inc. and Atlanta Gas on their Georgia state-law claims of breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, tortious interference with business relations, and defamation. For the following reasons, we dismiss the appeal of Charlie Johnson, and as to the other plaintiffs, we affirm in part, vacate in part, and remand.

I. BACKGROUND & PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The plaintiffsRonald Bartholomew, Benny Childers, James Higgins, Lester Moss, and Charlie Johnson — were employed by Atlanta Gas as Class A Field Service Representatives in Macon, Georgia. During a statewide reduction in force in March 2000, Bartholomew, Childers, and Higgins were "bumped" out of their positions by field service representatives with more seniority. These three employees were then permitted to transfer to other positions held by field service representatives with less seniority — to "bump" less senior field service representatives — but they declined the opportunity to do so and were laid off on March 10, 2000. Moss and Johnson, by contrast, were among the least senior field service representatives, and they did not have enough seniority to "bump" other field service representatives. As a result, Moss and Johnson were laid off on March 10, 2000, without having been afforded the opportunity to transfer.

The plaintiffs' employment with Atlanta Gas was governed by a collective bargaining agreement between Atlanta Gas and their union. Bartholomew, Higgins, and Childers complained to their union steward about their layoffs, and they submitted written grievances. Johnson also complained to his union steward about his layoff, and Moss complained to an individual whom he believed to be his union steward about his layoff, but neither Johnson nor Moss submitted written grievances.

Pursuant to Article 13 of the collective bargaining agreement, the union made a formal request for a grievance meeting on behalf of Bartholomew, Higgins, and Childers. After the meeting, on May 11, 2000, Atlanta Gas notified the union and these three employees that their grievances had been denied. Under the terms of Article 14 of the collective bargaining agreement, the union then had ten days to submit the employees' grievances to arbitration, but the union took no further action.

On September 18, 2001, Bartholomew, Higgins, Childers, Moss and Johnson filed a complaint in Georgia state court. In the four-count complaint, they asserted claims under Georgia law for breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, tortious interference with business relations, and defamation; AGL Resources Inc. and Atlanta Gas were named as defendants.1 The defendants removed the action to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, and the action was then transferred to the Middle District of Georgia. The gravamen of the plaintiffs' complaint was that the defendants terminated their employment in violation of the collective bargaining agreement and that the defendants' management employees made statements that gave rise to tort liability.

AGL Resources, Inc. and Atlanta Gas filed a motion for summary judgment as to all of the plaintiffs' claims. On October 22, 2002, the district court entered an order granting the defendants' motion. In its order, the court reached the following conclusions: (1) the plaintiffs' state-law claims were preempted by § 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (the "LMRA"), 29 U.S.C. § 185; (2) to the extent that the plaintiffs' preempted state-law claims could be treated as "hybrid" § 301/fair representation claims under the LMRA, these claims were barred by the six-month statute of limitations; and (3) even if the plaintiffs' state-law claims were not preempted by the LMRA, Moss and Johnson's claims were due to be dismissed because they failed to avail themselves of the grievance procedure established in the collective bargaining agreement and the claims of Bartholomew, Childers, and Higgins were barred by the one-year state statute of limitations.

The plaintiffs timely filed a notice of appeal, and the notice includes all five plaintiffs: Bartholomew, Childers, Higgins, Moss, and Johnson. But Johnson was not named on the appellants' initial brief, nor was he listed in the certificate of interested persons. The omission of Johnson was brought to the appellants' attention by the defendants in their answer brief, but the appellants' reply brief again failed to list Johnson and it did not mention Johnson's omission. We are left to conclude that Johnson has not filed a brief in this appeal, and as a consequence, we dismiss his appeal for failure to prosecute. See 11th Cir. R. 42-1(b).

II. ISSUES ON APPEAL & STANDARDS OF REVIEW

The only issue on appeal is whether the district court erred when it granted summary judgment in favor of AGL Resources, Inc. and Atlanta Gas as to all of the plaintiffs' claims. We review a district court's grant of summary judgment de novo, and we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Artistic Entm't, Inc. v. City of Warner Robins, 331 F.3d 1196, 1203 (11th Cir. 2003). Summary judgment is proper only when "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Whether the LMRA preempts a state-law claim is a question of law which we review de novo. Lightning v. Roadway Express, Inc., 60 F.3d 1551, 1556 (11th Cir.1995).

III. PREEMPTION DISCUSSION

Section 301(a) of the Labor Management Relations Act provides:

Suits for violation of contracts between an employer and a labor organization representing employees in an industry affecting commerce ... may be brought in any district court of the United States having jurisdiction of the parties, without respect to the amount in controversy or without regard to the citizenship of the parties.

29 U.S.C. § 185(a). This section grants jurisdiction to federal courts to adjudicate employment disputes involving collective bargaining agreements, and it embodies the policy that federal law, fashioned from national labor law, should provide the substantive law that applies in § 301(a) suits. See Textile Workers Union of Am. v. Lincoln Mills of Ala., 353 U.S. 448, 456, 77 S.Ct. 912, 918, 1 L.Ed.2d 972 (1957); Lightning, 60 F.3d at 1556.

Accordingly, § 301 provides the foundation for the preemption doctrine that the Supreme Court concisely summarized in Lingle v. Norge Division of Magic Chef, Inc., 486 U.S. 399, 108 S.Ct. 1877, 100 L.Ed.2d 410 (1988):

[I]f the resolution of a state-law claim depends upon the meaning of a collective-bargaining agreement, the application of state law (which might lead to inconsistent results since there could be as many state-law principles as there are States) is pre-empted and federal labor-law principles — necessarily uniform throughout the Nation — must be employed to resolve the dispute.

Id. at 405-06, 108 S.Ct. at 1881. This preemption doctrine exists to "ensure uniform interpretation of collective-bargaining agreements, and thus to promote the peaceable, consistent resolution of labor-management disputes," id. at 404, 108 S.Ct. at 1880, but it is important to note that "not every dispute concerning employment, or tangentially involving a provision of a collective-bargaining agreement, is pre-empted by § 301...." Allis-Chalmers Corp. v. Lueck, 471 U.S. 202, 211, 105 S.Ct. 1904, 1911, 85 L.Ed.2d 206 (1985). The Supreme Court has instructed that a state-law claim is preempted by § 301 of the LMRA if "evaluation of the tort claim is inextricably intertwined with consideration of the terms of the labor contract," or, stated another way, "when resolution of a state-law claim is substantially dependent upon analysis of the terms of an agreement made between the parties in a labor contract," the state-law claim has been preempted. Id. at 213, 220, 105 S.Ct. at 1912, 1916.

In light of these principles of § 301 preemption, we now turn our attention to each of the plaintiffs' four state-law claims to determine whether these claims have been preempted by the LMRA. If one or more of the plaintiffs' claims have not been preempted, we must then consider the alternative grounds for affirmance asserted by the defendants on appeal.

A. Breach of Contract

In Count I, the plaintiffs assert a state-law breach of contract claim against AGL Resources, Inc. and Atlanta Gas. In particular, they allege that "[b]y entering into the collective bargaining agreement with the plaintiffs, Defendants have expressly assumed contractual and fiduciary obligations to the plaintiffs." (R.1-1 ¶ 12.) Moreover, the plaintiffs allege the defendants "have violated their contractual obligations by termination of these Plaintiffs' employment in manners contrary to the terms of the collective bargaining agreement." (Id. ¶ 13.) It is undisputed that the plaintiffs' breach of contract claim refers solely to the collective-bargaining agreement that governed the plaintiffs' employment with the defendant.

The elements of a right to recover for a breach of contract under Georgia law are simply "the breach and the resultant damages to the party who has the right to...

To continue reading

Request your trial
42 cases
  • Laufer v. Arpan LLC
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit
    • March 29, 2022
    ...the kind of "extreme and outrageous" intentional or reckless conduct that intentional infliction entails. See Bartholomew v. AGL Res., Inc. , 361 F.3d 1333, 1339 (11th Cir. 2004). Nor was she subject to physical contact or within the zone of physical danger, as negligent infliction requires......
  • Pierri v. Cingular Wireless, LLC
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia
    • October 18, 2005
    ...connection between the conduct and the emotional distress; and (4) that the emotional distress is severe. Bartholomew v. AGL Res., Inc., 361 F.3d 1333, 1339 (11th Cir.2004); Gaston v. S. Bell Tel. & Tel. Co., 674 F.Supp. 347, 352 (N.D.Ga.1987). Whether a claim rises to the requisite level o......
  • Atwater v. Nat'l Football League Players Ass'n
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit
    • November 23, 2010
    ...judgment decision de novo, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. See Bartholomew v. AGL Res., Inc., 361 F.3d 1333, 1337 (11th Cir.2004). Summary judgment is appropriate "if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits ......
  • Brocail v. Detroit Tigers, Inc.
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Appeals
    • April 3, 2008
    ...evidence, the issue of whether claims are preempted by the LMRA is a question of law to be reviewed de novo. Bartholomew v. AGL Res., Inc., 361 F.3d 1333, 1337 (11th Cir.2004); Meredith, 209 F.3d at 404; Reece v. Houston Lighting & Power Co., 79 F.3d 485, 487 (5th Cir.1996); Quesnel v. Prud......
  • Request a trial to view additional results
1 books & journal articles
  • Labor and Employment - Jerry C. Newsome and K. Alex Khoury
    • United States
    • Mercer University School of Law Mercer Law Reviews No. 56-4, June 2005
    • Invalid date
    ...2d at 1291. 85. Id. 86. Id. 87. Id. 88. 29 U.S.C. Sec. 201-209 (2000). 89. Alexander, 303 F. Supp. 2d at 1291-92. 90. Id. at 1292. 91. 361 F.3d 1333 (11th Cir. 2004). 92. Id. at 1337; 29 U.S.C. Sec. 185 (2000). 93. Bartholomew, 361 F.3d at 1337. 94. These three plaintiffs were bumped from t......

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT