Baskins v. United Mine Workers of America

• Decision Date: 07 November 1921
• Docket Number: 217
• Citation: 234 S.W. 464,150 Ark. 398
• Parties: BASKINS v. UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

234 S.W. 464

150 Ark. 398

BASKINS v. UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA

No. 217

Supreme Court of Arkansas

November 7, 1921

Appeal from Sebastian Circuit Court, Ft. Smith District; John Brizzolara, Judge; affirmed.

STATEMENT OF FACTS.

Appellants sued appellee, United Mine Workers of America, an unincorporated association, to recover damages for the negligent killing of John Baskins. Mrs. John Baskins sued for herself, and as next friend of Allie Baskins, Buster Baskins Gladys Baskins, Victor Baskins, and Kirby Baskins, minors.

According to the allegations of the complaint she is the widow of John Baskins, deceased, and the other appellants are their minor children. United Mine Workers of America is an unincorporated association of coal miners, and its headquarters are situated in Indianapolis in the State of Indiana. It is divided into thirty districts, and has numerous local unions located in different States of the United States. The local unions are part of the particular district branch having jurisdiction of the territory in which the local unions are situated. Every member of any other local union and district is a member of the United Mine Workers of America and subject to its constitution and by-laws. The membership of the United Mine Workers of America exceeds four hundred thousand miners, most of whom are employed by the various union mines.

District 21 of the United Mine Workers of America is a branch organization, and has jurisdiction over all union mines and miners in the States of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. John P White was president of the United Mine Workers of America during the year 1914. John Wilkerson was president during that year of district 21 of the United Mine Workers of America. Certain other persons are named in the complaint as officers of the United Mine Workers of America with their residence in the town of Midland, Ark.

The complaint further alleges that in 1914 the United Mine Workers of America ordered and promulgated a strike of all union miners employed by the Prairie Creek Coal Mining Company, and that while said strike was in progress John Baskins was employed by said Coal Mining Company as one of the caretakers of its mine; that while so employed on the 22nd day of July, 1914, he was taken by union miners who were members of the United Mine Workers of America to a lonely cabin and shot to death, by one of the guards who had him in charge, together with other non-union miners. Appellants allege that they were dependent on the said John Baskins for support and education, and prayed judgment in the sum of $ 100,000 damages.

The suit was filed in the circuit court on the 24th day of March 1920. Summons was issued against the United Mine Workers of America and service of summons was had by the sheriff's delivering a copy of it to John Wilkerson, president of district 21 of the United Mine Workers of America.

A motion to quash service was filed. The motion states that the United Mine Workers of America is a voluntary unincorporated association, and is not engaged in any kind of business. It is composed of about 500,000 individuals who labor for themselves in the coal mines throughout the United States and Canada. The association was organized for the mutual betterment of its members and to obtain better working conditions for them.

The court found that the defendant, the United Mine Workers of America, was a voluntary unincorporated association, and was named in its society name as defendant in the action; that said association can neither sue nor be sued under its society name under the laws of the State of Arkansas, and service of summons cannot be had upon it by serving the same upon Wilkerson, the president of the district No. 21 of the United Mine Workers of America. It was therefore adjudged that the service of summons and the return of the sheriff be quashed and vacated.

From the judgment rendered appellants have duly prosecuted an appeal to this court.

Judgment affirmed.

J. E London, for appellant.

1. The United Mine Workers may be sued as an association under our code. Crawford & Moses' Digest, § 1098; 101 Ark. 172; 97 Wash. 282; 30 Nev. 270; 95 P. 354; 138 F. 769; 23 Wyo. 352; 149 F. 913; 150 Id. 517; 57 U.S. 288; 81 P. 1069; 85 N.E. 897; 200 Mass. 110; 189 Id. 294; 107 N.Y.S. 303; 227 N.Y. 1; 85 F. 252; 28 Utah 495; 160 Ill. 282.

The code provision merely applies the long-standing rule in equity cases arising at common law.

2. The United Mine Workers of America may be held to respond in damages for the death of the husband and father of plaintiffs in this case. 235 F. 1; 149 Id. 913; 150. Id. 517; 263 Id. 147, 152; 265 Id. 397; 120 Id. 102; 150 Id. 155; 208 Id. 335; 236 Id. 964.

Webb Covington for appellee.

1. Appellees being a voluntary unincorporated association, cannot, in the absence of a specific statute authorizing suit against it, be sued in its association name for the torts of its membership. 180 F. 896; 129 U.S. 426; 171 F. 636; 72 Id. 695; 83 Id. 912; 2 L. R. A. (N. S.) 788; 102 N.W. 725; 22 Enc. P. &. P. § 242; 54 N.W. 188; 79 S.W. 139; 74 Mich. 269; 20 A. 942; 31 S.W. 91; 54 Tex. 476; 22 Ohio St. 168; 52 Ga. 352; 97 Pa.St. 498; 150 F. 155, 182; 102 N.W. 725; 7 Neb. 246; 66 Id. 252; 140 Ark. 124.

Section 1098, C. & M. Digest, does not admit of the construction placed on it by counsel for appellants. This State has adopted by statute the chancery rule applied in England and in equity procedure, but this rule has not been extended to actions at law. It has been almost uniformly held that in a proceeding in equity against certain members as representatives of an association composed of a large number of members, a number may be made parties defendant as representatives of the class, but in such cases it was held that the association could not be proceeded against in its association name. (1901) Am. Cas. 426; 70 L. J. K. B. (N. S.) 905; 85 Law Times (N. S.) 147; 17 Times L. R. 698.

2. If the United Mine Workers of America be held to be a legal entity and subject to suit, the service, nevertheless, in this case is insufficient. District No. 21 of the United Mine Workers was not joined as a defendant. Wilkerson, its president, was not an officer of the United Mine Workers of America nor its agent.

OPINION

HART, J. (after stating the facts).

The judgment of the circuit court was correct. There is no principle better settled than that an unincorporated association cannot, in the absence of a statute authorizing it, be sued in tis society or company name, but all the members must be made parties, since such bodies have, in the absence of statute, no legal entity distinct from that of their members. 5 C. J. 1369; Karges Furniture Co. v. Amalgamated Woodworkers' Local Union (Ind.) 2 L.R.A. (N.S.) 788; St. Paul Typothetae v. St. Paul Bookbinders' Union (Minn.), 3 Ann. Cas. 695. The common-law rule is recognized and followed by an unbroken line of authorities from many States which are cited in a case note to 3 Ann. Cas. at p. 699. The common-law rule was recognized by this court in Lewelling v. M. W. W. Underwriters, 140 Ark. 124, 215 S.W. 258. In that case there was a statute providing for suits against certain insurance associations under their society name.

This is an action at law, and the equity doctrine of virtual representation has no application. There is within the power of a court of equity to name as defendants in certain classes of cases a few individuals who are in fact the representatives of a large class...