Bittner v. West Virginia-Pittsburgh Coal Co.

• Citation: 214 F. 716
• Decision Date: 28 May 1914
• Docket Number: 1240.
• Parties: BITTNER et al. v. WEST VIRGINIA-PITTSBURGH COAL CO.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

214 F. 716

BITTNER et al. v. WEST VIRGINIA-PITTSBURGH COAL CO.

No. 1240.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

May 28, 1914

John C Palmer, Jr., of Wheeling, W. Va., and A. M. Belcher, of Charleston, W.Va. (Erskine, Palmer & Curl, of Wheeling, W Va., on the brief), for appellants.

John A Howard, of Wheeling, W. Va., and J. F. Cree, of Wellsburg, W Va., for appellee.

Before PRITCHARD and WOODS, Circuit Judges, and WADDILL, District judge.

PRITCHARD Circuit Judge.

This is an appeal by the defendants below from a preliminary injunction granted by the District Court of the United States for the Northern District of West Virginia, on the 2d day of December, 1913, in the above-entitled cause.

The questions of law involved in this suit were passed upon by this court in the case of John Mitchell, T. L. Lewis, et al. v. Hitchman Coal & Coke Co., 214 F. 685, 131 C.C.A. 425, at the present term of this court. The decree of the lower court in that suit was reversed at the cost of the plaintiff for the reasons stated in the opinion filed therein. However, the facts in this controversy are different from those of the former suit, in that it appears from the evidence that violence, intimidation, and coercion were resorted to by the defendants in this instance.

The court below granted a preliminary injunction restraining the defendants from committing acts of violence, intimidation, and coercion, and also from the use of persuasion and other peaceable methods, and from aiding the striking miners by furnishing them money from what was known as a relief fund, etc. The defendants made a motion to modify the decree in so far as it restrained them from resorting to persuasive and peaceable methods, and from aiding the striking miners by furnishing them money. This motion was disallowed, and the case comes here on appeal.

We think the decree of the lower court in so far as it restrains the defendants from any acts of violence, intimidation, and coercion is proper in view of the evidence. While this is true, nevertheless we are of opinion, for the reasons stated in the case of John Mitchell, T. L. Lewis, et al. v. Hitchman Coal & Coke Co., supra, that the court below erred in entering that portion of the decree whereby it is provided that these defendants shall be restrained from resorting to peaceable and lawful methods for the purpose of organizing the miners of that section.

It follows that the...