Choate v. Grand Intern. Broth. of Locomotive Engineers

• Decision Date: 22 November 1957
• Docket Number: No. 15855,15855
• Parties: Armond CHOATE et al., Appellants, v. GRAND INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS et al., Appellees.
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

Page 854

307 S.W.2d 854

Armond CHOATE et al., Appellants, v. GRAND INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS et

al., Appellees.

No. 15855.

Court of Civil Appeals of Texas, Fort Worth.

Nov. 22, 1957.

Rehearing Denied Dec. 20, 1957.

Harris & Reeves and Robert N. Reeves, Fort Worth, for appellant.

Willis & Willis and Hart Willis, Jr., Dallas, for appellees Grand Intern. Broth. of Locomotive Engineers et al.

Barwise, Magoffin & Carrigan and Seth Barwise, Thompson, Walker, Smith & Shannon and F. B. Walker, Forth Worth, attorneys for appellees, Railroads.

RENFRO, Justice.

Appellants, plaintiffs below, have appealed from an order of dismissal.

Plaintiffs were Choate, individually, and Wilson, White and McDonald, individually and on behalf of the Rock Island members of Local No. 187, Grand International Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. Defendants were the Grand International Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, the Rock Island Railroad Company, the Burlington-Rock Island Railroad Company, and the Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad Company.

Plaintiffs' petition alleged that in 1933 an agreement was entered into and executed to regulate the work between employees of the Burlington-Rock Island, the Rock Island and the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway Companies; that the track originally owned by the Burlington-Rock Island had been leased to the other two defendant Railroad Companies; that one of the principal reasons for the agreement was due to the fact the Rock Island Railroad neither owned nor leased any track at that time; at the time of suit Rock Island owned or had under lease the majority of the track located in the area in dispute; the 1933 agreement was set out in full and detailed how crews should be manned on runs between Fort Worth and Teague; section 3-A of the agreement provided that all regular or extra crew or crews above five crews--operated in freight service in the territory between Fort Worth and Teague--would be apportioned: Burlington-Rock Island, 66 2/3 per cent, Rock Island, 33 1/3 per cent; since the signing of the 1933 agreement the Burtlington-Rock Island had discontinued operation and its employees had been employed primarily by the Fort Worth and Denver; in 1933 there was no industrial switching between Fort Worth and Teague; the sole purpose of said agreement was to allow trains to run between Fort Worth and Teague without the necessity of changing crews because different railroads owned trackage between the two points--at that time the Rock Island and the Fort Worth and Denver were the only companies operating through trains; in the last few years the Rock Island Railway system had constructed 50 miles of track in the Dallas-Irving area, leading to industrial sites; in 1948 the local union of the Rock Island engineers entered into an agreement with the Rock Island system, whereby they were to handle the road switchers between Dallas and Irving; that an order issued by the Grand Chief Engineer of the International 'refusing to allow these plaintiffs work on the Fort Worth, Dallas, Irving switchers' was void, in that it was arbitrary and capricious and violated the Constitution and the Standing Rules of the Grand International Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers; that plaintiffs appealed the decision to the 13th Tri-Annual Convention, which ruled in effect that the work would continue to be prorated according to the 1933 agreement; that the decision of the...