Collins v. American Freight System, Inc., 81-1062-CV-W-3.
| Decision Date | 22 March 1983 |
| Docket Number | No. 81-1062-CV-W-3.,81-1062-CV-W-3. |
| Citation | 559 F. Supp. 1032 |
| Parties | James Milford COLLINS, Plaintiff, v. AMERICAN FREIGHT SYSTEM, INC. and Local Union 41, Over-the-Road Drivers, Helpers, Dockmen and Warehousemen, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Missouri |
James R. Anderson, Kansas City, Mo., for plaintiff.
Steven A. Fehr, Janae L. Schaeffer, Robert Harrop, Kansas City, Mo., for defendants.
This cause pends on the motions for summary judgment filed by defendants. In his original complaint,1 plaintiff alleges a cause of action under section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 185. Both defendants assert that plaintiff's claims are barred by the applicable statute of limitations.
Plaintiff is a resident of Missouri. Defendant American Freight System, Inc., (American) was, at all relevant times, a corporate entity duly organized and doing business in Missouri and an "employer" within the meaning of the Labor Management Relations Act. Defendant Local Union 41 (Union) is a "labor organization" within the meaning of the Act, and is the exclusive bargaining representative for a unit of the employees of American.
Plaintiff was employed by American from approximately May 26, 1965, to and including January 26, 1979. On January 26, he was discharged by American. Plaintiff was a member in good standing of Union at the time of his discharge. A grievance was filed on June 29, 1979, protesting plaintiff's discharge. On or about June 12, 1979, plaintiff's grievance was heard before the Joint Area Grievance Committee,2 and he was orally informed at that time that his grievance was denied. Plaintiff alleges that on some date subsequent to June 30, 1979, he was informed by Union that they would not further proceed with his grievance. He filed the present suit on December 29, 1981.
The complaint asserts that American breached the applicable collective bargaining agreement in his discharge and that Union failed to fully and fairly represent him in the processing of his grievance on his discharge. Defendants argue that plaintiff's claims are time-barred. This Court must determine which statute of limitations applies to the claims against defendants and at what time the statute began to run.
Plaintiff's cause of action against his employer, American, is directly provided for in § 301, Labor Management Relations Act. Congress did not provide a statute of limitations for the actions, however, and the United States Supreme Court has held that in such actions the timeliness of a § 301 suit is to be determined by reference to the appropriate state statute of limitations. International Union, UAW v. Hoosier Cardinal Corp., 383 U.S. 696, 704-705, 86 S.Ct. 1107, 1112-1113, 16 L.Ed.2d 192 (1966).3
United Parcel Service v. Mitchell, 451 U.S. 56, 63, 101 S.Ct. 1559, 1564, 67 L.Ed.2d 732 (1981). Citing Hoosier Cardinal, the Court stressed that "one of the leading federal policies is the `relatively rapid disposition of labor disputes.'" Id.
Prior to Mitchell, it was generally held that the appropriate statute of limitations in Missouri was the five-year contract limit provided in § 516.120, Revised Statutes of Missouri. Butler v. Local Union 823, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 514 F.2d 442 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 924, 96 S.Ct. 265, 46 L.Ed.2d 249 (1975); Lincoln v. District 9 of the International Association of Machinists, 539 F.Supp. 1346, 1347, 1348 (E.D.Mo.1982). Missouri, however, also has a statute of limitations concerning actions brought to vacate an arbitration award. This limit is set out in § 435.120, RSMo. That statute provides, "Every ... application to vacate or modify an award shall be made to the court designated in the submission, at the next term after the publication of the award."6 Section 478.205 sets out that the state circuit court terms commence on the second Monday of February, May, August and November. Since the Supreme Court's holding in Mitchell, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on four occasions has held that the limitation set out in § 435.120 for vacating arbitration awards is the appropriate limitation for actions brought under § 301 against both the union and the employer. Arrow v. Pulitzer Publishing Co., 548 F.Supp. 420 (E.D.Mo. 1982); Wilcoxen v. Kroger Food Stores, 545 F.Supp. 1019 (E.D.Mo.1982); Stahlman v. Kroger Co., 542 F.Supp. 1118 (E.D.Mo. 1982); Lincoln v. District 9 of the International Association of Machinists, 539 F.Supp. 1346 (E.D.Mo.1982).
Plaintiff argues that the Missouri arbitration statute of limitations is not applicable, at least in his case, because the statute requires that the arbitration award be in writing, subscribed by the arbitrator making the same and attested by a subscribing witness. Plaintiff asserts that he never received a written arbitration award. He further argues that there were many other ways in which the procedures and award of the Joint Area Grievance Committee failed to meet the requirements of a valid arbitration award under the Missouri statute. Accordingly, the procedural matters, including the statute of limitations, of the Missouri statute are inapposite.
A very similar argument was raised and rejected in Mitchell. The Court pointed out that the fact that the plaintiff in that cause could not have brought an action under the state law did not mean that the § 301 claim, which if successful would have the same effect, was not "closely analogous" to the state action. 451 U.S. at 61 n. 3, 101 S.Ct. at 1563 n. 3. See, Johnson v. Railway Express Agency, 421 U.S. 454, 462-466, 95 S.Ct. 1716, 1721-1723, 44 L.Ed.2d 295 (1975). Although plaintiff may not have been able to bring an action under the Missouri statute because his facts do not exactly fit the state requirements, this does not mean that the § 301 claim is not "closely analogous" to the state action and the limitation period of the statute should not be borrowed.
In accordance with the above discussion, the Court finds that the appropriate statute of limitations period in the plaintiff's action under § 301 against the employer is that provided in the Missouri statute for vacating an arbitration award, RSMo § 435.120.
Plaintiff asserts that the proper statute of limitations for an action against the union is the five-year limitation period in Missouri for negligence actions, RSMo § 516.120. The Eighth Circuit has addressed this argument and, despite the merits of the argument, the court held that the tort limitation period was not appropriate. Butler v. Local Union 823, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 514 F.2d 442, 448 (8th Cir.1975). Instead, the Court ruled that the appropriate statute of limitations was the same for suits against the union as it was for suits against the employer — the limitation on actions in contract. One of the major reasons for the holding was that "only by providing the same limitation period against both employer and union, will the court be able to fashion a remedy which properly allocates the damages between them. 514 F.2d at 447-448. A cause of action against a union for failure to represent and a cause of action against an employer for breach of the agreement are interrelated. "To prevail against either the company or the Union, petitioners must not only show that their discharge was contrary to the contract but must also carry the burden of demonstrating breach of duty by the Union." United Parcel Service v. Mitchell, 451 U.S. at 62, 101 S.Ct. at 1563.
The five-year statute of limitations provided for tort actions would hardly further the announced policy of rapid disposition of labor disputes when there is a shorter applicable period available.
Accordingly, this Court finds that the appropriate statute of limitations for § 301 claims against both the union and the employer is that outlined in Missouri statute on vacation of arbitration awards.
Having decided which statute of limitation is applicable, the Court must now determine when plaintiff's cause of action accrued and the limitation period began to run. Plaintiff's original complaint centered on his discharge from American in January of 1979 and the union's failure to represent him regarding that discharge. According to plaintiff's own affidavit (filed November 12, 1982), he was discharged on January 26, 1979 and he filed a grievance with Union on or about January 29, 1979. The...
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...reasoning applies also to the related claims against the union for failure to fairly represent union members. Collins v. American Freight System, Inc., 559 F.Supp. 1032, No. 81-1062-CV-W-3 (W.D.Mo. Feb. 11, 1983 & March 23, 1983). Collins was similar to Mitchell in that the union had filed ......
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