Davis v. Southern Ry. Co., 6 Div. 152

• Decision Date: 04 October 1951
• Docket Number: 6 Div. 152
• Citation: 256 Ala. 202,54 So.2d 308
• Parties: DAVIS v. SOUTHERN RY. CO. et al.
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

Page 308

54 So.2d 308

256 Ala. 202

DAVIS v. SOUTHERN RY. CO. et al.

6 Div. 152.

Supreme Court of Alabama.

Oct. 4, 1951.

Abele & Witcher, Birmingham, for appellant.

Cabaniss & Johnston, Jos. F. Johnston and E. T. Brown, Jr., all of Birmingham, for appellee Southern Ry. Co.

Kingman C. Shelburne, Birmingham, for appellee Brotherhood.

STAKELY, Justice.

The original complaint filed in this cause consisted of one count, designated count one. The appellees separately demurred to this count. The demurrers were sustained by the court and thereafter from time to time the appellant added to his complaint additional counts designated respectively as counts A, B, C, D, E, and F. Count C was stricken on appellant's own motion. Demurrers were filed separately by the appellees to the other foregoing additional counts of the complaint. Demurrers were sustained to all of these counts and thereupon the plaintiff declined to plead further and took a nonsuit on account of adverse rulings on the pleadings. This appeal followed.

It appears from the allegations of each count that the plaintiff was employed by the Southern Railway Company, a corp., as clerk in Birmingham, Alabama, and there was in force and effect at the time an agreement between the defendant Southern Railway Company, a corporation, and the defendant Brotherhood of Railway Clerks, an unincorporated association, as bargaining agent for the clerical employees of the railroad company, under which said contract the plaintiff had seniority rights with respect to his employment and was entitled to seniority over a number of employees of the railroad. It is alleged that the defendants combined, conspired, confederated and agreed together to cause the plaintiff to lose his seniority rights with the railroad and in the execution of the conspiracy the defendants wrongfully and maliciously caused the plaintiff to lose his seniority rights with the railroad with resulting damage, etc. While there is some variation in the allegations of the counts and greater detail is set forth in some counts than others, for the purposes of this appeal it can be understood that the gist of all counts is the allegation that the defendants conspired to deprive plaintiff of seniority rights to which he was allegedly entitled under a collective bargaining agreement between the appellees. An interpretation of the contract between the appellees is obviously necessary to determine whether or not plaintiff had and was actually deprived of seniority rights. The plaintiff made the contract a part, respectively, of all counts of the complaint except two and in those two counts reference is made to the provisions of the contract. However nowhere in any count is it alleged that appellant is no longer in the employment of the railroad. In no count is it alleged that appellant has exhausted the administrative remedies provided by the Railway Labor Act. Accordingly construing the pleading most strongly against the pleader, it must be assumed for the purpose of this appeal that the appellant is still in the employment of the Southern Railway Company and has not pursued the administrative remedies provided by the Railway Labor Act, 45 U.S.C.A. §§ 151-163.

There is, therefore, presented on this appeal the question of whether or not appellant, who is presently an employee of the railroad, can maintain an action in the courts for damages for loss of seniority rights, involving the interpretation of a bargaining agreement covering the future relations of appellant and the Southern Railway Company, until appellant has exhausted the administrative remedies provided by the Railway Labor Act. This question is presented by appropriate grounds of demurrer assigned separately and severally to all counts of the complaint.

The history and purposes of the Railway Labor Act have been recently reviewed and considered by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Slocum v. Delaware, L. & W. R. Co., 339 U.S. 239, 70 S.Ct. 577, 94 L.Ed. 795. In that case the railroad filed an action in the state courts of New York for a declaratory judgment against two unions in which an interpretation of existing bargaining agreements was sought without referring the controversy to the National Railway Adjustment Board. On the basis of the case of Moore v. Illinois Central R. Co., 312 U.S. 630, 61 S.Ct. 754, 85 L.Ed. 1089, to which we shall later refer, the Court of Appeals of New York, 299 N.Y. 496, 87 N.E.2d 532, held that the courts of New York had concurrent jurisdiction with the National Railway Adjustment Board to interpret the contracts and render a declaratory judgment. In reversing and holding that the Court of Appeals of New York had no jurisdiction, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the controversy should have been presented to the National Railway Adjustment Board. The court said: [339 U.S. 239, 70 S.Ct. 579,]

'The paramount importance of having these chosen representatives of railroads and unions adjust grievances and disputes was emphasized by our opinion in Order of R[y.] Conductors v. Pitney [326 U.S. 561, 66 S.Ct. 322, 90 L.Ed. 318,] supra. There we held, in a case remarkably similar to the one before us now, that the Federal District Court in its equitable discretion should have refused 'to adjudicate a jurisdictional dispute involving the railroad and two employee accredited bargaining agents * * *.' Our ground for this holding was that the court 'should not have interpreted the contracts * * *' but should have left this question for determination by the Adjustment Board, a congressionally designated agency peculiarly competent in this field. 326 U.S. at pages 567-568, 66 S.Ct. at page 325, 90 L.Ed. 318. This reasoning equally supports a denial of power in any court--state as well as federal--to invade the jurisdiction conferred on the Adjustment Board by the Railway Labor Act.

'Our holding here is not inconsistent with our holding in Moore v. Illinois Central R. Co., 312 U.S. 630, 61 S.Ct. 754, 85 L.Ed. 1089. Moore was discharged by the railroad. He could have challenged the validity of his discharge before the Board, seeking reinstatement and back pay. Instead he chose to accept the railroad's action in discharging him as final, thereby ceasing to be an employee, and brought suit claiming damages for breach of contract. As we there held, the Railway Labor Act does not bar courts from adjudicating such cases. A common-law or statutory action for wrongful discharge differs from any remedy which the Board has power to provide, and does not involve questions of future relations between the railroad and its other employees. If a court in handling such a case must consider some provision of a collective-bargaining agreement, its interpretation would of course have no binding effect on future interpretations by the Board.

'We hold that the jurisdiction...