Edwards v. Indiana State Teachers Ass'n

• Citation: 749 N.E.2d 1220
• Decision Date: 30 May 2001
• Docket Number: No. 10A01-0008-CV-258.,10A01-0008-CV-258.
• Parties: Mike EDWARDS, Stephen Fleenor, Jennifer Glaser and Brenda Turk, Appellants-Defendants, v. INDIANA STATE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION, Appellee-Plaintiff.
• Court: Court of Appeals of Indiana

749 N.E.2d 1220

Mike EDWARDS, Stephen Fleenor, Jennifer Glaser and Brenda Turk, Appellants-Defendants, v. INDIANA STATE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION, Appellee-Plaintiff.

No. 10A01-0008-CV-258.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

May 30, 2001.

William F. Diehl, Gagnon & Diehl, Indianapolis, Indiana; Jeffrey L. Rhodes, (Pro Hac Vice), Springfield, VA, Attorneys for Appellants.

Richard J. Darko, Lowe, Gray, Steele & Darko, LLP, Indianapolis, Indiana, Attorney for Appellee.

OPINION

BAKER, Judge.

Appellants-defendants Mike Edwards, Stephen Fleenor, Jennifer Glaser, and Brenda Turk (collectively, the Teachers) appeal the trial court's judgment in favor of the Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA). As consolidated and restated, they contend: 1) the ISTA lacks standing to sue for unpaid dues; 2) the revocation-of-membership rule violates the First Amendment and Indiana law; and 3) the WCTA changed its revocation-of-membership procedures, making the association's constitution and by-laws inapplicable.

FACTS

The facts most favorable to the judgment are that the Teachers were members of the West Clark Teachers Association (WCTA), the ISTA, and the National Education Association (NEA) during the school year 1997-98. The WCTA is the exclusive bargaining representative for the Teachers, representing them before the school board of the West Clark Community Schools system. In exchange for the WCTA's representation and for membership in the ISTA and NEA, each member agreed to pay on average $482.00 in annual dues. The sum was then divided among the WCTA, the ISTA, and the NEA. The ISTA received the lion's share of the dues, around 70% of the total.

To join each of the organizations, the member had only to sign a consolidated membership form. For the school year 1997-98, atop each form was printed:

National Education Association Indiana State Teachers Association 1997-98 Membership Form

Record at 129. The membership form also contained a blank line for the local organization—the WCTA in this case. By signing the membership form, each member agreed to the following:

I AUTHORIZE MY EMPLOYER TO DEDUCT EACH YEAR MY MEMBERSHIP DUES FOR THE UNIFIED ASSOCIATION AND/OR PAC CONTRIBUTIONS UNLESS I REVOKE THIS AUTHORIZATION IN WRITING THROUGH THE ASSOCIATION. THIS AUTHORIZATION SHALL PERMIT AND ACCEPT ANY CHANGES IN THE AMOUNT OF DUES AND/OR CONTRIBUTIONS OFFICIALLY ADOPTED BY THE RESPECTIVE GOVERNING BODIES UPON CERTIFICATION IN WRITING BY THE LOCAL ASSOCIATION. I AGREE TO ABIDE BY THE CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS OF EACH ORGANIZATION.

R. at 129 (emphasis supplied). The WCTA provided these cards both to continuing members, who are members belonging to the organizations for more than a year, and new members. Edwards was a new member for the school year 1997-98, so he filled out a blank card with his statistical information and authorized a monthly payroll deduction for dues payment.

Sending the membership cards to continuing members allowed each organization to update its records. According to the membership card, a member's signature was "[r]equired only at initial enrollment or if authorizing a payroll deduction for first time." R. at 129. The three other Teachers in this suit had been members for years. As a result, the WCTA sent them membership cards with their previous statistical information already printed, leaving blank spaces for updated information. For 1997-98, Fleenor inserted his date of birth while Turk inserted her date of birth and changed her surname and phone listing. Glaser, along with Fleenor, struck the "options guaranteed" costs from their dues payment.

While no teacher is forced to join the WCTA, once a teacher does become a member such membership is automatically renewed every year. A year of membership in the WCTA runs from September 1 to August 31. A section of the WCTA's constitution entitled "Continuation of Membership" limits the period within which a member may revoke membership:

All memberships are continuing memberships and will continue in effect from year to year unless the member notifies the Association in writing that the member wishes to revoke his or her membership. Any written revocation of membership must be filed between August 1 and August 31 of the year immediately preceding the year in which the membership is to be cancelled.

R. at 61 (emphasis supplied). A clause reading, "The [WCTA] shall affiliate with the [ISTA] and the [NEA]," also appears in the WCTA's constitution. R. at 61.

The WCTA supplied each of the Teachers with a copy of its constitution. Furthermore, the WCTA posted copies of the constitution in each school building governed by the West Clark Community Schools system. In particular, the WCTA posted copies in the teachers lounge of the Teachers involved in this suit. Finally, at the first and last WCTA meetings of every school year, members were reminded of their continuing membership obligations and their opportunity to revoke membership during the month of August. On August 17, 1998, the WCTA held its first meeting for the school year 1998-99. At that meeting WCTA president, David Knies, reminded the members of the August window for those who wished to revoke their membership and their obligation to do so in writing. Some members did notify the WCTA during August in writing that they were revoking their membership. But the Teachers did not.

At the beginning of the 1998-99 school year, the Teachers decided they did not want to continue their membership in the WCTA, ISTA, or NEA. At least three of the four Teachers called the payroll clerk to stop the monthly payroll deduction. None of the Teachers returned their 1998-99 membership cards. After the Teachers had failed to return their updated membership cards and had not revoked their membership in writing during the August window, Knies reminded them of their continuing membership obligations by letter. Despite the Teachers' intent not to maintain membership, they remained on the rolls of the WCTA, ISTA, and NEA, and they continued to receive membership information throughout the year. Because the Teachers remained on the rolls, the WCTA was obligated to pay the Teachers' dues to the ISTA and NEA.

On March 2, 2000, the ISTA filed small claims actions against the Teachers individually. Each claim requested $482.00 in unpaid dues plus pre-judgment interest. These claims came before a magistrate on May 9, 2000, who later submitted findings along with his judgments. The Clark Superior Court subsequently accepted the magistrate's judgments—$510.21 against each Teacher—as well as the magistrate's findings. Upon the Teachers' motion, the trial court consolidated the four individual actions for appeal. The Teachers now appeal to this court.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I. Standing

The Teachers contend that the ISTA has no standing to enforce a contract between the WCTA and the Teachers because the ISTA is not a party to the agreement. Standing is a judicial doctrine that focuses on whether the complaining party is the proper party to invoke the court's jurisdiction. Shourek v. Stirling, 621 N.E.2d 1107, 1109 (Ind.1993). It is designed to assure that the parties will conduct litigation actively and vigorously. Schloss v. City of Indianapolis, 553 N.E.2d 1204, 1206 (Ind.1990). Standing limits a court's jurisdiction by compelling the judiciary to resolve real controversies in which the complaining party has a demonstrable injury. Id. Therefore, the ISTA must show that it has a personal stake in the outcome of the lawsuit and must show that it has sustained, or was in the immediate danger of sustaining, some direct injury as a result of the Teachers' conduct. See Shourek, 621 N.E.2d at 1109

.

As set forth in the FACTS, the membership enrollment form binds the Teachers to membership in all three organizations. The Teachers specifically contracted with the ISTA, paying the bulk of their dues— almost 70% of the total—to the ISTA. Accordingly, the association has shown that it has a personal stake in the outcome of the litigation. Moreover, the ISTA is in the immediate danger of sustaining economic injury as a result of the Teachers' failure to pay membership dues. If the Teachers do not pay their dues while enrolled in the affiliated associations, then the responsibility for their dues payment falls to the WCTA. If the WCTA is unable to pay the Teachers' portion of the dues to the ISTA, then the ISTA will receive no payment. Therefore, by contractual right and showing of immediate danger of economic harm, the ISTA has standing to sue the Teachers.

II. Standard of Review

On reviewing the judgment of a small claims court, we will not set aside the judgment "`unless clearly erroneous, and due regard shall be given to the opportunity of the trial court to judge the credibility of the witnesses.'" City of Dunkirk Water & Sewage Dep't v. Hall, 657 N.E.2d 115, 116 (Ind.1995) (quoting Ind. Trial Rule 52(A)). Applying this standard, we do not reweigh the evidence or determine credibility of witnesses. Id. Rather, we consider only the evidence that supports the judgment and the reasonable inferences to be drawn from that evidence. Id. If a reasonable trier of fact could conclude that the elements of a party's claim were established by a preponderance of the evidence, then a judgment in favor of the party having the burden of proof will be affirmed. Id. "This deferential standard of review is particularly important in small claims actions, where trials are `informal, with the sole objective of dispensing speedy justice between the parties according to the rules of substantive law.'" Id. (quoting Ind. Small Claims Rule 8(A)). We must also keep in mind that the Teachers are appealing from a negative judgment, and thus the trial court will be affirmed unless all evidence leads to the conclusion that the trial court's findings are clearly erroneous and against the logic and effect of the facts. In re Estate of Banko, 622 N.E.2d 476, 480-81 (Ind. 19...