Ferguson v. Union Pacific R. Co.

• Decision Date: 05 November 1999
• Docket Number: No. S-98-652.,S-98-652.
• Citation: 601 N.W.2d 907,258 Neb. 78
• Parties: Scott FERGUSON, appellant and cross-appellee, v. UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY, appellee and cross-appellant.
• Court: Nebraska Supreme Court

601 N.W.2d 907

258 Neb. 78

Scott FERGUSON, appellant and cross-appellee, v. UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY, appellee and cross-appellant.

No. S-98-652.

Supreme Court of Nebraska.

November 5, 1999.

James C. Bocott, of Ruff Nisley & Lindemeier, North Platte, for appellant.

Brenda J. Council, Omaha, for appellee.

HENDRY, C.J., WRIGHT, GERRARD, STEPHAN, McCORMACK, and MILLER-LERMAN, JJ.

STEPHAN, J.

Scott Ferguson brought this action to recover compensation allegedly due him from his employer, Union Pacific Railroad Company (Union Pacific), for periods when he was on active duty with the U.S. Army Reserve. The district court for Lincoln County determined, as a matter of law, that Ferguson's claim lacked merit and therefore entered summary judgment in favor of Union Pacific. Ferguson appealed, and we moved the appeal to our docket on our own motion. We find no error and therefore affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Ferguson has been an employee of Union Pacific and a member of the Army Reserve since November 1993. He served on active duty with the Army Reserve for at least 15 days during each of the years 1994 through 1996. Ferguson submitted claims to Union Pacific for compensation allegedly due him while he was on active military duty, but Union Pacific denied his claims. Thereafter, Ferguson invoked the assistance of the United Transportation Union, his collective bargaining agent, which submitted several formal claims on his behalf, each indicating that Ferguson's claims for lost wages were made pursuant to Neb.Rev.Stat. § 55-160 and §§ 55-163 to 55-165 (Reissue 1998).

Sharon F. Boone, manager of labor relations for Union Pacific, denied each of these claims, stating in correspondence that "there is no basis in any rule and/or agreement to support the payment as claimed. You are citing Nebraska Statues [sic] other than Collective Bargaining Agreements in support of this claim." Boone's correspondence further stated:

When employees take a leave of absence from the Company for any reason (military, personal, sick, etc.) they relieve themselves from the covenants and benefits of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and are not covered under such agreements. Therefore, for the reasons stated above, Claimant would not be entitled to any additional compensation as claimed.

On December 19, 1996, Ferguson filed suit against Union Pacific in the district court for Lincoln County, Nebraska, claiming lost wages for work missed while in the active service of the U.S. Army Reserve. Union Pacific removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, and Ferguson moved for remand, arguing that the federal court lacked subject matter jurisdiction. The federal court granted Ferguson's motion on July 16, 1997, and remanded the cause to the state district court.

Union Pacific then filed its answer, asserting as affirmative defenses that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the action because Ferguson's claim was preempted by the Railway Labor Act (RLA), 45 U.S.C. § 151 et seq. (1994 & Supp. III 1997), and that Ferguson's petition failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Thereafter, Union Pacific filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that Ferguson's claim was a minor dispute subject to the mandatory arbitration procedures of the RLA and, alternatively, that Ferguson's petition failed to state a cause of action. Ferguson also filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that no genuine issue of material fact existed in the case and that he was entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

The district court granted Union Pacific's motion for summary judgment based upon its determination that Ferguson was not entitled to compensation under § 55-160 or upon any other basis. The court did not specifically rule on Union Pacific's contention that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over Ferguson's claim because of an RLA preemption.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

Ferguson contends on appeal, restated and summarized, that the district court erred in determining that § 55-160, regarding military leaves of absence from employment without loss of pay, applies only to state or public employees, not private employees, and thus erred in granting summary judgment in favor of Union Pacific.

On cross-appeal, Union Pacific contends that the district court erred in (1) declining to squarely address Union Pacific's contention that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over Ferguson's claim for wages while attending training with the U.S. Army Reserve and (2) failing to dismiss Ferguson's petition for lack of subject matter jurisdiction on the ground that the claim is subject to the mandatory and exclusive dispute resolution procedures under the RLA.

ANALYSIS

Subject Matter Jurisdiction.

We initially address Union Pacific's argument, set forth in its cross-appeal, that the district court lacked jurisdiction over the subject matter of Ferguson's claim because it was preempted by the RLA. We interpret the fact that the district court did not specifically rule on the preemption issue, but, rather, determined the action on its merits, as a finding that Ferguson's claim was not preempted and the court therefore had subject matter jurisdiction. See State v. Ward, 257 Neb. 377, 597 N.W.2d 614 (1999).

Subject matter jurisdiction is a court's power to hear a case. Schweitzer v. American Nat. Red Cross, 256 Neb. 350, 591 N.W.2d 524 (1999); Kuhlmann v. City of Omaha, 251 Neb. 176, 556 N.W.2d 15 (1996). When a lower court lacks the authority to exercise its subject matter jurisdiction so as to adjudicate the merits of a claim, issue, or question, an appellate court also lacks the power to determine the merits of the claim, issue, or question presented to the lower court. In re Adoption of Kassandra B. & Nicholas B., 248 Neb. 912, 540 N.W.2d 554 (1995). However, even though an extrajudicial act of a lower court cannot vest an appellate court with jurisdiction to review the merits of an appeal, the appellate court has jurisdiction and, moreover, the duty to determine whether the lower court had the power, that is, the subject matter jurisdiction, to enter the judgment or other final order sought to be reviewed. In re Estate of Andersen, 253 Neb. 748, 572 N.W.2d 93 (1998). When a jurisdictional question does not involve a factual dispute, its determination is a question of law which requires an appellate court to reach a conclusion independent from that of the trial court. Holste v. Burlington Northern RR. Co., 256 Neb. 713, 592 N.W.2d 894 (1999).

Union Pacific argues that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction because Ferguson's claim is a "minor dispute" within the meaning of the RLA and is thus subject to the exclusive, nonjudicial resolution procedures set forth therein, thereby preempting any cause of action under state law. "Whether federal law pre-empts a state law establishing a cause of action is a question of congressional intent." Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. v. Norris, 512 U.S. 246, 252, 114 S.Ct. 2239, 129 L.Ed.2d 203 (1994). The RLA is a federal law enacted "to promote stability in labor-management relations by providing a comprehensive framework for resolving labor disputes" in the transportation industry. Id. See, also, Atchison T. & S.F.R. Co. v. Buell, 480 U.S. 557, 107 S.Ct. 1410, 94 L.Ed.2d 563 (1987). The RLA requires that "minor disputes" between railroads and their employees be resolved by a nonjudicial arbitral mechanism established by the RLA. Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. v. Norris, supra; 45 U.S.C. § 153. In this context, "minor disputes" include those "`gro[wing] out of grievances or out of the interpretation or application of agreements covering rates of pay, rules, or working conditions'" and involving "`controversies over the meaning of an existing collective bargaining agreement in a particular fact situation.'" Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. v. Norris, 512 U.S. at 252-53, 114 S.Ct. 2239, quoting 45 U.S.C. § 151a(5) and Trainmen v. Chicago R. & I.R. Co., 353 U.S. 30, 77 S.Ct. 635, 1 L.Ed.2d 622 (1957). A claim founded on state law is preempted by the RLA "where the resolution of a state-law claim depends on an interpretation of the [collective bargaining agreement]." Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. v. Norris, 512 U.S. at 261, 114 S.Ct. 2239. However, the existence of a potential remedy under a collective bargaining agreement does not deprive an employee subject to the RLA of "independent remedies available under state law." Id. Indeed, "`even if dispute resolution pursuant to a collective-bargaining agreement, on the one hand, and state law, on the other, would require addressing precisely the same set of facts, as long as the state-law claim can be resolved without interpreting the agreement itself,'" there is no federal preemption. 512 U.S. at 262, 114 S.Ct. 2239, quoting with approval Lingle v. Norge Division of Magic Chef, Inc., 486 U.S. 399, 108 S.Ct. 1877, 100 L.Ed.2d 410 (1988).

The preemption argument which Union Pacific advances here was specifically rejected by the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska when it remanded the cause to state court following removal by Union Pacific. U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas D. Thalken reasoned:

An examination of the plaintiff's complaint does not lead the court to believe that the resolution of this dispute will depend upon an interpretation of a collective bargaining agreement or any other aspect of federal law. Rather, although involving a railroad company as the defendant, this case appears to relate solely to an interpretation of Neb. Rev.Stat. § 55-160 (Reissue 1993). This statute creates rights that are independent of the collective bargaining agreement and is therefore not preempted by the RLA.

Our analysis leads to the same conclusion. Although Ferguson's petition does not make specific reference to § 55-160, it is clear from the record that entitlement under this state statute was the only...