Fibreboard Paper Products Corp. v. East Bay Union of Machinists, Local 1304, United Steelworkers of America , AFL-CIO
| Decision Date | 22 January 1964 |
| Docket Number | AFL-CIO |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
| Parties | FIBREBOARD PAPER PRODUCTS CORPORATION, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. EAST BAY UNION OF MACHINISTS, LOCAL 1304, UNITED STEELWORKERS OF AMERICA,, an unincorporated association, United Steelworkers of America,, an unincorporated association, Lloyd Ferber, William F. Stumpf, and Dave Arca, Defendants and Appellants. Civ. 20736. |
Darwin, Rosenthal & Leff, Jay A. Darwin, Irwin Leff, San Francisco, for appellants.
Charles E. Hanger, Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, San Francisco, for respondent.
This is an appeal by five defendants from a part of the judgment entered upon a jury verdict awarding plaintiff damages based upon alleged tortious conduct of said defendants as the result of the establishment of a picket line in connection with a strike. 1
We shall hereinafter state the pertinent facts as they relate to the particular questions and issues presented on this appeal. Preliminarily, however, we set out the following factual background.
Fibreboard is a manufacturer of roofing, shingles, paint, insulations, floor coverings and other products at a plant located in Emeryville in California. In July 1959 2 over 800 persons worked in this plant, of whom more than 70 were involved in maintenance work. Fifty of the maintenance men were members of and represented by the Union. The production workers in the plant were represented by six different unions other than the Union, and the warehousemen employees were represented by the International Longshoremen's & Warehousemen's Union, hereinafter referred to as the 'ILWU.' On July 31, Fibreboard discharged all of its maintenance men, including those represented by the Union, because it had decided to contract the plant's maintenance work to an independent contractor, the Fluor Maintenance Company. In protest against the discharge the Local authorized and established a picket line at Fibreboard's Emeryville plant on July 31. The said picketing was thereafter authorized and sanctioned by the International.
On August 3, Fibreboard filed its complaint for injunction in the present action and a temporary restraining order was issued by the superior court limiting the number of pickets and enjoining defendants from obstructing or interfering with ingress and egress of employees and others, and from intimidating, coercing, threatening or committing property damage or bodily harm or violence on persons attempting to enter or leave Fibreboard's plant. The restraining order was served on Ferber and Stumpf, and the pickets and other members of the Local were informed of the order and instructed to comply with it. Beginning on August 7, and thereafter during the month of August contempt proceedings alleging 26 counts of violations of the temporary restraining order were filed by Fibreboard. Contempt findings were made against the Local, and one of its members, for activities occurring on August 10th; against Arca, and another member of the Local, and the Local itself, for activities occurring on August 19th; and against Arca, Ferber, and two other individuals, and the Local itself, for activities occurring on August 21st. All other contempt counts were dismissed.
On August 24, a preliminary injunction was issued on the same terms as the temporary restraining order, and on September 4, the preliminary injunction was modified to enjoin all picketing. A supplemental complaint was thereafter filed by Fibreboard alleging that the acts complained of in its complaint for injunction continued from August 4th to September 5th, and praying for compensatory and punitive damages for its loss of business, profits and continuing expenses allegedly caused by defendants' acts. In addition to answers denying the essential allegations of the complaint and supplemental complaint, defendants filed an amended answer further answering the complaint, and alleging three affirmative defenses. The first defense alleged the existence of a collective bargaining agreement between Fibreboard and the Union and a breach thereof by Fibreboard in unlawfully discharging the maintenance employee members of the Union; the second, that Fibreboard 'does not come into equity with clean hands'; and the third, that the acts complained of in the complaint and supplemental complaint were caused and induced by Fibreboard in concert with others by assaulting and otherwise molesting the duly stationed pickets and by the use of "strikebreakers." Thereafter, and prior to the commencement of the trial, and on motion of Fibreboard, the aforesaid first affirmative defense was ordered stricken by the court below.
The cause proceeded to trial before a jury. During the course of the trial, defendants moved to amend their answer to add four additional affirmative defenses, designated, respectively, as the fourt, fifth, sixth and seventh defenses. The court granted the motion as to the seventh defense which alleged in essence that if the acts complained of in the complaint and supplemental complaint occurred at all they were provoked and induced by Fibreboard by reason of fraudulent representations made by Fibreboard to the Union. It was asserted that representations were made by Fibreboard that it intended to meet with the Union and negotiate a collective bargaining agreement to be effective on August 1, that that it did not intend to so do, and that the Union relied upon such representations to its detriment without being permitted to protect its position in relation to Fibreboard and with reference to the renewal provisions under the collective bargaining agreement then in existence. 3
The jury returned its verdict in favor of Fibreboard against all defendants for compensatory damages in the sum of $285,000, and for punitive damages against the International in the sum of $20,000 and against the Local in the sum $4,000. The action was continued for the trial court's consideration of the question as to whether a permanent injunction ought to be granted. The court thereafter entered judgment upon the jury's verdict, and ordered in said judgment that Fibreboard was not entitled to a permanent injunction against defendants, or any of them, and that the modified preliminary injunction theretofore issued be vacated and dissolved. 4
The instant appeal by defendants is from said judgment, excepting that portion denying a permanent injunction and vacating and dissolving the preliminary injunction. The questions raised on appeal by defendants are set out in the headings preceding the several subjects hereinafter discussed in this opinion.
No. Defendants contend that although there was evidence of 'incidents' on or near the picket line from which the jury could have arrived at the conclusion that some of the behavior on the picket line was tortious, there was no causal connection between such conduct and the damages suffered by Fibreboard. The assertion is accordingly made by defendants that in the instant case the determination of such causal connection is a question of law and not one of fact. The basis of defendants' argument is that Fibreboard's losses do not stem from the inability to 'produce' goods because of the picket line, but from the inability to 'move' goods through the warehousemen who were legally and properly observing the picket line. Fibreboard's response to this argument is that its damages are predicated upon the loss of sales resulting during the period the plant was closed because of the picket line, and that such losses resulted not only because the production workers 'stayed out' during such period, but also because there is ample evidence in the record from which the jury could conclude either that the warehousemen would have crossed the picket line if it had been safe to do so, or, if they had not crossed the picket line because of union principles, their employment would have been terminated and the work given to others. Accordingly, Fibreboard argues that the question of causation was one of fact for the jury whose determination, under the state of the record, may not be disturbed by the appellate court because of the limitations placed upon its reviewing powers insofar as questions of fact are concerned.
Turning to the record in this case, we find substantial evidence of tortious behavior on the picket line. Within an hour after the Local established the picket line cars attempting to enter the plant were halted. Robert Baldwin, J., pensonnel director of the plant, took a picture of a group of men congregating about the entrance of the plant. He was approached by Arca and other pickets, forcibly relieved of his camera and was knocked down in the process. On August 1st, R. C. Thumann, Fibreboard's director of industrial relations, and two other managers were refused entry into the plant by Arca, necessitating police intervention to effect entry. On August 2, production workers, who were members of the Pulp, Sulphide and Paper Mill Workers Union, coming to work the 'graveyard shift' did not cross the picket line and were sent home by their international representative, Bradford, after he was told by Ferber that if Bradford's member's attempted to go to work 'it wouldn't be a peaceful picket line.'
The first regular work day after picketing began was on Monday, August 3rd. In the morning of that day, approximately 25 to 30 cars were stopped by the pickets, resulting in a long caravan of automobiles; cars were shaken up and down and then were permitted to enter the premises; salaried workers were stopped for a period of time and then were permitted to enter; and one Marcos, financial secretary of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union, attempted to cross the picket line at the insistence of his members but decided it was unsafe when he was told by a...
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