Grider v. Monin

Decision Date10 February 1986
Docket NumberNo. 3-84-1236.,3-84-1236.
Citation637 F. Supp. 324
PartiesHarold GRIDER, et al., Plaintiffs, v. C.V. MONIN, et al., Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — Middle District of Tennessee

Michael Terry, Hansom, Terry & Thompson, Nashville, Tenn., for plaintiffs.

Tyree B. Harris, Dodson, Harris, Robinson & Aden, Nashville, Tenn., for defendant Seaboard System.

Cecil D. Branstetter, Branstetter, Kilgore, Stranch & Jenning, Nashville, Tenn., Harold A. Ross, Ross & Krausharr Co., L.P.A., Cleveland, Ohio, for defendants Monin, General Committee and Intern. Bro.

MEMORANDUM

WISEMAN, Chief Judge.

Defendants have filed a motion to strike plaintiffs' jury demand in this action involving alleged violations of the Railway Labor Act, 45 U.S.C. § 151, et seq., and state law. Plaintiffs' complaint arises out of the actions of Seaboard System Railroad and the International Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers in entering into an agreement affecting the seniority rights of the railroad's employees. Plaintiffs claim that defendants' actions violate various provisions of the Railway Labor Act concerning use of carrier funds and interference with employee organization, and constitute a breach of the duty of fair representation, breach of contract, intentional interference with contract, and conspiracy. Plaintiffs seek damages, declaratory and injunctive relief and attorney's fees.

Defendants argue that the thrust of plaintiffs' complaint involves the alleged breach of the duty of fair representation, that plaintiffs' claim for damages is in essence a request for the equitable relief of reinstatement and back pay, and that the decisions addressing the right to jury trial in duty of fair representation cases brought under the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA"), 29 U.S.C. § 185, et seq., are equally applicable to and dictate that no jury trial is available in duty of fair representation cases brought under the Railway Labor Act. There exists, however, a sharp division of authority over the availability of jury trial in fair representation cases brought under either the Railway Labor Act or the NLRA. Some courts hold that the right to jury trial is available, concluding that the right and at least part of the remedy requested was legal in nature. See e.g., Roscello v. Southwest Airlines Co., 726 F.2d 217 (5th Cir.1984) (Railway Labor Act); Quinn v. DiGiulian, 739 F.2d 637 (D.C.Cir.1984); Cox v. C.H. Masland & Sons, Inc., 607 F.2d 138 (5th Cir. 1979); Minnis v. International Union, U.A.W., 531 F.2d 850 (8th Cir.1975); Cook v. National Maritime Union, 617 F.Supp. 1052 (S.D.N.Y.1985); Wood v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 406, 565 F.Supp. 1011 (W.D.Mich.1983); Kinzel v. Allied Supermarkets, Inc., 88 F.R.D. 360 (E.D.Mich.1980). Other courts have denied requests for jury trial, based on a finding that either the right or remedy was equitable in nature. See e.g., Brady v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., 196 F.Supp. 504 (D.Del.1961) (Railway Labor Act); Nedd v. United Mine Workers, 556 F.2d 190 (3d Cir.1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1013, 98 S.Ct. 727, 54 L.Ed.2d 757 (1978); McIntyre v. Steelworkers Local 7555, 120 LRRM 2911 (M.D.Fla.1985); Coleman v. Kroger Co., 399 F.Supp. 724 (W.D.Va. 1975); Harrison v. Chrysler Corp., 60 F.R.D. 9 (S.D.Ind.1973).

The Railway Labor Act is silent on whether a right to jury trial exists in duty of fair representation cases brought under its provisions. In Ross v. Bernhard, 396 U.S. 531, 90 S.Ct. 733, 24 L.Ed.2d 729 (1970), the Supreme Court addressed the question of whether the Seventh Amendment right to jury trial applies to a cause of action brought under a statute which is silent on the availability of jury trial. The Ross Court held that "where equitable and legal claims are joined in the same action there is a right to a jury trial on the legal claims which must not be infringed by trying the legal issues as incidental to the equitable ones." 396 U.S. at 537-38, 90 S.Ct. at 738, 24 L.Ed.2d at 736. Explaining that the Seventh Amendment question "depends on the nature of the issue to be tried rather than the character of the overall action," the Court set forth three factors to be considered in determining whether an issue is of a "legal" nature:

First, the premerger custom with reference to such questions; second, the remedy sought; and, third, the practical abilities and limitations of juries.

396 U.S. at 538 & n. 10, 90 S.Ct. at 738, 24 L.Ed.2d at 736.

This Court is persuaded by the reasoning of those courts who have applied the Ross factors to a claim based on the duty of fair representation and conclude that a right to jury trial exists. In Quinn v. DiGiulian, supra, the District of Columbia held that a right to jury trial is available to a plaintiff seeking both equitable and monetary relief for an alleged breach of the duty of fair representation brought under the NLRA. With respect to the nature of the relief sought, the defendants in Quinn argued, as do the defendants in the instant action, that the essence of plaintiff's claim was for reinstatement and that his claim for damages was merely incidental to that equitable claim. The court stated that the duty of fair representation is simply a new legal duty, the breach of which gives rise to liability for any damages that result. 739 F.2d at 646. Relying on the Supreme Court's pronouncement in Ross that the right to jury trial is not to be infringed merely because a plaintiff seeks and recovers equitable relief in addition to damages, the court concluded that the question of whether the union had breached its duty of fair representation and the amount of damages, if any, resulting from that breach had been properly sent to the jury. 739 F.2d at 646. This Court concurs in the reasoning of the Quinn court and concludes that plaintiffs' request for equitable relief in addition to damages does not extinguish plaintiffs' right to jury trial on the damage claims.

In applying the first factor set forth in Ross, the Quinn court rejected the argument made by defendants in the instant case that recent Supreme Court decisions, see e.g., Del Costello v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 462 U.S. 151, 103 S.Ct. 2281, 76 L.Ed.2d 476 (1983), holding that state law statutes of limitation do not apply to fair representation cases, compel the conclusion that fair representation cases are equitable in nature for Seventh Amendment purposes. Quinn, 739 F.2d at 646. Explaining that for Seventh Amendment purposes, the nature of the remedies authorized and sought in a modern statutory cause of action is more important than a precise common law analogy, the Quinn court concluded that "an action for damages for breach of the duty of fair representation ... is an action to enforce a legal right, and the plaintiff is entitled to a jury trial of that action." 739 F.2d at 646. This Court adopts the reasoning of the Quinn court in concluding that...

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5 cases
  • Allen v. Allied Plant Maintenance Company of Tennessee
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Middle District of Tennessee
    • 2 Mayo 1986
    ...claim involves an alleged breach of the duty of fair representation. This Court recently addressed this issue in Grider v. Monin, 637 F.Supp. 324 (M.D.Tenn.1985). The Court recognized that a "sharp division of authority" exists over the availability of jury trial in DFR cases brought under ......
  • Terry v. Chauffeurs, Teamsters & Helpers, Local 391
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Middle District of North Carolina
    • 10 Noviembre 1987
    ...America, 617 F.Supp. 1052 (S.D.N.Y.1985); Emerick v. McConway & Torley Corp., 650 F.Supp. 545 (E.D.Pa.1986); see also Grider v. Monin, 637 F.Supp. 324 (M.D.Tenn. 1986). The court finds the Quinn reasoning more convincing than the arguments in the cases offered by Defendant. Compare Spicuzza......
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    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania
    • 11 Febrero 1988
    ...Airways, Inc., 651 F.Supp. 713 (S.D. Fla.1986); Emerick v. McConway & Torley Corp., 650 F.Supp. 545 (E.D.Pa.1986); Grider v. Monin, 637 F.Supp. 324 (N.D. Tenn.1986); Allen v. Allied Plant Maintenance Co., 636 F.Supp. 1090, 1099 (M.D. Tenn.1986); Cook v. National Maritime Union of America, 6......
  • Deringer v. Columbia Transp. Div., Oglebay Norton Co.
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit
    • 30 Enero 1989
    ...301 suit), aff'd, 834 F.2d 573 (6th Cir.1987), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 108 S.Ct. 2017, 100 L.Ed.2d 604 (1988) with Grider v. Monin, 637 F.Supp. 324 (M.D.Tenn.1986) (finding right to jury trial on fair representation claim brought under the Railway Labor In Wood v. International Brother......
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