Harvey v. Calhoon
| Decision Date | 29 November 1963 |
| Citation | 224 F. Supp. 800 |
| Parties | Raymond H. HARVEY, Herman Shapiro and John Galletta, each of them individually and on behalf of all other persons similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. Jesse M. CALHOON, as President, or Herbert W. Peters, as Secretary-Treasurer, of District No. 1, National Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, AFL-CIO, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Burton H. Hall, New York City, for plaintiffs.
Pressman & Scribner, New York City, for defendant; David Scribner, New York City, of counsel.
Pursuant to a mandate of the Court of Appeals, 324 F.2d 486, this case is again before me. The mandate was filed in this Court on November 13, 1963. On that day, defendant union forwarded to Mr. Justice Harlan an application for a stay of the mandate. A hearing on the application was fixed for November 23. However, because of the assassination of President Kennedy, the hearing was postponed to the afternoon of November 27. On that day, Mr. Justice Harlan denied the application for a stay. Although this Court was willing to have the instant hearing on the evening of November 27, at the request of counsel for plaintiffs the hearing was not held then, but is being held today. A prime reason for great speed in dealing with the matter is the possibility that after today (November 29), the union election which plaintiffs seek to enjoin may be regarded as having been "already conducted" so that an argument could be made that this Court would not then have jurisdiction to grant the relief sought. Accordingly, the parties are now appearing before me in order that the mandate of the Court of Appeals may be carried out.
The facts in this case will not be restated except where necessary, and the facts stated in my previous opinion, reported at 221 F.Supp. 545, are incorporated herein. In the prior opinion, the Court did not deal with defendant's argument that plaintiffs should be denied relief because of laches and failure to exhaust intra-union remedies. In reversing the prior decision of this Court dismissing the complaint, the Court of Appeals for this Circuit stated:
"The plaintiffs' right to a temporary injunction against the holding of the election under the present constitution and bylaws is plain and such an injunction should issue promptly."
Therefore, it might be urged that no consideration need be given to these additional arguments of defendants. However, they will be dealt with at this time.
The bylaw of District No. 1, National Marine Engineers Beneficial Association ("the District"), requiring self-nomination was promulgated as of January 1961, although it apparently did not finally go into effect until much later. Thereafter, there was a ruling by the Credentials Committee of the District limiting nomination to one office. The rules requiring presidential candidates to be full-time paid officials and limiting candidates for any office to either full-time paid officials or members having served 180 days of sea time on union-contracted vessels in each of two out of the last three years were adopted by the National Convention of the National Marine Engineers Beneficial Association ("NMEBA") in March 1963. Each of the three named plaintiffs, Harvey, Shapiro, and Galletta, has nominated himself as a candidate for office in the District other than president. The Credentials Committee of the District ruled unfavorably on all three because they did not meet the above requirements. Both Harvey and Shapiro appealed unsuccessfully to a District membership meeting in accordance with the provisions of Article X, Section 2(c) of the District bylaws. However, no appeal was then made to the National Executive Committee from this adverse judgment. Article VII, Section 2 of the NMEBA constitution (as amended March 1963) provides that the National...
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Thompson v. New York Central Railroad Company
...immediate suit. Other factors to be considered include whether the court would be deprived of jurisdiction by waiting, Harvey v. Calhoon, 224 F.Supp. 800 (S.D.N.Y.1963), or if the union action clearly exceeded the limits of its disciplinary powers, Simmons v. Avisco, Local 713, Textile Work......
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Jacques v. Local 1418, International Longshoremen's Ass'n, Civ. A. No. 12553.
...Guild of Variety Artists, 2 Cir., 1961, 286 F.2d 75, cert. den. 366 U.S. 929, 81 S.Ct. 1650, 6 L.Ed.2d 388 (1961); Harvey v. Calhoon, S.D.N.Y., 1963, 224 F. Supp. 800. We now consider whether petitioner received the full and fair hearing required by 29 U.S.C.A. § 411(a) (5) and Article 15(a......
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King v. Randazzo, 64-C-605.
...futile gesture and merely delay the ultimate resolution of the issue. See Calagaz v. Calhoon, 5 Cir.1962, 309 F.2d 248; Harvey v. Calhoon, S.D.N.Y. 1963, 224 F.Supp. 800. Defendants also raise the further question as to whether plaintiffs have shown the probability of irreparable injury. Fr......