Hill v. Aro Corporation, C 66-202.

• Decision Date: 14 November 1967
• Docket Number: No. C 66-202.,C 66-202.
• Citation: 275 F. Supp. 482
• Parties: Robert HILL, Plaintiff, v. The ARO CORPORATION et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Ohio

275 F. Supp. 482

Robert HILL, Plaintiff, v. The ARO CORPORATION et al., Defendants.

No. C 66-202.

United States District Court N. D. Ohio, W. D.

November 14, 1967.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Howard E. Petersen, LaGrange, Ind., Edgar A. Grimm, Kendallville, Ind., for plaintiff.

Robert Gosline, Toledo, Ohio, for Aro Corp.

Donald Fisher, Toledo, Ohio, for Union.

OPINION

DON J. YOUNG, District Judge:

Robert Hill brought this action against his former employer, The Aro Corporation, his union, The International Association of Machinists, Lodge No. 1349, and Peter DiLeone, an arbitrator appointed by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, who ruled that plaintiff's discharge from employment from Aro was for sufficient and just cause. Jurisdiction of the case is allegedly based on the National Labor Relations Act, the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, and upon diversity of citizenship. A motion by the arbitrator to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b) (6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted was sustained. Hill v. Aro Corp., 263 F.Supp. 324 (N.D.Ohio 1967).

During his employment at the Aro Corporation, plaintiff occupied the position of committeeman in his Union, a position which carried certain negotiating responsibilities. In late 1964, the Union voted to attempt to renegotiate the collective bargaining agreement to require all committeemen to work the day shift. Since plaintiff had always worked nights, and was unwilling to work the day shift, he was removed from his position in the Union. On March 8, 1965, apparently after much disagreement with the Union, and to a limited extent, the company, concerning plaintiff's removal from office, Aro discharged plaintiff from his employment. The letter of discharge stated that plaintiff was a "chronic troublemaker" and that his work lacked both "quantity and quality." A grievance was immediately filed on behalf of plaintiff challenging the discharge. Also, plaintiff filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board on two occasions against both the Company and the Union. These charges were dismissed after investigation by the Board, except that one with regard to the Union, was dismissed voluntarily by plaintiff.

The grievance was processed through the first three steps of the contract grievance procedure but the parties failed to agree upon an amicable settlement. Certain representatives of the Union and the company then agreed upon an arbitrator and the matter was submitted to him for decision. Sometime prior to the arbitration hearing plaintiff retained private counsel to represent him therein, and the Union announced that it would be present at the hearing only to see that the contract provisions were not altered. It is not clear from the affidavits, interrogatories, and depositions whether the attorney was hired as a result of the Union's refusal to represent plaintiff but the plaintiff so alleges in his complaint.

There are several alleged defects in the manner of selection of the arbitrator and the conduct of the hearing, which will be discussed in a later part of this opinion. The arbitrator issued his award on September 21, 1965, holding that the discharge was for sufficient and just cause. A motion was filed with the arbitrator on March 28, 1966 for reconsideration which was denied. Neither the plaintiff nor the Union attempted any appeals or attempted to have the award vacated until the filing of this case on September 19, 1966. On October 4, 1965 the International President of the Union ruled that plaintiff should be reinstated as a committeeman, but plaintiff claims this was never accomplished.

Plaintiff's complaint contains five "counts". Count I seeks to vacate the arbitration award. Count II seeks damages and injunctive relief against the Union for a breach of its duty of fair representation in the grievance procedure and arbitration. Count III alleges that the Union and the company conspired to prevent him from continuing his employment and from being reinstated to his position as committeeman. Count IV seeks damages and injunctive relief against the company and Union for conspiring to have him removed from his office in the Union. Count V seeks a mandatory injunction directing defendants not to destroy any evidence or threaten witnesses, with regard to any of the matters alleged in the first four counts.

The company has filed a motion to dismiss with respect to the first count, and a motion for a summary judgment with regard to the last four, or in the alternative, a motion to dismiss. The Union has also moved to dismiss the complaint, while plaintiff has moved for summary judgment against both defendants. The rulings on these motions have been delayed considerably so that all the depositions which were taken could be filed and examined with regard to the motions for summary judgment. Each of the motions will be considered separately.

Company's Motion

Pursuant to Rule 12(b) (6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the company has moved to dismiss the first cause of action in the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. This cause of action seeks to have the arbitration award vacated. Several grounds are stated by plaintiff which he contends entitle him to this relief. Among them are that the arbitrator considered evidence which should not have been considered, refused to consider part of plaintiff's evidence, engaged in ex parte communications with the company and the union, and failed to make an official transcript of the proceedings available to plaintiff. Also, plaintiff alleges that the selection of the arbitrator was controlled completely by the company and the union without consultation with plaintiff and that they agreed to compensate the arbitrator $150.00 per day, contrary to the submission.

At the outset it should be noted that this Court cannot review the merits of the arbitrator's decision. Federal law is clear that the determinations of arbitrators are final and binding labor cases. General Drivers, Local 89 v. Riss & Co., 372 U.S. 517, 83 S.Ct. 789, 9 L.Ed.2d 918 (1963); United Steelworkers v. American Mfg. Co., 363 U.S. 564, 80 S. Ct. 1343, 4 L.Ed.2d 1403 (1960); United Steelworkers v. Enterprise Wheel & Car Corp., 363 U.S. 593, 80 S.Ct. 1358, 4 L.Ed.2d 1424 (1960). The parties to the labor contract bargained for the construction of the arbitrator and not that of the courts.

However, it is established that an arbitrator's award may be vacated when there is a defect in the proceeding which goes to the jurisdiction of the arbitrator. The federal arbitration statute and the vast majority of state arbitration statutes contain a provision permitting a court to declare an award void under certain circumstances. See Comment, 27 Ohio St.L.J. 692, 712 (1966). The Ohio Statute is similar to the United States Arbitration Act with regard to the grounds for vacating an arbitration award.¹ Furthermore, both statutes provide that an application for an order confirming the award may be filed within one year after the award is made,² but that a motion to vacate the award must be served on the adverse party or his attorney within three months after the award.³

Both the company and the union argue that the arbitration acts are applicable in suits under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act,⁴ and that the three month limitation in both acts prevents this Court from granting relief in this case. The question is therefore whether either the state arbitration act or the federal act applies to the facts of this case.

The United States Supreme Court in Textile Workers Union v. Lincoln Mills, 353 U.S. 448, 77 S.Ct. 912, 1 L.Ed.2d 972 (1957) held that Section 301 authorized the federal courts to fashion a body of federal law for the enforcement of collective bargaining agreements. The Court held that as a matter of federal labor policy, the courts will enforce an agreement to arbitrate but did not say whether the United States Arbitration Act was applicable in labor cases. The Court's holding required state and federal courts to apply federal law in suits brought to enforce a collective bargaining agreement. This "federal law" may be derived from the Labor Management Relations Act itself, or from state laws or other federal acts. Id. at 456-457, 77 S.Ct. 912.

Several federal cases, both prior to the Lincoln Mills decision and subsequent thereto, have held certain sections of the federal arbitration act applicable to labor disputes. Rhine v. Union Carbide Corp., 343 F.2d 12, 16 (6th Cir. 1965); Local 149, American Fed'n of Technical Eng'r v. General Electric Co., 250 F.2d 922 (1st Cir., 1957); Hoover Motor Exp. Co. v. Teamsters Local 327, 217 F.2d 49 (6th Cir. 1954); Metal Products Local 1645 v. Torrington Co., 242 F.Supp. 813 (D.Conn.1965). In the Metal Products case the court specifically held that the three month limitation of the United States Arbitration Act was applicable in Section 301 cases rather than the shorter Connecticut statute.

Plaintiff contends that the state statute rather than the federal act applies, but that because certain procedural requirements of the Ohio act were not followed, the award is a nullity. Therefore, plaintiff argues that the three month limitation is inapplicable. This argument is essentially that the parties did not specify in the agreement the county in which the arbitration shall be held as the act required. Rather than examining the merits of this contention under state law, it is sufficient to say that to the extent that state statutes are applicable in labor cases, they must be compatible with the purposes of Section 301. Textile Workers Union v. Lincoln Mills, 353 U.S. 448, 457, 77 S.Ct. 912, 1 L.Ed.2d 972 (1957). It is the policy of national labor legislation to promote the arbitral process and to give the decisions of arbitrators finality. Certainly federal courts cannot vacate an award which was rendered...