Hodges v. Tomberlin

• Decision Date: 12 December 1980
• Docket Number: CV480-156.
• Citation: 510 F. Supp. 1280
• Parties: Donald E. HODGES and Ricky D. Mikell, Plaintiffs, v. John TOMBERLIN, Patrick Ward, J. B. Rollison, Charles Phillips, Robert Goethe, George Nichols, individually and in their capacities as agents and employees of The Georgia Ports Authority, and The Georgia Ports Authority, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Georgia

510 F. Supp. 1280

Donald E. HODGES and Ricky D. Mikell, Plaintiffs, v. John TOMBERLIN, Patrick Ward, J. B. Rollison, Charles Phillips, Robert Goethe, George Nichols, individually and in their capacities as agents and employees of The Georgia Ports Authority, and The Georgia Ports Authority, Defendants.

CV480-156.

United States District Court, S. D. Georgia, Savannah Division.

December 12, 1980.

Cletus W. Bergen, II, Savannah, Ga., for plaintiffs.

G. Paris Sykes, Jr., Atlanta, Ga., Fred S. Clark, Savannah, Ga., for Ga. Ports and George Nichols.

ORDER

B. AVANT EDENFIELD, District Judge.

The case involves a dispute as to the actions and motivations of the individual defendants and Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) with respect to the plaintiffs' discharge from their jobs as crane operators. Plaintiffs have alleged that this termination was motivated by their efforts to promote union organization among GPA employees. Defendants concede that this Court has jurisdiction over the dispute pursuant to the Railway Labor Act, 45 U.S.C. § 151 et seq. Defendants do, however, dispute plaintiffs' further claims of jurisdiction pursuant to § 1983 of the Civil Rights Act of 1867, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and the Interstate Commerce Act, 49 U.S.C. § 10101 et seq. Defendants have moved to dismiss these claims, and also plaintiffs' allegation of a conspiracy among the various individual defendants, all of whom are GPA employees. Defendants have also moved to strike plaintiffs' pleading styled "Second Amended Complaint As Of Course" for failure to seek leave of the Court before filing.

Plaintiffs have responded to these motions alleging that jurisdiction is proper under all three of the above-named statutes. Plaintiffs' attorney acknowledged in a status conference held November 7, 1980, that the second amended complaint had been improperly filed. Plaintiffs have therefore filed a motion for leave to amend to add allegations contained in these pleadings. Plaintiff has also responded to defendants' contention that they are not entitled to a jury trial of any of these matters by asserting that an advisory jury is their "right" pursuant to Rule 39(c), F.R.Civ.P., with respect to claims under the Railway Labor Act. Plaintiffs also still appear to argue that a jury is proper with respect to their § 1983 claims pursuant to Rule 38, F.R. Civ.P.

In the present order, the Court considers all of these matters. Based upon this analysis the Court concludes that plaintiffs do appear to state a valid cause of action under § 1983. The Court also concludes that plaintiffs' motion to amend should be granted, as should defendants' motion to strike the second amended complaint. Defendants' motion to dismiss claims under the Interstate Commerce Act will be provisionally granted. It also appears that plaintiffs are not entitled to a binding jury resolution of any claim. Ruling on defendants' motion to strike allegations of conspiracy will be delayed until a later point in these proceedings.

Background

Plaintiffs were employees of the defendant GPA, working as crane operators at the defendant's Savannah area facilities. Plaintiffs were discharged by the GPA on January 28, 1980, ostensibly at least for falsifying time records which were the basis for determining their working hours and pay rates. Plaintiffs contend that their discharge was in fact to retaliate against efforts they had made to organize a union at the GPA. The Authority is a public corporation and an instrumentality of the State of Georgia which operates terminal, warehouse and other facilities at Savannah.

The present litigation was originally brought in June, 1980, claiming violation of Constitutional rights to free speech and association giving rise to liability under § 1983. According to statements made during the November status conference, plaintiffs' attorney was then unaware of the applicability of the Railway Labor Act (RLA) to the GPA. Defendants then moved to dismiss claiming that the RLA was plaintiffs' exclusive remedy. Plaintiffs have now amended their complaint to add a claim under the RLA. There is no controversy over the applicability of this statute, which develops out of GPA operation of a small railroad in conjunction with its port facilities. See In the Matter of the Application of International Longshoreman's Association, AFL-CIO, National Mediation Board, File No. C-3902, Findings Upon Investigation, November 7, 1969. As was indicated above, considerable dispute surrounds plaintiffs' other allegations.

§ 1983

Plaintiffs have alleged jurisdiction pursuant to § 1983 based upon the defendant's alleged denial of their Constitutional rights to free speech and association. Defendants have moved to dismiss this claim on various grounds. All defendants contend that suit under § 1983 is barred by the Railway Labor Act. Defendants argue that this statute is plaintiffs' exclusive remedy in that § 1983 is expressly repealed by it or at least impliedly repealed or preempted by more specific remedies provided under this labor legislation. The defendant GPA further contends that suit against it under § 1983 is unavailable, (1) because it is not a "person" within the meaning of § 1983; (2) as a state agency, it is protected against suit for monetary damages by the Eleventh Amendment and (3) because it has not waived this protection by any purposeful action. The individual defendants move to dismiss the § 1983 claim to the extent that it seeks monetary relief against them as GPA employees, claiming that this is in essence a suit against the state and also barred by the Eleventh Amendment.

It is obvious of course that § 1983 by its literal terms does provide a cause of action for violation of rights "secured by the constitution and laws" of the United States. Therefore, it would appear that plaintiffs' allegations with respect to the First Amendment are sufficient to state a claim. It would also appear that the alleged violation of the Railway Labor Act would similarly give rise to a claim cognizable under § 1983. See Maine v. Thiboutot, 448 U.S. 1, 100 S.Ct. 2502, 65 L.Ed.2d 555 (1980). The Court must therefore determine whether any of the various arguments presented by the defendants are sufficient to overcome these apparently clear jurisdictional bases.

With respect to its argument that it is not a "person" within the meaning of § 1983, GPA cites Quern v. Jordan, 440 U.S. 332, 99 S.Ct. 1139, 59 L.Ed.2d 358 (1979). Quern does recognize a significant limitation on actions under § 1983 against a state agency by specifically holding that, consistent with the Eleventh Amendment, relief generally must be limited to prospective injunctive relief, not money damages. However, it is obvious that, if any relief at all may be afforded under § 1983 against a state, it must be a "person" within the meaning of the statute for at least some purposes.

Second, it is clear from Quern that a state may be subject to monetary as well as injunctive relief where it has waived immunity under the Eleventh Amendment. The Court quotes, with approval, its prior holding in Alabama v. Pugh, 438 U.S. 781, 98 S.Ct. 3057, 57 L.Ed.2d 1114 (1978) that "there can be no doubt, however, that suit against the State and its Board of Corrections is barred by the Eleventh Amendment, unless Alabama has consented to the filing of such a suit." 438 U.S., at 781, 98 S.Ct. at 3057.

Thus, the question becomes whether the State of Georgia has waived immunity under the Eleventh Amendment in establishing the Georgia Ports Authority. The relevant statute provides as follows:

There is hereby created a body corporate and politic, to be known as the Georgia Ports Authority, which shall be deemed to be an instrumentality of the State of Georgia and a public corporation, and by that name, style, and title the said body may contract and be sued, implead and be impleaded, and complain and defend in all courts of law and equity.

Ga.Code Ann. § 98-202. Obviously, this statute does appear to waive immunity with respect to suit in this Court. Florida Nursing Home Association v. Page, 616 F.2d 1355, 1362 (5th Cir. 1980), cited by the defendants in support of a contrary conclusion, in fact only reinforces the view that the state has waived immunity. Page does hold that a waiver of suit in state courts is not to be construed automatically to include federal litigation as well. However, the Court then goes on to deduce the availability of a remedy in federal court from a contractual pledge that federal policy would be followed. In the present case, there is of course no need to find waiver by implication, since the Georgia statute expressly states that suit may be brought "in all courts of law and equity."

It is clear then that the GPA is properly within the nominal coverage of § 1983. Thus the motion to dismiss these claims by the Authority and the individual defendants must be rejected unless the Railway Labor Act is established as plaintiff's exclusive remedy, as the defendant's have also contended. In this regard, it is argued first that § 163 of the RLA constitutes an explicit repeal of § 1983. This statute provides as follows:

Title III of the Transportation Act, 1920, and the Act approved July 15, 1913 providing for mediation, conciliation, and arbitration, and all Acts and parts of Acts in conflict with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, except that the members, secretary, officers, employees, and agents of the Railroad Labor Board, in office upon the date of passage of this Act May 20, 1926, shall receive their salaries for a period of 30 days from such date, in the same manner as though this Act had not been passed. (May 20, 1926, c. 347, Title I, § 14, in part, 44 stat. 587.)

45 U.S.C. § 163. Obviously, this section makes no specific mention of § 1983 or any other statute not dealing directly with transportation questions. Nonetheless, defendants argue that § 1983 should be viewed as "in conflict with" the Act...