Local Union 42 v. Absolute Environmental Services

• Decision Date: 29 January 1993
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 91-716-JLL.
• Citation: 814 F. Supp. 392
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Delaware
• Parties: INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HEAT AND FROST INSULATORS AND ASBESTOS WORKERS LOCAL UNION 42, Plaintiff, v. ABSOLUTE ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, INC. and Joseph E. Donohoe, individually, Defendants.

814 F. Supp. 392

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HEAT AND FROST INSULATORS AND ASBESTOS WORKERS LOCAL UNION 42, Plaintiff, v. ABSOLUTE ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, INC. and Joseph E. Donohoe, individually, Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 91-716-JLL.

United States District Court, D. Delaware.

January 29, 1993.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Francis Trzuskowski of Trzuskowski, Kipp, Kelleher & Pearce, Wilmington, DE, and Adam H. Feinstein and Bernard N. Katz of Meranze and Katz, Philadelphia, PA, of counsel, for plaintiff.

Richard L. Abbott of Theisen, Lank, Mulford & Goldberg, P.A., Wilmington, DE, for defendants.

OPINION

LATCHUM, Senior District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff International Association Of Heat And Frost Insulators And Asbestos Workers Local Union No. 42 ("Local 42" or "plaintiff") and defendants Absolute Environmental Services, Inc. ("AESI") and Joseph G. Donohoe have filed cross motions for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. On December 23, 1991, Local 42 commenced this action against defendants seeking, inter alia, to enforce an arbitration award obtained against the defendants under the grievance procedure set forth in the collective bargaining agreement executed between AESI and Local 42.¹ Complaint, Docket Item ("D.I.") 1. Specifically, Local 42 asserts two counts in its complaint.

In Count I, Local 42 alleges that defendants AESI and Donohoe refused to comply with the arbitration award entered against them for breach of the collective bargaining agreement. Id. at pp. 5-6. Section 301(a) of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, 29 U.S.C. § 185(a)², confers upon the district courts original jurisdiction in cases involving alleged violations of contracts between an employer and a labor organization. See Auto Workers v. Hoosier Corp., 383 U.S. 696, 697, 86 S.Ct. 1107, 1109, 16 L.Ed.2d 192 (1966) ("Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, confers jurisdiction upon the federal district courts over suits upon collective bargaining agreements.") Accordingly, the Court possesses subject matter jurisdiction based on a federal statute with respect to Count I of Local 42's complaint.

In Count II, Local 42 asserts a supplemental state law claim for tortious interference with the collective bargaining agreement against defendant Donohoe individually. Id. at pp. 7-8. As to Count II, this Court's jurisdiction is founded on the Judicial Improvements Act of 1990 which is codified at 28 U.S.C. § 1367. Section 1367(a) provides, inter alia, that "in any civil action of which the district courts have original jurisdiction, the district courts shall have supplemental jurisdiction over all other claims that are so related to claims within such original jurisdiction that they form part of the same case or controversy under Article III of the United States Constitution." 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a).³ Because the state claim in Count II forms part of the same case or controversy as the federal statutory claim in Count I, the Court finds that supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claim in Count II is appropriate.

II. FACTS

The facts of the present case have been unnecessarily complicated by the failure of the parties to accurately memorialize the collective bargaining agreement that forms the crux of this litigation. It is undisputed, and the Court so finds, that on October 3, 1990, defendant AESI, through its agent, defendant Donohoe, executed a collective bargaining agreement and an asbestos removal addendum with plaintiff Local 42. Standing alone, however, the four corners of the written agreement contain an inherent inconsistency.

The first sentence of the collective bargaining agreement states that "this Agreement is entered into this 14 day sic of July 1989, by and between Absolute Environmental Services, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as the Employer) and Local 42 ..." Collective Bargaining Agreement, D.I. 31, at p. 1. However, AESI was not incorporated until October 2, 1990, well over a year after the date set forth in the opening sentence of the agreement. See Affidavit of Joseph G. Donohoe, D.I. 20 at Exhibit ("Ex.") D. To further confuse the matter, the text of the agreement designates AESI as the employer bound thereby, yet, the agreement is signed by defendant Donohoe along with the handwritten date "10/3/90" scribbled beneath his signature. Nowhere on the signature page is there any indication of whether Donohoe signed the agreement as a representative on behalf of AESI or whether Donohoe signed the agreement in his individual capacity.

Faced with this incoherent document, the Court questioned counsel repeatedly during oral argument concerning the collective bargaining agreement. Counsel offered no satisfactory explanation for the inconsistencies which riddle the document. Indeed, in their briefs submitted to this Court, both counsel for Local 42 and counsel for AESI and Donohoe proceeded on the assumption that defendant Donohoe signed the collective bargaining agreement on October 3, 1990, on behalf of AESI, acting in his representative capacity as an agent for AESI. Because the parties did not contest this fact, and because there is ample support in the record before the Court that Donohoe signed the agreement in his representative capacity, the Court finds as a matter of law that on October 3, 1990, the collective bargaining agreement and asbestos removal addendum were entered into between AESI and Local 42.⁴

The collective bargaining agreement and asbestos removal addendum mandate that AESI must employ Local 42 labor secured through the Local 42 hiring hall to perform all asbestos removal and heat and frost insulation work obtained by AESI within Local 42's territorial jurisdiction.⁵ Collective Bargaining Agreement and Asbestos Removal Addendum, D.I. 31 at pp. 4, 17-18, 29-30. It is alleged that sometime in March 1991, AESI violated the exclusive hiring hall provisions of the collective bargaining agreement and asbestos removal addendum. Thereafter, Local 42 initiated formal grievance proceedings against AESI and Donohoe. Local 42 business manager Curtis Harris sent written notice to AESI and Donohoe informing them that, consistent with the grievance procedures of the collective bargaining agreement, Local 42 was referring the matter to the Joint Trade Board for arbitration and that a hearing on the matter was scheduled for June 28, 1991. See Undated Letter from Curtis Harris to Joseph Donohoe, D.I. 31, at pp. 108-109. It is undisputed that Donohoe received notice of the Joint Trade Board proceeding because his attorney, Richard Abbott, Esq., obtained a continuance of the proceeding and had it rescheduled to July 8, 1991. See June 26, 1991 Letter from Richard Abbot to Joseph Donohoe, D.I. 31 at p. 110. Despite the continuance, neither Donohoe nor any representative of AESI attended the July 8th hearing. See Minutes of the Joint Trade Board Proceeding, D.I. 31, pp. 111-115, at p. 111.

The Joint Trade Board hearing proceeded as scheduled, ex parte, and at the conclusion of the hearing the Joint Trade Board adjudged Donohoe and AESI to be in violation of the exclusive hiring hall provisions of the collective bargaining agreement and the asbestos removal addendum. As a remedy, the Joint Trade Board imposed an assessment of $1,923.60 jointly against AESI and Donohoe to be paid directly to Local 42. In addition, the Joint Trade Board ordered AESI and Donohoe to permit Local 42 to inspect their records to determine the extent of any further violations of the hiring hall provisions. Id. at 113-114. In pertinent part, the minutes of the Joint Trade Board proceeding state the substance of the Joint Trade Board's decision thusly:

3. A minimum of 70 hours in lost wages are due to be distributed to persons designated as those who would have been given employment and contributions on their behalf must be made to the fund accordingly. Absolute Environmental Services, Inc. and Donohoe are individually and jointly ordered to pay forthwith a sum in the amount of $1,923.60. Such sum to be paid directly to Local # 42 which organization will then have the responsibility of distributing contributions to the appropriate funds, and wages to the persons on the hiring hall list who should have been referred.

4. Donohoe and Absolute Environmental Services, Inc. are to immediately permit an auditor, accountant or other representative designated by Local # 42, access to the company books and payroll records in order to determine whether there are additional hours for which job wages and fringe benefits contributions must be made because of the violations of the Union Contract.

Id. at 113-14.

Curtis Harris then notified defendants AESI and Donohoe of the Joint Trade Board decision by letter. See D.I. 31, at p. 116. Defendants have refused to comply with the decision. Thus, Local 42 brought this lawsuit against defendants seeking, inter alia, enforcement of the Joint Trade Board decision.

III. DISCUSSION

A. CHOICE OF LAW

1. COUNT I: THE § 301 CLAIM

Claims for violations of a collective bargaining agreement brought under § 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, such as that contained in Count I of Local 42's complaint, are governed by federal law. Steelworkers v. Rawson, 495 U.S. 362, 368, 110 S.Ct. 1904, 1909, 109 L.Ed.2d 362 (1990); Allis-Chalmers Corp. v. Lueck, 471 U.S. 202, 209, 105 S.Ct. 1904, 1910, 85 L.Ed.2d 206 (1985); Teamsters v. Lucas Flour Co., 369 U.S. 95, 103, 82 S.Ct. 571, 576, 7 L.Ed.2d 593 (1962); Textile Workers v. Lincoln Mills, 353 U.S. 448, 456, 77 S.Ct. 912, 917, 1 L.Ed.2d 972 (1957). Under federal law, the scope of a district court's review of an arbitration award entered under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement is exceedingly narrow.⁶ Eichleay Corp. v. International Ass'n of Iron Workers, 944 F.2d 1047, 1056 (3d Cir.1991); Roberts & Schaefer Co. v. Local 1846, United Mine Workers of...