Robbins v. George W. Prescott Pub. Co., Inc.

• Citation: 457 F. Supp. 915
• Decision Date: 28 September 1978
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 78-127-C.
• Parties: Harvey ROBBINS, Plaintiff, v. GEORGE W. PRESCOTT PUBLISHING CO., INC., K. Prescott Low, Richard D. Allen, Donald C. Wilder, Edward R. Querzoli, Robert E. Cady, Fred R. Turner, Jr., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts

457 F. Supp. 915

Harvey ROBBINS, Plaintiff, v. GEORGE W. PRESCOTT PUBLISHING CO., INC., K. Prescott Low, Richard D. Allen, Donald C. Wilder, Edward R. Querzoli, Robert E. Cady, Fred R. Turner, Jr., Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 78-127-C.

United States District Court, D. Massachusetts.

September 28, 1978.

Paul A. Schneiders, Canton, Mass., for plaintiff.

Richard A. Perras, Boston, Mass., for defendants.

OPINION

CAFFREY, Chief Judge.

This is a labor dispute between a sports reporter, the newspaper for which he formerly worked, and its managing officials. Originally filed in Norfolk Superior Court, this action was removed to this Court by defendants pursuant to 28 U.S.C.A. § 1441(b), and is now before the Court on defendants' motions to dismiss.

Read in the light most favorable to plaintiff, the Amended Complaint presents the following allegations. Harvey Robbins was employed from September 11, 1967 to October 18, 1977 as a sportswriter for the Patriot Ledger, a daily newspaper published by the defendant George W. Prescott Publishing Co., Inc. (Company) and widely circulated in 30 suburban communities south of Boston. The Company is a party to a collective bargaining agreement (The Agreement) with a labor organization, the Patriot Ledger Editorial Association (The Association), of which Robbins was a member. During the eight years of his employment, Robbins was regularly assigned to report on professional sporting events and faithfully performed his duties. He consequently developed a reputation as a leading New England sportswriter, winning particular awards for his coverage of the Boston Celtics team and harness racing. Robbins' insightful, award-winning coverage of the Celtics allegedly stemmed from his ability to gain the personal respect of many members of that team. The Company, on various occasions, used advertising that proclaimed Robbins' success as a sportswriter and also featured photographs of him driving his own harness-race horse and training with the Celtics as a uniformed member of the squad.

Prior to and throughout his employment with the Company defendant boarded his horse at Maresfield Farm in Canton, Massachusetts. In August, 1975, the owner of the farm died and the farm was subsequently offered for sale. One prospective buyer of the farm desired to have part of the farm rezoned for commercial use. Another prospective buyer, David Cowens, a player for the Boston Celtics known personally by the plaintiff, wished to retain the character of the farm unchanged. Plaintiff, not unexpectedly, desired that the parcel retain its uncompromised character as a horse farm. As the land involved was environmentally significant because of its proximity to the Blue Hills Reservation, the residents of Canton became embroiled in a long dispute over the prospective use of the land. On September 14, 1977, the Patriot Ledger, independently and without any encouragement from Robbins, published an article by Cowens concerning his reasons for purchasing the farm. The article immediately engendered a strong negative reaction, including threats of legal action, towards the Company from the citizens and town officials of Canton, thereby jeopardizing the circulation and prosperity of the Patriot Ledger. The Company, in writing, then notified Robbins that he must cease and desist in any involvement with Maresfield Farm. Robbins contends: that his interest in the farm predated his acquaintance with Cowens; that such interest never conflicted with his responsibilities to the Patriot Ledger; and that he never involved the newspaper in the land-use dispute; that he did not cause the Cowens article to be published as a news article rather than a letter to the editor; and that the cease-and-desist order violated Article IX of the Agreement. Article IX provides in pertinent part:

Outside Activities

In recognition of the trust and confidence placed in the newspaper by its readers and the general public, the Association and the Publisher mutually agree that it is essential to avoid any conflict of interest which compromises or which may reasonably appear to the public to compromise the integrity or the credibility of the newspaper or its staff.

It is also agreed that the newspaper is the employee's principal place of employment and that outside activities that interfere with an employee's job performance should be avoided or relinquished.

Pursuant to this understanding, the following provisions are established:

1. Outside of their work hours, employees shall be free to engage in those activities that do not interfere with their office duties and which are not harmful to the newspaper's best interests.

. . . . .

4. Membership in political groups, parties and other organizations of a special interest nature shall not be abridged by the Publisher provided such participation does not involve the employee in a manner that also conflicts with the employee's duty and responsibilities to the newspaper, or compromises or appears to the public to compromise the integrity of the newspaper or its staff. An employee who accepts a position in such a group which is more responsible or more visible than that of an ordinary member must apprise the Publisher in writing at the outset.

. . . . .

6. No employee shall knowingly in any way exploit or attempt to exploit his or her connection with the newspaper or the Publisher without the Publisher's consent. Neither shall the Publisher nor his representative knowingly engage in any activity which exploits the newspaper's connection with the employee without the employee's consent.

7. Any discharge or other disciplinary action based upon this article shall be subject to the grievance and arbitration provisions of Article XI of this agreement in accordance with the terms of Article VII, Section 3.

A copy of the order was not sent to the Association, as required by Article VII(3) of the Agreement. Article VII(3) provides:

. . . . Security

3. There shall be no written warnings, demotions, suspensions or discharges without just cause. A copy of such action will be sent to the Association. Employees shall have the right to representation by the Association on any matter. When an employee is discharged, the employee shall receive two weeks notice or two weeks pay in lieu thereof.

On September 20, 1977, the Company reassigned Robbins from coverage of the Boston Celtics to coverage of college and high school sports. Robbins characterizes this action as a demotion, taken without just cause and in bad faith, and violative of Article VII(3). The alleged motive was to shift the blame and embarrassment of the Cowens article to someone other than the Patriot Ledger. Robbins then filed grievances with the Association challenging the cease and desist order and the demotion. Robbins refused to accept the ordered reassignments during the pendency of the grievances, claiming the public visibility of the demotion would permanently damage his career as a journalist. The Company, allegedly in bad faith, steadfastly refused to accept Robbins' several offers to resume his prior position pending resolution of the grievances. On October 18, 1977, while the grievances were still pending, the Company discharged Robbins, allegedly without just cause in breach of Article VII(3). Robbins maintains that the Company never intended to, and never did, submit itself to the grievance procedure in good faith.

As to damages, Robbins claims a loss of salary and mileage-expense reimbursement since November 1, 1977, a loss of reputation, an inability to obtain an equal or better employment status, "great physical and emotional anguish," and severe and permanent damage to his career. The relief requested includes damages of one-million dollars, reinstatement to an equal or higher position with uninterrupted seniority, retirement, and other benefits, and an award of back pay and expense benefits, including all projected step-increases, retroactive to November 1, 1977.

The Amended Complaint sets forth two theories of recovery: (1) breaches by the employer-Company of the substantive provisions of the valid collective bargaining agreement entered into with the Association, the labor organization representing Robbins; and (2) various intentional, malicious, and otherwise tortious inducements and interference by the six individual defendants—all of whom are either management officials or editors of the Company or the Patriot Ledger—to cause the Company to breach its contractual obligations to the plaintiff, as embodied in the Agreement. In particular, it is alleged that these defendants circulated oral statements and written memoranda within the Patriot Ledger, declaring that Robbins' interest in the disposition of Maresfield Farm presented a conflict of interest, that Robbins had injured the Patriot Ledger's reputation, and that Robbins was "too close" to Cowens to cover the Celtics objectively.

The contract claim is asserted under Section 301(a) of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, 61 Stat. 156, 29 U.S. C.A. § 185(a); the tort claim, which arises under state law, is a matter within the pendent jurisdiction of this Court, because it is derived from a nucleus of operative fact common to the substantial contract claims which do arise under the laws of the United States. See 28 U.S.C.A. § 1441(c); United Mine Workers v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715, 725, 86 S.Ct. 1130, 16 L.Ed.2d 218 (1966). In addition, the tort claims, whether prosecuted in a state or federal forum, facially require, as a matter of federal labor law, an interpretation of the substantive terms of the Agreement and an application of the grievance and arbitration exhaustion requirement. Republic Steel Corp. v. Maddox, 379 U.S. 650, 652, 85 S.Ct. 614, 13 L.Ed.2d 580 (1965); Local 174, Teamsters v. Lucas Flour Co., 369 U.S. 95, 102-04, 82 S.Ct. 571, 7 L.Ed.2d 593 (1962).

As a preliminary matter, the Court, in its discretion, will consider the matters outside the complaint...