Teamsters Local Union No. 2000 v. Hoffa

• Decision Date: 31 March 2003
• Docket Number: No. 02-73040.,02-73040.
• Citation: 284 F.Supp.2d 684
• Parties: TEAMSTERS LOCAL UNION NO. 2000, Danny Campbell, Robert Krabbe, Anne Meyer, Michele Worley, Dennis McCarthy, Andrew Collis, Yvonne Thompson and Scott Garb, Plaintiffs, v. James P. HOFFA, General President, Individually and in his official capacity, and International Brotherhood of Teamsters, AFL-CIO, a labor organization, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan

284 F.Supp.2d 684

TEAMSTERS LOCAL UNION NO. 2000, Danny Campbell, Robert Krabbe, Anne Meyer, Michele Worley, Dennis McCarthy, Andrew Collis, Yvonne Thompson and Scott Garb, Plaintiffs, v. James P. HOFFA, General President, Individually and in his official capacity, and International Brotherhood of Teamsters, AFL-CIO, a labor organization, Defendants.

No. 02-73040.

United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, Southern Division.

March 31, 2003.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Hugh M. Davis, Jr., Constitutional Litigation Associates, Barbara M. Harvey, Julian J. Gonzalez, Detroit, MI, Elizabeth A. Grdina, Heller, Huron, Washington, DC, for Plaintiffs.

Bradley T. Raymond, Finkel, Whitefield, Farmington Hills, MI, Roland P. Wilder, Robert M. Baptiste, William R. Wilder, Baptiste & Wilder, Washington, DC, for Defendants.

ORDER

ROBERTS, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This matter is before the Court on: (1) Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction; (2) Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Verified Complaint and to Strike Local 2000 as a Party Plaintiff; and (3) Plaintiffs' Cross-Motion for Partial Summary Judgment.¹

II. BACKGROUND

The Plaintiffs are Teamsters Local Union No 2000 (Local 2000); five individuals who are union members and members of Local 2000s executive board; and, one individual who is a union member and Northwest Airlines flight attendant (hereinafter collectively referred to as "Plaintiffs" or "the Board"). Their complaint against Defendants International Brotherhood of Teamsters, AFL-CIO (IBT) and James P. Hoffa, General President of the IBT, alleges violations of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA). Local 2000 is a labor organization that represents all Northwest Airlines and Sun Country Airlines flight attendants.

The executive board members, elected officers of Local 2000, were summarily removed from their positions on July 1, 2002 at the direction of Defendant Hoffa, due to their alleged failure to expeditiously respond to and aggressively defend against a threatened "raid" by a new labor organization, the Professional Association of Flight Attendants (PFAA). The PFAA is launching a campaign to woo a sufficient number of IBT members (via the signing of cards) such that an election will be required to allow IBT flight attendants to choose between the IBT and the PFAA as their representative. Per Hoffa, the executive board's failure to act in the manner that he directed compromised IBT's ability to effectively thwart PFAA's campaign and, therefore, threatened the continued existence of the IBT.

The executive board asserts that they did not refuse to defend against the threatened raid, but lobbied against the aggressive tactics proposed by Hoffa. The board, instead, proposed that a debate between IBT and the PFAA be conducted for the benefit of Local 2000 members. Hoffa rejected the board's proposals and imposed an emergency trusteeship on Local 2000 to assume the duties of the board.

Plaintiffs' Complaint alleges that Defendants removed them from their positions because of their expressed views on how to oppose the PFAA raid and their refusal to engage in the particular speech (against the raid) demanded by Defendants. Per Plaintiffs, Defendants' actions violated their free speech rights under LMRDA, section 101(a)(2), 29 USC § 411(a)(2). Plaintiffs further allege that the trusteeship was imposed in violation of LMRDA section 302, 29 USC §§ 462 and 464, in that no hearing was conducted, the trusteeship was not imposed for any reason authorized by section 302 and the threatened raid did not constitute an emergency with regard to governance of Local 2000.² Plaintiffs, in their Motion for Temporary Restraining Order, request that the board be reinstated pending a decision on the merits.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Plaintiffs request a preliminary injunction under FRCP 65 and summary judgment under FRCP 56(c). Defendants' bring their Motion to Dismiss pursuant to FRCP 12(b)(6) and their Motion to Strike pursuant to FRCP 12(f).

In the Sixth Circuit, when determining whether to issue a preliminary injunction, the court must consider four factors:

(1) the likelihood that the party seeking the preliminary injunction will succeed on the merits of the claim; (2) whether the party seeking the injunction will suffer irreparable harm without the grant of the extraordinary relief; (3) the probability that granting the injunction will cause substantial harm to others; and (4) whether the public interest is advanced by the issuance of the injunction.

Washington v. Reno, 35 F.3d 1093, 1099 (6th Cir.1994).

With respect to the first factor, some opinions have expressed a need for the court to find a "strong" likelihood of success on the merits. See United Food & Commercial Workers Union, Local 1099 v. Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, 163 F.3d 341, 347 (6th Cir.1998). Other opinions have stated that it is enough for the movant to show "serious questions going to the merits and irreparable harm which decidedly outweighs any potential harm to the defendant if an injunction is issued." See Friendship Materials, Inc. v. Michigan Brick, Inc., 679 F.2d 100, 105 (6th Cir.1982). Still others emphasize that the four considerations are factors to be balanced rather than prerequisites that must be met. See Mascio v. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio, 160 F.3d 310, 313 (6th Cir.1998). "A district court is required to make specific findings concerning each of the four factors, unless fewer factors are dispositive of the issue." Six Clinics Holding Corp., II v. Cafcomp Systems, Inc., 119 F.3d 393, 399 (6th Cir. 1997).

Under Fed. R. Civ. P 56(c), summary judgment may be granted "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Copeland v. Machulis, 57 F.3d 476, 478 (6th Cir.1995). A fact is "material" and precludes a grant of summary judgment if "proof of that fact would have [the] effect of establishing or refuting one of the essential elements of the cause of action or defense asserted by the parties, and would necessarily affect application of appropriate principle[s] of law to the rights and obligations of the parties." Kendall v. Hoover Co., 751 F.2d 171, 174 (6th Cir.1984). The court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and it must also draw all reasonable inferences in the nonmoving party's favor. Cox v. Kentucky Dept. of Transp., 53 F.3d 146, 150 (6th Cir.1995).

The moving party bears the initial burden of showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact. Snyder v. Ag Trucking, Inc., 57 F.3d 484, 488 (6th Cir. 1995). To meet this burden, the movant may rely on any of the evidentiary sources listed in Rule 56(c). Cox, 53 F.3d at 149. Alternatively, the movant may meet this burden by pointing out to the court that the nonmoving party, having had sufficient opportunity for discovery, has no evidence to support an essential element of his or her case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial. Tolton v. American Biodyne, Inc., 48 F.3d 937 (6th Cir.1995); Street v. J.C. Bradford & Co., 886 F.2d 1472 (6th Cir.1989). The moving party does not, however, have to support its motion for summary judgment with evidence negating its opponent's claims. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

Once the moving party has met its burden, the burden shifts to the nonmoving party to produce evidence of a genuine issue of material fact. Rule 56(e); Cox, 53 F.3d at 150. The nonmoving party cannot rest on its pleadings, but must present significant probative evidence in support of its complaint. Copeland, 57 F.3d at 479. The mere existence of a scintilla of evidence to support the nonmoving party position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which a jury could reasonably find for the nonmoving party. Snyder, 57 F.3d at 488; Tolton, 48 F.3d at 941.

When reviewing a Rule 12(b)(6) Motion, the trial court "must construe the complaint liberally in the plaintiff's favor and accept as true all factual allegations and permissible inferences therein." Gazette v. City of Pontiac, 41 F.3d 1061, 1064 (6th Cir.1994); see also Miller v. Currie, 50 F.3d 373, 377 (6th Cir.1995). Because a Rule 12(b)(6) motion rests upon the pleadings rather than the evidence, "[i]t is not the function of the court [in ruling on such a motion] to weigh evidence or evaluate the credibility of the witnesses." Miller, 50 F.3d at 377. The court should deny a Rule 12(b)(6) motion "unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of [her] claim which would entitle [her] to relief." Gazette, 41 F.3d at 1064; see also Miller, 50 F.3d at 377; Vemco, Inc. v. Camardella, 23 F.3d 129, 132 (6th Cir.1994). While this standard is decidedly liberal, it requires more than the bare assertion of legal conclusions. In re DeLorean Motor Co., 991 F.2d 1236, 1240 (6th Cir.1993). Rather, the complaint must contain either direct or inferential allegations respecting all the material elements to sustain a recovery under some viable legal theory. DeLorean, 991 F.2d at 1240.

IV. ANALYSIS

A. Defendants' Motion to Dismiss/Plaintiffs' Cross Motion for Summary Judgment/Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction

Since Plaintiffs' Motions for Preliminary Injunctions and Summary Judgment and Defendant's Motion to Dismiss are based on the same predicate of facts and law, the Court will analyze the legal issues and then apply the respective standards of review in deciding each motion.

In Count 1 of their Complaint³, Plaintiffs allege that Defendants' removed them from their positions because of their expressed views on how to oppose the PFAA raid and their refusal to engage in the particular speech ...