United Steelworkers of America, AFL-CIO, CLC v. Tri-State Greyhound Park

• Decision Date: 15 December 1987
• Docket Number: No. 17957,TRI-STATE,AFL-CI,CLC,17957
• Citation: 364 S.E.2d 257,178 W.Va. 729
• Court: West Virginia Supreme Court
• Parties: , 128 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2658 UNITED STEELWORKERS OF AMERICA,, an unincorporated association v.GREYHOUND PARK, a West Virginia limited partnership; West Virginia Labor Management Relations Board, an agency of the State of West Virginia.

Page 257

364 S.E.2d 257

178 W.Va. 729, 128 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2658

UNITED STEELWORKERS OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO, CLC, an unincorporated association v. TRI-STATE GREYHOUND PARK, a West Virginia limited partnership; West Virginia Labor Management Relations Board, an agency of the State of West Virginia.

No. 17957.

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

Dec. 15, 1987.

Syllabus by the Court

1. "The following is the appropriate test to determine when a State statute gives rise by implication to a private cause of action: (1) the plaintiff must be a member of the class for whose benefit the statute was enacted; (2) consideration must be given to legislative intent, express or implied, to determine whether a private cause of action was intended; (3) an analysis must be made of whether a private cause of action is consistent with the underlying purposes of the legislative scheme; and (4) such private cause of action must not intrude into an area delegated exclusively to the federal government." Syl. pt. 1, Hurley v. Allied Chemical Corp., 164 W.Va. 268, 262 S.E.2d 757 (1980).

2. "Where the available administrative remedy is inadequate, this Court recognizes an exception to the general rule that where a new right is created by statute, the remedy can be only that which the statute prescribes." Syl. pt. 2, Wiggins v. Eastern Associated Coal Corp., 178 W.Va. 63, 357 S.E.2d 745 (1987).

3. "It is always presumed that the legislature will not enact a meaningless or useless statute." Syl. pt. 4, State ex rel. Hardesty v. Aracoma-Chief Logan No. 4523, Veterans of Foreign Wars, 147 W.Va. 645, 129 S.E.2d 921 (1913).

4. "For purposes of a declaratory judgment action, a justiciable controversy exists when a legal right is claimed by one party and denied by another." Syl. pt. 3, West Virginia Utility Contractors Ass'n v. Laidley Field Athletic and Recreation Center Governing Board, 164 W.Va. 127, 260 S.E.2d 847 (1979).

5. Circuit courts have jurisdiction, under the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act, West Virginia Code §§ 55-13-1--16 (1981 Replacement Vol.), to protect the statutory rights afforded by the West Virginia Labor-Management Relations Act for the Private Sector, West Virginia Code §§ 21-1A-1--8 (1985 Replacement Vol.), granted the status of the West Virginia Labor-Management Relations Board as a nonentity.

James F. Wallington, Charleston, for plaintiff.

Ricklin Brown/Thomas E. Scarr, Charleston, for defendants.

McGRAW, Chief Justice:

This appeal presents the issue of whether circuit courts have jurisdiction, under the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act, West Virginia Code §§ 55-13-1--16 (1981 Replacement Vol.), to protect statutory rights afforded by the West Virginia Labor-Management Relations Act for the Private Sector, West Virginia Code §§ 21-1A-1--8 (1985 Replacement Vol.), granted the status of the West Virginia Labor-Management Relations Board as a nonentity. The appellant, the United Steelworkers of America, seeking certification as the collective bargaining representative of pari-mutuel employees of the appellee, Tri-State Greyhound Park, requests reversal of an order of the Circuit Court of Kanawha County dismissing its declaratory judgment action on the ground that it lacked jurisdiction. The Steelworkers also desire appointment of a special master to perform the role of executive secretary of the defunct board in order to conduct a certification election and to investigate its charges of unfair labor practices on the part of Tri-State.

Congress amended the National Labor Relations Act in 1959 to grant discretion to the National Labor Relations Board to decline jurisdiction in labor disputes where effect on commerce is insubstantial. Pub.L. No. 86-257, § 701(a), 73 Stat. 519, 541 (codified at 29 U.S.C. § 164(c)(1) (1982)). Pursuant to this grant, the NLRB promulgated a rule in 1973 which provides that, "The Board will not assert jurisdiction in any proceeding under sections 8, 9, and 10 of the act involving horseracing and dogracing industries." See 29 C.F.R. § 103.3 (1987). This position has been sustained upon judicial review. See, e.g., New York Racing Ass'n, Inc. v. NLRB, 708 F.2d 46 (2nd Cir.), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 914, 104 S.Ct. 276, 78 L.Ed.2d 256 (1983).

In 1971, the Legislature enacted the West Virginia Labor-Management Relations Act for the Private Sector to supplement the federal act in areas such as those left by jurisdictional abstention on the part of the NLRB. 1971 W.Va.Acts ch. 82. Its provisions are patterned after the federal act, including in the creation of a labor relations board to promote and protect the rights granted thereunder. See West Virginia Code §§ 21-1B-1--3 (1985) Replacement Vol.). It further provides, however, that, "nothing contained in this article shall be deemed to preempt, limit or restrict any person in the enforcement or prosecution of any action ... in any court of this State to enforce any legal right or cause of action heretofore or otherwise existing under law." West Virginia Code § 21-1A-6(a) (1985 Replacement Vol.).

It is undisputed that the West Virginia Labor-Management Relations Board is a nonentity, without legislative appropriation or executive appointment of its chairman or executive secretary. It has no offices, no staff, and no ability to perform its statutory duties. A 1987 report by the Legislative Auditor introduced below stated that:

The evaluation did not produce any evidence that the Labor-Management Relations Board has ever been active since its creation. Interviews with the present and past Commissioner of the Department of Labor and one member of the Board revealed that to their knowledge this Board has never met. According to the Legislative Budget Bill, the Board received an appropriation of $38,000.00 for fiscal years 1972 and 1973. However, no appointments were ever made during this time and the funds expired to the General Revenue Fund. We found no evidence where the Board has been funded since fiscal year 1973.

Consequently, the Board could not respond to attempts by the Steelworkers to invoke its jurisdiction in the midst of a labor dispute with Tri-State. It obviously could not conduct a certification election nor investigate charges of unfair labor practices on the part of Tri-State.

Confronted with a nonfunctioning administrative mechanism for the enforcement of rights created by statute, the Steelworkers filed a declaratory judgment action in circuit court, seeking appointment of a special master to conduct a certification election and issuance of a cease and desist order prohibiting the commission of unfair labor practices by Tri-State. Following two separate awards of injunctive relief to Tri-State, in connection with the picketing of its facility by the Steelworkers, the circuit court granted Tri-State's motion to dismiss on the ground that it lacked jurisdiction where primary jurisdiction rested with the defunct Board.

The crux of the disagreement between the parties concerning the jurisdiction of circuit courts under the West Virginia Labor Relations Act for the Private Sector is whether, in light of the status of the Board as a nonentity, a implied cause of action is created. In Syllabus Point 1 of Hurley v. Allied Chemical Corp., 164 W.Va. 268, 262 S.E.2d 757 (1980), this Court adopted the standard enunciated by the United States Supreme Court in Cort v. Ash, 422 U.S. 66, 78, 95 S.Ct. 2080, 2089, 45 L.Ed.2d 26, 36-37 (1975), for determination of the existence of an implied cause of action under a statute:

The following is the appropriate test to determine when a State statute gives rise by implication to a private cause of action: (1) the plaintiff must be a member of the class for whose benefit the statute was enacted; (2) consideration must be given to legislative intent, express or implied, to determine whether a private cause of action was intended; (3) an analysis must be made of whether a private cause of action is consistent with the underlying purposes of the legislative scheme; and (4) such private cause of action must not intrude into an area delegated exclusively to the federal government.

See also Jenkins v. J.C. Penney Casualty Ins. Co., 167 W.Va. 597, 599-608, 280 S.E.2d 252, 254-258 (1981).

With respect to the first factor, the Steelworkers are unquestionably an intended beneficiary of the West Virginia Labor Relations Act for the Private Sector. The term "labor organization" is defined under the Act to mean "any organization of any kind ... in which employees participate and which exists for the purpose ... of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work." West Virginia Code § 21-1A-2(a)(5) (1985 Replacement Vol.). In its petition for certification as representative of the pari-mutuel employees of Tri-State, which the Steelworkers attempted to file with the Board under West Virginia Code § 21-1A-5(c)(1)(A) (1985 Replacement Vol.), it was represented that more than fifty percent of the proposed collective bargaining unit of fifty-three pari-mutuel employees of Tri-State were supportive of its petition and desired its representation, satisfying the threshold requirement for such certification election under NLRB regulations, see 29 C.F.R. § 101.18(a) (1987) ("[I]n the absence of special factors the conduct of an election serves no purpose under the statute unless the petitioner has been designated by at least 30 percent of the employees."), which are applicable under West Virginia Code § 21-1A-1(c) (1985 Replacement Vol.), which provides, in relevant part, that "except insofar as the provisions of this article differ from the provisions of [the federal] act, as amended, the decisions of the national labor relations board ... shall be authoritative...."

With respect to the fourth factor, as previously noted, the NLRB has declined jurisdiction in labor disputes involving both the horseracing and dogracing...