US v. INTERNATIONAL BROTH. OF TEAMSTERS
| Decision Date | 17 January 1990 |
| Docket Number | No. 88 CIV. 4486 (DNE).,88 CIV. 4486 (DNE). |
| Citation | 728 F. Supp. 1032 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, CHAUFFEURS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
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Otto G. Obermaier, U.S. Atty., S.D. N.Y., Edward T. Ferguson, III, Richard Mark, Peter Sprung, Allan N. Taffet, Steven C. Bennett, Asst. U.S. Attys., Randy M. Mastro, Sp. Asst. U.S. Atty., of counsel, for U.S.
Anderson, Kill, Olick & Oshinsky, New York City, Eugene Anderson, Jordan Stanzler, Tracy Makow, of counsel, for Daniel Ligurotis, Teamster Local 282.
Lipsitz, Green, Fahringer, Roll, Schuller & James, Buffalo, N.Y., William M. Feigenbaum, Richard P. Weisbeck, of counsel, for Harold Friedman, Teamsters Union Local Nos. 264, 375.
Berkman, Gordon, Murray & Palda, Cleveland, Ohio, J. Michael Murray, Ann N. Butenhoff, of counsel, for Warehouse, Manufacturing Processing, Assembling and Installer Employees, Teamster Local No. 507.
Wohlner Kaplon Phillips Vogel Shelley & Young, Encino, Cal., Robert D. Vogel, of counsel, for Teamsters Union Local Nos. 63, 87, 166, 186, 208, 389, 399, 495, 598, 630, 692, 848, 896 and 911.
Joseph E. Girouz, Jr., Buffalo, N.Y., of counsel, for Truckdrivers Local 449, Joint Council 46 and Teamsters Union Local No. 649.
Friedman & Levy-Warren, New York City, Jay P. Levy-Warren, of counsel, for Teamsters Union Local No. 707.
Climaco, Climaco, Seminatore, Lefkowitz & Garofoli Co., L.P.A., Cleveland, Ohio, John R. Climaco, Paul S. Lefkowitz, Jack D. Maistros, Thomas M. Wilson, of counsel, for Teamsters Union Local Nos. 473, 436, 348, 422, 293 and 348.
Grady & Dwyer, Boston, Mass., Gerard F. Daley, of counsel, for Joint Council 10 and Teamsters Union Local Nos. 1, 25, 42, 49, 55, 59, 64, 82, 122, 127, 157, 170, 259, 340, 379, 380, 404, 437, 494, 504, 526, 597, 633, 653, 686, 829 and 841.
Slotnick & Baker, New York City, Barry Ivan Slotnick, Louis H. Benjamin, Robert L. Tucker, Lori Mann, of counsel, for Teamsters Union Local Nos. 813 and 1034.
Spivak, Lipton, Watanabe & Spival, New York City, Franklin K. Moss, of counsel, for Joint Councils 43 and 65, and Teamsters Union Local Nos. 550, 7, 51, 124, 164, 214, 247, 283, 299, 328, 332, 337, 339, 372, 406, 486, 580, 614, 1038, 1620 and 2040.
Beeson, Tayer, Silbert, Bodine & Livingston, San Francisco, Cal., Duane B. Beeson, of counsel, for Joint Councils 7, and 38, and Teamster Union Local Nos. 15, 70, 78, 85, 87, 94, 137, 150, 216, 226, 228, 278, 287, 291, 296, 302, 315, 350, 386, 431, 432, 439, 484, 490, 517, 533, 576, 588, 601, 616, 624, 665, 679, 746, 748, 849, 853, 857, 860, 890, 896, 912 and 921.
Shapiro, Shiff, Beilly, Rosenberg & Fox, New York City, Sidney Fox, of counsel, for Teamsters Union Local No. 202.
Patrick J. Calihan, Chicago, Ill., of counsel, for Local Teamsters Union No. 727.
Asher, Gittler & Greenfield, Ltd., Chicago, Ill., Marvin Gittler, Steven J. Feinberg, of counsel, for Teamsters Union Local Nos. 142, 703, 706, 710, 712, 738, 743, 744 and 754.
Markowitz & Richman, Philadelphia, Pa., Richard H. Markowitz, of counsel, for Joint Council No. 53, its Affiliated Local Unions, Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters, and Teamsters Union Local No. 35.
Fisher & Fisher, Brooklyn, N.Y., Andrew S. Fisher, of counsel, for Teamsters Union Local 237, Sidney L. Meyer, of counsel, for Teamsters Union Local No. 810.
Cozza & Steuer, Cleveland, Ohio, Arlene B. Steuer, John T. Price, of counsel, for Teamsters Union Local 73.
David Leo Uelmen, Milwaukee, Wis., of counsel, for Joint Council 39 and Teamsters Union Local Nos. 23, 43, 75, 200, 344, 662, 579, 695, 563 and 1081.
Carney, Buckley, Kasameyer & Hays, Portland, Or., Richard R. Carney, of counsel, for Joint Council 37 and Teamsters Union Local Nos. 57, 58, 81, 162, 206, 223, 281, 305, 324 and 962.
Iannuzzi & Iannuzzi, New York City, Dominick J. Porto, of counsel, for Teamsters Union Local No. 27.
Sipser, Weinstock, Harper & Dorn, New York City, of counsel, for Joint Council No. 64, Soft Drink Workers Union, Local No. 812.
Baptiste & Wilder, Washington, D.C., Robert M. Baptiste, Roland P. Wilder, Jr., Carey R. Butsavage, of counsel, for Joint Council 16, Joint Council 18 and Teamsters Union Local Nos. 182, 858, 687 and 72.
Manning, Raab, Dealy & Sturm, New York City, Ira A. Sturm, of counsel, for Teamsters Local Union No. 210.
Beins, Axelrod, Osborne & Mooney, Washington, D.C., Hugh J. Beins, Jonathan G. Axelrod, John R. Mooney, of counsel for Joint Council Nos. 9 and 55, and Teamsters Union Local Nos. 28, 61, 71, 86, 391, 33, 67, 246, 639, 730, 922, 1714 and 509.
Sweeney, Gallo & Reich, Sunnyside, N.Y., Gerard J. Sweeney, of counsel, for Teamsters Union Local 803.
Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky & Lieberman, New York City, Michael B. Standard, of counsel, for Teamsters Union Local 840.
Immerman & Perlman, New York City, Stanley A. Immerman, of counsel, for Teamsters Union Local 854.
Richard M. Greenspan, White Plains, N.Y., of counsel, for Teamsters Union Local No. 522.
Richard A. Weinmann, New York City, of counsel, for Teamsters Union Local 102.
Ira Drogin, New York City, of counsel, for Teamsters Union Local 295.
Newman & Schwartz, New York City, Gustave H. Newman, Richard A. Greenberg, Deborah A. Schwartz, William Shields, of counsel, for Teamsters Union Local 945.
Norman Zolot, Woodbridge, Conn., for Teamsters Union Local 191, 443, 493, 677, 1035 and 1150.
Roberts, Carroll, Feldstein & Tucker, Providence, R.I., Richard Peirce, of counsel, for Teamsters Union Local 251.
Schnieder, Cohen, Solomon, Leder & Montalbano, Cranford, N.J., Zachary Schneider, David Grossman, of counsel, for Teamsters Union Local Nos. 11, 153, 418, 462, 680, 560, 617 and 701.
This opinion emanates from the voluntary settlement in the action commenced by the United States of America (the "Government") against the defendants International Brotherhood of Teamsters (the "IBT") and the IBT's General Executive Board (the "GEB") embodied in a consent order entered March 14, 1989 (the "Consent Decree"). The remedial provisions in the Consent Decree provided for three Court-appointed officials, an Independent Administrator to oversee the remedial provisions, an Investigations Officer to bring charges against corrupt IBT officials, and an Election Officer to oversee the electoral process leading up to and including the 1991 election for International Officers (the "Court Officers"). The goal of the Consent Decree is to rid the IBT of the hideous influence of organized crime through the election and prosecution provisions.
These rulings arise in response to three separate motions by the Government asking this Court to issue extraordinary writs by its powers under the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651, to enjoin collateral suits filed by IBT members, locals, joint councils, and area conferences (the "subordinate entities") — in sister United States District Courts in other judicial districts — which attempt to litigate matters relating to the Consent Decree. These actions, arising in Chicago, Illinois, Cleveland, Ohio, and Newark, New Jersey, (together, the "collateral lawsuits") involve actions which either seek relief from rulings issued by this Court in relation to the implementation of the Consent Decree or a delineation of a subordinate entity's rights under the Consent Decree.
The Government, in sum, seeks to have this Court enjoin all lawsuits which seek to litigate issues arising under the Consent Decree filed in any forum other than the Southern District of New York. This request would serve the purpose of channeling all such litigation to this forum. The Government also asks this Court to compel the withdrawal of pending collateral lawsuits. The Government further seeks a definitive determination from this Court binding all subordinate entities to the Consent Decree.
This Court has entered and extended a temporary restraining order pursuant to the All Writs Act and Rule 65(b) enjoining any subordinate entity from prosecuting any existing collateral lawsuit or filing any new collateral suit which seeks to adjudicate matters relating to the Consent Decree in any district other than before this Court. This Court has received submissions from almost half of the 700 subordinate entities opposing this injunction and vehemently denying that they are bound by the Consent Decree. Since this injunction is necessary "in aid of" this Court's jurisdiction over a nationwide litigation with unique circumstances, the Government's request for a permanent injunction is granted.
Since taking effect the Consent Decree has engendered a flow of dispute and discord between the Government, the IBT, and the Court Officers appointed to the positions the Consent Decree created. Despite the constant undercurrent of displeasure with the Consent Decree by the IBT, the recent actions by subordinate entities seeking independent adjudication of related matters have created an eruption of litigation unprecedented even by the warped standards practiced by the IBT in this case.
The first suit filed was on November 17, 1989 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (the "Chicago suit") captioned Chauffeurs, Teamsters & Helpers et al. v. Michael H. Holland, Election Officer, No. 89 Civ. 8577 (N.D.Ill.) by a number of Chicago, Illinois area IBT Locals and their officers, (the "Chicago plaintiffs").2 On November 21, 1989, the Government presented and this Court signed an order requiring the Chicago plaintiffs to appear before this Court at a hearing held November 27, 1989 and show cause why (1) an injunction should not be entered by this Court enjoining the Chicago plaintiffs from prosecuting the Chicago suit, and (2) Chicago plaintiff Daniel Ligurotis, a...
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