Wickham Contracting Co., Inc. v. Local Union No. 3, Intern. Broth. of Elec. Workers, AFL-CIO

Decision Date29 January 1992
Docket NumberAFL-CI,D,No. 482,482
Citation955 F.2d 831
Parties139 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2423, 60 USLW 2504, 60 USLW 2559, 120 Lab.Cas. P 11,111 WICKHAM CONTRACTING CO., INC., Ralph Perone, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. LOCAL UNION NO. 3, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS,efendant-Appellant. ocket 91-7713.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

Norman Rothfeld, New York City, for defendant-appellant.

Joseph E. Gulmi, New York City (Allan J. Parker, Shea & Gould, of counsel), for plaintiffs-appellees.

Before CARDAMONE, PIERCE and MINER, Circuit Judges.

MINER, Circuit Judge:

Defendant-appellant Local No. 3 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers ("union") appeals from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Mukasey, J.) awarding prejudgment interest on damages recovered by plaintiffs-appellees Wickham Contracting Co. and Ralph Perone (collectively, "Wickham"), as employers and former joint-venture partners. The damages were awarded under Section 303(b) of the Labor Management Relations Act ("LMRA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 141-197, which provides a civil remedy to employers sustaining damages from secondary strike activity by a labor organization. See 29 U.S.C. § 187.

The union contends that prejudgment interest is inappropriate in Section 303 cases because the LMRA, being silent on the subject of prejudgment interest, provides no "statutory authority" for such awards, and because the damages involved are unliquidated, or difficult to ascertain prior to judgment. The union further contends that, even if prejudgment interest may be awarded under Section 303, the district court erred in awarding interest in this particular case. We have not previously addressed the question of prejudgment interest under this provision of the LMRA. For the reasons that follow, we hold that an award of prejudgment interest under Section 303 is within the sound discretion of a district court, and that Judge Mukasey did not abuse his discretion in awarding interest in this case.

BACKGROUND

The union represents electricians who are employed by contractors to perform During the week of July 8, 1974, while Wickham's work on the schools was under way, the union caused its members to strike against all electrical contractors performing work for the Board of Education. The immediate goal of the strike was to force the Board of Education to cease doing business with Wickham. The ultimate goal of the strike was to oust the Teamsters from their position as representative of Wickham's electricians.

                electrical construction work.   Wickham was an electrical contractor.   In early 1974, Wickham entered into contracts with the Board of Education of the City of New York under which Wickham was to perform electrical modernization and construction work at three New York City public schools, P.S. 8, P.S. 41, and the Tremont Early Childhood Center.   Wickham's electricians were represented by Teamsters Local 363
                

On July 22, 1974, the Board of Education issued stop work orders to every electrical contractor that did not have a collective bargaining agreement with the union, including Wickham. Wickham's work on the schools came to an immediate halt. Wickham commenced this civil suit against the union under Section 303(b) of the LMRA on July 29, 1974. At the same time, Wickham filed unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB.

The Board of Education rescinded its stop orders on August 6, 1974, although the union's walkout apparently continued until September 13, 1974, when a temporary restraining order was issued against the strike by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. On September 19, 1974, the union lost a representation election to the Teamsters, and the NLRB certified the Teamsters as the bargaining representative of Wickham's electricians the following month.

On September 26, 1975, the NLRB found that the union had engaged in an unfair labor practice under Section 8(b)(4) of the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA"), and issued a cease and desist order. The NLRB's determination and order were upheld by this Court the following year. See NLRB v. Local 3, Int'l Bhd. of Elect. Workers, 542 F.2d 860 (2d Cir.1976) ("Wickham I" ). In the civil suit commenced by Wickham, a jury eventually found the union liable in 1982, and awarded $959,000 in damages under Section 303. We affirmed the jury's finding of liability, but remanded the case for a new trial on the amount of damages. See Wickham Contracting Co. v. Board of Educ., 715 F.2d 21 (2d Cir.1983) ("Wickham II" ).

The new damages trial was not held until April 1991. The jury returned an award of $41,000. At Wickham's request, Judge Mukasey awarded prejudgment interest on this amount accruing from September 1, 1975. The interest component amounted to $50,905, for a total award to Wickham of $91,905.

DISCUSSION

Section 303(a) of the LMRA makes it unlawful for a labor organization to engage in conduct defined as an "unfair labor practice" in Section 8(b)(4) of the NLRA. See 29 U.S.C. § 187(a). Section 8(b)(4) of the NLRA makes it an "unfair labor practice" for a labor organization to engage in, or to induce any individual to engage in, a strike, where an object thereof is to force any person to cease doing business with any other person or to force an employer to recognize or bargain with a labor organization not certified as the representative of the employer's employees. See 29 U.S.C. § 158(b)(4)(i)(B). Section 303(b) of the LMRA provides that any person injured in "his business or property" by virtue of a Section 303(a) violation "shall recover the damages by him sustained and the cost of the suit." See 29 U.S.C. § 187(b). The LMRA is silent on the subject of prejudgment interest.

I. The Law of Prejudgment Interest

Since the early part of this century, the United States Supreme Court has stated repeatedly that discretionary awards of prejudgment interest are permissible under federal law in certain circumstances. Under the Court's analysis, the award should On the basis of one or more of these enumerated considerations, the Court has allowed recovery of prejudgment interest under a variety of federal laws, despite the silence of the laws on the subject of interest. See, e.g., Loeffler, 486 U.S. at 557-58, 108 S.Ct. at 1970-71 (suit for back pay under Title VII); Jacobs v. United States, 290 U.S. 13, 16-17, 54 S.Ct. 26, 27-28, 78 L.Ed. 142 (1933) (suit under takings clause of Fifth Amendment; interest viewed as part of "just compensation"); Waite v. United States, 282 U.S. 508, 509, 51 S.Ct. 227, 227, 75 L.Ed. 494 (1931) (patent law infringement suit; interest viewed as part of "entire compensation" to which statute referred); Miller, 266 U.S. at 250, 258, 45 S.Ct. at 76, 78 (contract suit under Trading With the Enemy Act); Seaboard Air Line Ry. Co. v. United States, 261 U.S. 299, 302, 304-06, 43 S.Ct. 354, 354, 354-57, 67 L.Ed. 664 (1923) (suit for taking of property under the Lever Act; interest viewed as part of "just compensation" to which statute referred); Billings v. United States, 232 U.S. 261, 284-88, 34 S.Ct. 421, 425-27, 58 L.Ed. 596 (1914) (suit to recover federal excise taxes paid).

                be a function of (i) the need to fully compensate the wronged party for actual damages suffered, (ii) considerations of fairness and the relative equities of the award, (iii) the remedial purpose of the statute involved, and/or (iv) such other general principles as are deemed relevant by the court.   See Loeffler v. Frank, 486 U.S. 549, 557-58, 108 S.Ct. 1965, 1970-71, 100 L.Ed.2d 549 (1988);  Blau v. Lehman, 368 U.S. 403, 414, 82 S.Ct. 451, 457, 7 L.Ed.2d 403 (1962);  Rodgers v. United States, 332 U.S. 371, 373-74, 68 S.Ct. 5, 6-7, 92 L.Ed. 3 (1947);  Board of County Comm'rs of the County of Jackson v. United States, 308 U.S. 343, 352, 60 S.Ct. 285, 289, 84 L.Ed. 313 (1939);  Miller v. Robertson, 266 U.S. 243, 257-58, 45 S.Ct. 73, 78-79, 69 L.Ed. 265 (1924)
                

The Court has, however, disallowed prejudgment interest awards in certain instances. Prejudgment interest may not be awarded, of course, when Congressional intent is to the contrary. Intent to deny recovery of prejudgment interest may be obvious from the language of the statute itself. See United States v. Goltra, 312 U.S. 203, 207, 211, 61 S.Ct. 487, 490, 492, 85 L.Ed. 776 (1941) (statute governing plaintiff's claim against the United States provided no interest until "rendition of judgment"). Even when the statute is silent, intent to deny recovery of interest may be inferable from (i) the state of the law on prejudgment interest, for the type of claim involved, at the time the statute was passed, and (ii) consistent denial by the courts of prejudgment interest under the statute and failure by Congress, despite amendments to the statute, to address prejudgment interest awards. See Monessen Southwestern Ry. Co. v. Morgan, 486 U.S. 330, 336-39, 108 S.Ct. 1837, 1842-44, 100 L.Ed.2d 349 (1988) (denying prejudgment interest under Federal Employers' Liability Act).

Awards of prejudgment interest must not result in over-compensation of the plaintiff. Accordingly, the Court has suggested disapproval of such awards where the statute itself fixes damages deemed fully compensatory as a matter of law. See Brooklyn Sav. Bank v. O'Neil, 324 U.S. 697, 699, 714-16, 65 S.Ct. 895, 898, 905-07, 89 L.Ed. 1296 (1945) (interest not recoverable on liquidated damages provided by Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938). Similarly, prejudgment interest should not be awarded if the statutory obligation on which interest is sought is punitive in nature. See Rodgers, 332 U.S. at 374-76, 68 S.Ct. at 7 (interest not recoverable on penalty imposed on farmer for exceeding quota under Agricultural Adjustment Act); United States v. Childs, 266 U.S. 304, 308-10, 45 S.Ct. 110, 111, 69 L.Ed. 299 (1924) (interest recoverable on back taxes due, but not on...

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