Wynn v. Rochester

• Decision Date: 01 October 2001
• Docket Number: PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT,Docket No. 99-9106,DEFENDANTS-APPELLEES
• Citation: 273 F.3d 153
• Parties: (2nd Cir. 2001) JAMES I. WYNN, JR.,v. AC ROCHESTER, GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, CHARLES VOLO, PERSONALLY AND IN HIS CAPACITY AS PERSONNEL MANAGER,,
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

Page 153

273 F.3d 153 (2nd Cir. 2001)

JAMES I. WYNN, JR., PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT. v. AC ROCHESTER, GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, CHARLES VOLO, PERSONALLY AND IN HIS CAPACITY AS PERSONNEL MANAGER, DEFENDANTS-APPELLEES,

Docket No. 99-9106

October Term, 2001

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS For the Second Circuit

Argued: October 18, 2001

Decided: November 19, 2001

Plaintiff-Appellant James I. Wynn, pro se, appeals the dismissal of his fraud claim by summary judgment on August 26, 1999, in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York (David G. Larimer, Chief Judge). The District Court exercised jurisdiction over the case because it found plaintiff's claims involved interpretation of a collective bargaining agreement, preempting plaintiff's state law claims and providing a basis for federal jurisdiction under § 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 185. We vacate the District Court's judgment because the federal court did not have subject matter jurisdiction to hear the case, as the fraud claim did not require interpretation of the collective bargaining agreement.

Vacated and remanded, with instructions to remand to state court.

James I. Wynn, pro se, Rochester, Ny, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

James C. Holahan, Esq., Rochester, Ny, for Defendant-Appellee.

Before: Jacobs and Oakes, Circuit Judges, and Lynch, District Judge.^*

Per Curiam

Appellant James I. Wynn brought this action for fraud in the courts of New York in 1993, alleging that Charles Volo, the personnel supervisor for hourly employees at AC Rochester, made certain false representations to Wynn concerning Wynn's right to unemployment benefits under a collective bargaining agreement ("CBA") between General Motors Corporation ("GM") and the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America ("UAW"). Nearly two years later, appellees removed the case to the United States District Court for the Western District of New York. After years of further discovery and motion practice, the District Court granted summary judgment for defendants on August 26, 1999. Wynn appeals, challenging both the grant of summary judgment and the District Court's later order denying his motion for leave to amend because the amendments were futile.

Were the case properly before us, we would find no error in the District Court's rulings. Unfortunately, despite the long efforts of the litigants and the District Court in addressing the merits of this dispute we are constrained to hold that the case was never properly within the jurisdiction of the federal courts. We therefore vacate the judgment of the District Court, and remand the case with instructions to remand the case in turn to the state courts.

BACKGROUND

The facts, viewed in the light most favorable to Wynn, demonstrate that Wynn was laid off as a GM "light assembler" in 1986 and subsequently found other employment. In the interim, he attempted to access certain unemployment benefits to which he was entitled under the collective bargaining agreement between GM and the UAW. In response, Volo, on behalf of GM management, told Wynn (1) that Wynn was eligible only for a lump-sum separation payment, and not for supplemental unemployment benefits; and (2) that neither Wynn nor any other laid off employee would be recalled by AC Rochester. As a consequence, Wynn elected not to pursue the supplemental unemployment benefits, but instead to apply for the separation payment, which, by its terms, effectively terminated any possibility of future recall by AC Rochester. In fact, neither of Volo's alleged statements were true: Wynn was eligible for the supplemental employment benefits (receipt of which would not have precluded future recall), and many of Wynn's fellow employees ultimately were recalled.

Wynn brought an action for fraud in the New York State courts on June 4, 1993, against Volo, AC Rochester, and GM (collectively, "GM"). Nearly two years later, on March 31, 1995, GM removed the case to federal court, asserting that the removal was timely because it acted within 30 days after learning from interrogatory responses that plaintiff's "claims for fraud and misrepresentation, as well as his entitlement to supplemental unemployment benefits and recall rights, are supported by the supplemental agreement between General Motors Corporation and the UAW in effect in 1987." Notice of Removal, ¶ 6. The interrogatory response, it said, was "the document from which [defendants] first ascertained that plaintiff's action for fraud and misrepresentation had become removable." Id. ¶ 8. This attempt to meet the 30-day time limit for removal to federal court, 28 U.S.C. 1446(b), is, to say the least, highly questionable. Wynn's original complaint explicitly alleged that Volo had falsely represented that Wynn was not entitled to supplemental unemployment benefits (Complaint, ¶ 24), when in fact he was "entitled to supplemental unemployment benefits pursuant to an agreement between General Motors Corporation and UAW" (Id. ¶ 9). Wynn, however, who was then represented by counsel, failed to challenge either the timeliness of the notice or the substantive removability of the case.

After lengthy proceedings, GM moved for summary judgment on July 31, 1998. After the motion was fully submitted, the District Court apparently recognized for the first time that federal jurisdiction over the case could be questioned. Citing Foy v. Pratt & Whitney Group, 127 F.3d 229 (2d Cir. 1997), the Court ordered the parties to show cause why the case should not be remanded to state court. Both parties opposed remand. GM responded by calling attention to Wynn's allegation that Volo had misrepresented Wynn's ineligibility for supplemental unemployment benefits. Carefully refraining from disputing Wynn's claim that he was in fact eligible, GM asserted that determining Wynn's claim would require interpretation of the CBA:

[T]he 1984 Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Plan does not expressly prohibit or permit employees to pursue outside employment while collecting SUB benefits.... The SUB plan, however, does address the subject of outside employment and provides that the amount of any SUB benefit paid to an eligible claimant is reduced by compensation received from another employer.... Although [GM] believes that these provisions of the SUB Plan create a compelling inference that employees are eligible to receive SUB benefits while working for other employers, that conclusion must necessarily be inferred from the SUB plan language.

Def.'s Resp. to Order to Show Cause at 6-7. Wynn, by then representing himself, filed a highly vituperative response asking why it took so long for the court to decide it might not have jurisdiction, and charging that the court's sudden concern for its jurisdiction was the product of racial or other prejudice against him. Letter from Wynn to Judge Larimer of 8/19/99.

The District Court proceeded to grant summary judgment. The court's opinion, which thoroughly addresses the merits of the case, contains only a single footnote reference to the jurisdictional issue. After noting that both parties urged the Court to retain jurisdiction, the opinion simply but equivocally states:

Because plaintiff's claims involve - to some extent - an interpretation of the collective bargaining agreement covering plaintiff's employment, § 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 185, preempts any state law claims on those issues and provides a basis for federal jurisdiction.

Wynn v. AC Rochester, No. 95-6155L, slip op. at 1 n.1 (W.D.N.Y. August 26, 1999).

Wynn appealed to this Court.

DISCUSSION

Wynn's appeal, taken on its own terms, would present no difficult issues. Under New York law, to state a claim for fraud a plaintiff must demonstrate: (1) a misrepresentation or omission of material fact; (2) which the defendant knew to be false; (3) which the defendant made with the intention of inducing reliance; (4) upon which the plaintiff reasonably relied; and (5) which caused injury to the plaintiff. Lama Holding Co. v. Smith Barney, Inc., 88 N.Y.2d 413, 421 (1996).

As to the claimed misrepresentation about benefit eligibility, even if all the other elements were satisfied, the evidence in this record fails to create a genuine issue as to reasonable detrimental reliance. Wynn admits (1) that he could have "ask[ed] a union representative to get... information for [him] or direct [him] in a path where [he could] get... information," Wynn Dep. at 46; (2) that he had access to a union representative and to the collective bargaining agreement itself; and (3) that he was afforded over six months to investigate and reconsider his decision. On these facts, even if Volo intentionally misstated the facts regarding Wynn's eligibility for benefits, no reasonable jury could find that it was reasonable for a laid-off employee to rely on oral representations from management about the contents of a CBA, without referring to the agreement itself or consulting union representatives. See Hyosung America, Inc. v. Sumagh Textile Co. Ltd., 137 F.3d 75, 78 (2d Cir. 1998) ("[W]here a plaintiff has the means of knowing, by the means of ordinary intelligence, the truth... of the subject of the representation, he must make use of those means, or he will not be heard to complain that he was induced to enter into the transaction by misrepresentations.") (internal quotations omitted); see also Royal American Managers, Inc. v. IRC Holding Corp., 885 F.2d 1011, 1016 (2d Cir. 1989).

As to the claimed misrepresentation concerning future return to work, Wynn offered only conclusory allegations that Volo knew at the time that employees would be recalled. The District Court found that there was "no direct or credible circumstantial evidence before the Court that [Volo] made false statements to plaintiff knowing that they were false or fraudulent." Slip op. at 9. Though Wynn earnestly believes that he was intentionally...