Adkins v. General Motors Corp.

713 F. Supp. 1043, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16265, 1988 WL 156138
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedAugust 16, 1988
DocketNo. C-3-83-1088
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 713 F. Supp. 1043 (Adkins v. General Motors Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Adkins v. General Motors Corp., 713 F. Supp. 1043, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16265, 1988 WL 156138 (S.D. Ohio 1988).

Opinion

DECISION AND ENTRY SUSTAINING IN PART AND OVERRULING IN PART THE MOTIONS OF DEFENDANT UNIONS (DOC. #21) AND DEFENDANT GENERAL MOTORS CORP. [DOC. # 22) FOR RECONSIDERATION, AND, ACCORDINGLY, VACATING IN PART THE COURT’S DECISION AND ENTRY SUSTAINING IN PART, AND OVERRULING IN PART, PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION TO REMAND (DOC. #9); DECISION AND ENTRY VACATING IN PART THE COURT’S DECISION AND ENTRY SUSTAINING THE MOTION OF DEFENDANT UNIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT (DOC. # 19); DECISION AND ENTRY OVERRULING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR COSTS (DOC. # 11) IN ITS ENTIRETY; FURTHER PROCEDURES ORDERED OF THE DEFENDANTS

RICE, District Judge.

This case is before the Court on the Motions of the Defendants (Doc. #21; Doc. # 22) for Reconsideration of the Court’s Decision and Entry sustaining in part, and overruling in part, the Motion to Remand (Doc. #9) and on the Motion of the Plaintiffs for Costs (Doc. # 11). For the reasons briefly set forth below, the Defendants’ Motions for Reconsideration are sustained in part and overruled in part; the Court’s Decision and Entry sustaining in part, and overruling in part, Plaintiffs’ Motion to Remand (Doc. # 9) is, accordingly, vacated in part; the Court’s Decision and Entry sustaining the Motion of Defendant Unions for Summary Judgment (Doc. # 19) is vacated in part; and the Motion of Plaintiffs for Costs (Doc. # 11) is overruled in its entirety.

I. A PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

An understanding of the procedural posture of this case requires a brief summary of litigation previously brought before this Court. In January, 1982, many of the Plaintiffs in the instant case filed suit in this Court against the same Defendants, namely, Defendant General Motors Corp. (GMC), Defendant International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers, AFL-CIO (IUE), and Defendant Local 801. Adkins v. General Motors Corp., No. C-3-82-011 (S.D. Ohio Jan. 18, 1982). The Amended Complaints therein contained two counts.1 Plaintiffs’ advanced federal [1046]*1046claims in the first count, alleging that the IUE and Local 801 violated their duty of fair representation, and that GMC breached a contract, with respect to the negotiation, adoption, and implementation of certain collective bargaining agreements. Count One thus presented a “hybrid” action under § 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA), 29 U.S.C. § 185, and a claim under § 101(a)(1) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), 29 U.S.C. § 411(a)(1). Invoking the Court’s pendent jurisdiction, Plaintiffs also set out four state claims in Count Two of the Complaints: tortious interference with contract; breach of contract; infliction of mental anguish; and loss of consortium.

GMC moved to dismiss the Complaint, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), alleging that it failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. This Court sustained in part, and overruled in part, the Motion to Dismiss. Adkins v. General Motors Corp., 556 F.Supp. 452 (S.D. Ohio 1983) (Adkins I). With respect to the federal claims, this Court held that same were sufficiently pleaded to survive a motion to dismiss, except that the spousal Plaintiffs had no standing to proceed. Id. at 456. With respect to the state claims, the Court considered two lines of defense raised by GMC: that the claims were preempted by federal labor statutes and, in any event, did not state a cause of action under Ohio law. Id. The Court held as follows: (1) the tortious interference with contract claim did not state a cause of action under Ohio law; (2) the breach of contract claim was preempted by LMRA § 301; (3) the infliction of mental distress claim did not state a cause of action under Ohio law, at least against GMC, and (4) the loss of consortium claim could go forward. Id. at 457-58.

Eventually, all Defendants moved for summary judgment, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ. P. 56, on the grounds that, inter alia, the federal claims were barred by the applicable statute of limitations. On April 15, 1983, this Court issued an opinion agreeing with Defendants’ position, holding that the federal claims were barred by applying the six-month statute of limitations found in § 10(b) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), 29 U.S.C. § 160(b). Adkins v. General Motors Corp., 573 F.Supp. 1188, 1201 (S.D. Ohio 1983), aff'd, 769 F.2d 330 (6th Cir.1985) (Adkins II). In the same decision, this Court dismissed the pendent state claims without prejudice, subject to any further litigation Plaintiffs might wish to pursue in the state courts. Id. at 1201-02. Shortly thereafter, the Court entered judgment in favor of the Defendants. On July 18, 1985, following Plaintiffs’ appeal of said judgment, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed this Court’s judgment. Adkins v. International Union of Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers, 769 F.2d 330, 337 (6th Cir.1985) (Adkins III).

Apparently following this Court’s suggestion, some 817 Plaintiffs (most of whom were parties to the Adkins litigation in federal court) filed suit in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court on September 19, 1983 (No. 83-2596). The Complaint therein is of quite similar length and style to the Complaints filed in the federal litigation. While the factual contentions are quite similar, the state court Complaint does not refer to any federal statute. Instead, the Complaint sets out, in somewhat different form, the four state law causes of action set forth in the Complaints filed in federal court. Defendants (the same as those in the federal lawsuit) removed the suit (the instant action) to this Court in timely fashion, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441, contending that this Court would have original jurisdiction of the case under NLRA and the LMRA (Doc. # 1). Plaintiffs then moved to remand the matter back to state court, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1447 and Fed.R.Civ.P. 81(c), on the basis that the removal was improvidently granted.

On January 20, 1984, this Court filed a Decision and Entry sustaining in part and overruling in part the Plaintiffs’ Motion to Remand (Doc. # 9). See Adkins v. General Motors Corp., 578 F.Supp. 315 (S.D. Ohio 1984) (Adkins IV). In Adkins IV, the Court concluded that “Plaintiffs have made assertions in their lengthy complaint [1047]*1047(e.g., breaches of a collective bargaining agreement, and of the duty of fair representation) which inexorably lead to the conclusion that a ‘hybrid’ § 301 action is being pleaded.” Id. at 318.

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Related

Adkins v. General Motors Corp.
946 F.2d 1201 (Sixth Circuit, 1991)
John J. Adkins v. General Motors Corporation
946 F.2d 1201 (Sixth Circuit, 1991)

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Bluebook (online)
713 F. Supp. 1043, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16265, 1988 WL 156138, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/adkins-v-general-motors-corp-ohsd-1988.