Air Line Pilots Ass'n v. Continental Airlines

125 F.3d 120, 1997 WL 541985
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedAugust 29, 1997
DocketNos. 96-7028, 96-7038
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 125 F.3d 120 (Air Line Pilots Ass'n v. Continental Airlines) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Air Line Pilots Ass'n v. Continental Airlines, 125 F.3d 120, 1997 WL 541985 (3d Cir. 1997).

Opinion

LEWIS, Circuit Judge.

OPINION OF THE COURT

In this appeal and cross-appeal, we are confronted with a tension between bankruptcy law and labor law. The dispute arose when the Air Line Pilots Association, Inc. (“ALPA”), collective bargaining agent for Eastern Air Lines’ (“Eastern”) pilots, filed proofs of claim in bankruptcy court against Continental Airlines Holdings, Inc. and Continental Airlines, Inc. (“Continental”). These claims were based on alleged seniority integration rights stemming from a pending labor arbitration dispute and were filed following Continental’s acquisition of Eastern and subsequent refusal to bargain over the seniority integration of Eastern’s pilots.

The bankruptcy court determined that the claims could be satisfied by monetary awards in lieu of specific performance and enjoined scheduled arbitration proceedings to enforce the seniority rights under the collective bargaining agreement. The district court affirmed the bankruptcy court’s determination relating to the claims, but vacated the injunction. Two groups of former Eastern pilots, the LPP Claimants and the Group of 31, both of which are no longer represented by ALPA, appealed to this court.1

Resolution of this dispute requires us to determine: (1) whether the bankruptcy claims that the LPP Claimants and the Group of 31 seek to enforce constitute “claims” within the meaning of the bankruptcy code and thus are satisfiable, in the alternative, by a monetary award; and (2) whether the arbitration of a labor dispute that may give rise to the right to seniority integration under a collective bargaining agreement can be enjoined, where the debtor has not explicitly rejected the agreement. We conclude that the rights to seniority integration do constitute “claims” within the meaning of the bankruptcy code. Accordingly, we find that the right to seniority integration gives rise to a right of payment and that any equitable remedy recovered against Continental via arbitration of the underlying labor dispute may be satisfied through an award of monetary damages. We further conclude that the district court properly vacated the injunction barring arbitration of the underlying labor dispute. Thus, we will affirm.

I.

A. The Underlying LPP Dispute

On February 23, 1986, following intense negotiations, Eastern and its pilots’ union, ALPA, ratified a collective bargaining agreement. On February 24, 1986, the Texas Air Corporation (“Texas Air”), parent corporation to Continental, acquired Eastern. Believing that the acquisition constituted a “merger” within the meaning of certain “labor protective provisions” (LPPs) contained in the collective bargaining agreement, ALPA requested a meeting with Texas Air, Eastern, and Continental to discuss the integration of Eastern’s and Continental’s seniority lists. Under the LPPs, Eastern’s pilots secured protection of their seniority rights in the event of a merger between Eastern and another airline carrier through the integration of Eastern’s seniority lists with the merging carrier’s list. Specifically, the LPP terms provide:

Section 2(a). The term “merger” as used herein means joint action by the two carriers whereby they unify, consolidate, merge, or pool in whole or in part their separate airline facilities or any of the operations or services previously per[125]*125formed by them through such separate facilities.
* * *
Section 3. Insofar as the merger affects the seniority rights of the carriers’ employees, provisions shall be made for the integration of seniority lists in a fair and equitable manner, including, where applicable, agreement through collective bargaining between the carriers and the representative of the employees affected. In the event of failure to agree, the dispute may be submitted by either party for adjustment in accordance with section 13.
Section 13(a). In the event that any dispute or controversy ... arises with respect to the protections provided herein, which cannot be settled by the parties within 20 days after the controversy arises, it may be referred by any party to an arbitrator selected from a panel of seven names furnished by the National Mediation Board for consideration and determination.

(Labor Protective Provisions, sections 2(a), 3, and 13(a)).2

Despite ALPA’s requests, both Eastern and Continental refused to bargain with ALPA about the integration of the seniority lists. Consequently, ALPA requested the National Mediation Board to proffer a list of seven arbitrators from which a neutral arbitrator could be chosen to determine whether an alleged merger occurred between Eastern and Continental that triggered the LPP seniority integration provision (LPP ¡dispute). Eastern, however, filed for bankruptcy in March, 1989, and refused to submit to arbitration pursuant to the bankruptcy code’s section 362 automatic stay provision. 11 U.S.C. § 362 (providing that petitions filed pursuant to Chapter 11 operate as a stay of the commencement or continuation of judicial, administrative, or other actions or proceedings against the debtor). In bankruptcy court, ALPA sought relief from the automatic stay to compel Eastern to arbitrate the LPP dispute. The bankruptcy court denied ALPA’s petition. After much litigation, however, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the section 362 automatic stay provision did not preclude arbitration in this instance. See In re Ionosphere Clubs, Inc., 922 F.2d 984 (2d Cir.1990).

ALPA and Eastern proceeded to arbitration in April, 1991, commencing with a prehearing conference before Richard R. Kasher (Kasher Arbitration). In this proceeding, ALPA sought prospective integration of seniority lists, back pay from the effective date of the merger to the date of the arbitration award, and front pay from the date of the arbitration award to the date that the Eastern pilots would complete training and begin flying for Continental. Prior to the prehearing conference, Arbitrator Kasher solicited brief statements of position from the parties to the dispute, and from all potential parties. Eastern consistently maintained that the LPP dispute was not properly within the arbitrator’s jurisdiction.3 Continental filed a statement informing Arbitrator Kasher that it had filed a Chapter 11 petition for reorganization in December, 1990. Therefore, it maintained that the arbitration pursued by ALPA was stayed under section 362 of the bankruptcy code and could not proceed without the express approval of the bankruptcy court.

In August, 1992, Arbitrator Kasher issued a decision concluding that he had jurisdiction over the LPP dispute, and could render a determination of the appropriate remedies under the circumstances. Kasher, relying on the bankruptcy court’s determination in In re Ionosphere Clubs, Inc., 114 B.R. 379 (S.D.N.Y.1990), specifically rejected Conti[126]*126nental’s suggestion that the arbitration was barred by the automatic stay. Kasher scheduled hearings on the merits of the dispute, to commence in February, 1993.

B. The Bankruptcy Court Proceedings

In September, 1991, while the initial Kasher Arbitration decision was pending, ALPA, on behalf of its members, filed proofs of claim against Continental in Delaware Bankruptcy Court.

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Bluebook (online)
125 F.3d 120, 1997 WL 541985, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/air-line-pilots-assn-v-continental-airlines-ca3-1997.