Board of Education v. Lakeland Federation of Teachers, Local 1760

65 Misc. 2d 397, 317 N.Y.S.2d 902, 78 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2198, 1971 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1896
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 28, 1971
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 65 Misc. 2d 397 (Board of Education v. Lakeland Federation of Teachers, Local 1760) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Board of Education v. Lakeland Federation of Teachers, Local 1760, 65 Misc. 2d 397, 317 N.Y.S.2d 902, 78 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2198, 1971 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1896 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1971).

Opinion

W. Vincent Grady, J.

On September 14, 1970, an order was signed by Mr. Justice Leonard Rubenfeld, which order provided that the restraining provisions contained in the order to show cause signed by Mr. Justice Dempsey dated September 8, 1970, be continued and that plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction be granted restraining and enjoining the defendants, and each of them, their officers, directors, agents, members, representatives, servants and other persons whomsoever known or unknown acting in their behalf or in concert or in confederation with them from certain enumerated acts which included engaging in, causing, instigating, encouraging or condoning, threatening or rendering support or assistance of any nature to any strike, concerted stoppage of work or slow-down [398]*398in the performance of any duties of employment with the plaintiff ; picketing, patrolling, congregating, walking back and forth in front of or in the vicinity of school district. buildings or offices or any other premises operated and administered by plaintiff or at any point in proximity thereto.

The order to show cause signed by Mr. Justice Robert J. Trainor in this criminal contempt proceeding was returnable on October 5,1970, before this court; however, it was adjourned until October 28, 1970, for a trial before the court without a jury. On that date the defendants moved for an order vacating the order to show cause to punish for contempt on various grounds.

The court before reviewing the testimony addresses itself first to each of defendant’s arguments on the motion to vacate the order to show cause to punish for contempt.

Defendants rely on the decision of Mr. Justice Galloway in the recent case of the Board of Educ. v. Zeluck (60 Misc 2d 1090) in support of their contention that this proceeding in which the plaintiff seeks to punish certain individuals and the labor union for contempt is not a proceeding separate and apart from the action for a permanent injunction in which the restraining order was rendered. In the Zeluck case, the order to show cause in the contempt proceeding was not served on the individuals who allegedly violated the temporary restraining order although the restraining order itself was served on these individuals. In the instant proceeding, all of the individuals who were sought to be punished were personally served with the order to show cause, therefore, the Zeluck decision has no application. The fact that the plaintiff used the same index number for the criminal contempt proceeding as the preliminary injunction action does not render this proceeding defective. Plaintiff may obtain a separate index number for this proceeding.

Defendants’ second argument, that the court has no jurisdiction because plaintiff failed to commence the proceeding on adequate papers, is also without merit. Plaintiff complied with section 757 of the Judiciary Law in that the Judge who signed the order to show cause was satisfied on presentation of the affidavit of the Superintendent of Schools of the commission of the offense of criminal contempt. The affidavit of Superintendent Eckelt is not solely based on information and belief, but states affirmatively that the defendants named in this criminal contempt proceeding continued to strike against the plaintiff and continued to hold meetings, distribute strike bulletins and picket in front of the nine schools within the district [399]*399despite the provisions of the orders of Mr. Justice Dempsey and Mr. Justice Rubenfeld. The order to show cause to punish for contempt, and the affidavit on which it is based, sufficiently specify the defendants’ willful disobedience to the lawful mandate of the court pursuant to paragraph 3 of subdivision A of section 750 of the Judiciary Law as one of the types of acts the court has power to punish for contempt. Defendants had adequate notice to prepare their defense and have not been deprived of procedural due process under the New York and Federal Constitutions.

The individual defendants further contend that this court lacks jurisdiction over their persons by reason of the failure to serve a summons in the action for an injunction on the defendants Shirk, Wander, Scarpelli, Nisgor and McKenna. All of these individuals were members of the Lakeland Federation of Teachers, Local 1760, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, and the defendants Blattman and Shirk were officers of the union and the defendants Scarpelli and Djakov were members of the negotiating committee of the union. All of the defendants named in the injunction action including the following individuals who were sought to be punished for contempt herein, appeared by their attorney in opposition to the motion for a preliminary injunction: Abel Blattman, Roy Shirk, Edward Scarpelli and Alex Djakov. Although Irwin Wander, Howard S. Nisgor and Keith McKenna who are sought to be punished for contempt herein were not named as defendants in the injunction action, these individuals were all teachers in the Lakeland School District and members of the Lakeland Federation of Teachers. This is not an instance where there is no proof of agency contained in the record (cf. State Univ. of N. Y. v. Denton, 35 A D 2d 176).

The order to show cause signed by Mr. Justice Dempsey dated September 8, 1970, containing the temporary restraining order directed that service be made on Abel Blattman or any other officer of defendant Lakeland Federation of Teachers by a certain date and that service so made should be sufficient service on the defendants named therein. It appears that not only was Abel Blattman served with the order to show cause, affidavit, summons and complaint in the action for an injunction, but that Irwin Wander, Howard Nisgor, Edward Scarpelli and Roy Shirk were also personally served. There was compliance with CPLR 6311 and CPLR 6313 (subd. [b]) in the service of the papers on the application for a preliminary injunction and this court does not lack jurisdiction over the persons of defendants on that ground. Moreover, the order of Mr. Justice Rtjbehfeu) [400]*400dated September 14, 1970, enjoined not only the defendants named in the action, but their officers, directors, agents, members and representatives, servants and other persons whomsoever known or unknown acting in their behalf or in concert or in confederation with them or any of them in any manner or by any means. The defendants named in this criminal contempt proceeding are all within the scope of the order of Mr. Justice Bubenfeld and are subject to the jurisdiction of this court.

The court having determined that the grounds urged by the defendants for vacating the order to show cause to punish for contempt are untenable, defendants’ motion is in all respects denied.

In connection with the application to punish the defendants for contempt, a trial was held before the court without a jury on October 28 and 29, 1970. The issue of fact to be determined is whether the defendant labor union and the individuals named in this contempt proceeding are guilty of criminal contempt in the willful disobedience of the orders dated September 8, 1970, and September 14, 1970. The burden of proof in this proceeding is upon the County Attorney as the chief legal officer of the governmental agency involved to punish the violation as a criminal contempt under section 211 of the Civil Service Law (Taylor Act), to prove the guilt of the defendants beyond a reasonable doubt (Gompers v. Bucks Stove & Range Co.,

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Bluebook (online)
65 Misc. 2d 397, 317 N.Y.S.2d 902, 78 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2198, 1971 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1896, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/board-of-education-v-lakeland-federation-of-teachers-local-1760-nysupct-1971.