Booker v. Anderson

83 F.R.D. 284, 1979 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11933
District Court, N.D. Mississippi·Decided June 5, 1979·No. No. WC 77-96-S·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

ORMA R. SMITH, District Judge.

This case is before the court for consideration of a motion to dismiss filed on behalf of defendants Champion Building Products, a Division of Champion International Corporation (Champion), Honorable William H. Anderson (Anderson) and Buddy East (East), (hereafter sometimes collectively referred to as the Local Defendants). The motion seeks dismissal of the complaint because it is moot and it asks the court to dismiss defendant Anderson who is Chancellor of the Chancery Court of Lafayette County, Mississippi, because he is immune from liability in this action.

The court received, on March 24, 1979, a copy of the motion, supporting documents and memorandum of authorities. Plaintiffs filed, on April 13,1979, a one-page pleading captioned “Opposition to Motion to Dismiss” which made a general conclusory statement opposing the motion and requested an extension of time until April 23,1979, to submit a response to the motion.. On April 16, 1979, thé court entered an order granting plaintiffs until April 23, 1979, to submit their reply to the motion to dismiss. As of this date, the court has not received plaintiffs’ reply memorandum and no other response in opposition has been filed with the clerk.

The facts and allegations of the complaint are presented in Parts I and II of the Memorandum of Decision dated January 22, 1979 (hereafter Memorandum) and will not be repeated here. However, the court notes that the complaint cited the following statutory and constitutional provisions:

Title II, III and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,' 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000a-2000a-6, §§ 2000b-2000b-3, §§ 2000e-2000e-17 Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, 18 U.S.C. § 245(b)
29 U.S.C. §§ 158(b)(1)(A), (b)(2)
42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988 U.S.Const. amends. I, IV, V, IX, X, XIII, XIV

For the purpose of considering the motions to dismiss, discussed in the Memorandum, the court assumed that plaintiffs cited the above-listed statutory and constitutional provisions for the purpose of asserting a cause of action. Memorandum at 9, n. 5.

I. Motion to Dismiss—Mootness.

Although Local Defendants’ motion to dismiss asks the court to dismiss the entire complaint because it is moot, a reading of the memorandum submitted in support of the motion shows that Local De[286] fendants actually seek to dismiss on mootness grounds that part of the complaint which the court referred to in its Memorandum as plaintiffs’ “civil rights” claim. Under the court’s interpretation of the “civil rights” claim

plaintiffs contend that some or all of the defendants have violated plaintiffs’ constitutionally or statutorily protected civil rights to engage in certain strike-related activities by (1) instituting the civil action in the Chancery Court of Lafayette County to enjoin plaintiffs’ strike-related activities; (2) issuing the temporary injunction, and (3) arresting or threatening to arrest or threatening to hold in contempt those persons disobeying the temporary injunction.

Memorandum at 9 (footnote omitted).

In the Memorandum, the court assumed that the “civil rights” claim accrued under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1985, and the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States and that jurisdiction was invoked under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1343(3), (4). Memorandum at 10 n. 7.

The Local Defendants and the Union Defendants 1 had filed separate motions to dismiss the “civil rights” claim on the ground of mootness. In the Memorandum, the court denied both motions because the temporary injunction issued by the Chancery Court of Lafayette County, Mississippi, in Champion Building Products v. International Woodworkers of America, AFL-CIO, et' ah, No. A—7028 (Ch.Ct. Lafayette County, Miss., Sept. 14, 1977) remained in full force and effect. Memorandum at Parts III-A and IV.

Local Defendants argue that the “civil rights” claim now is moot and should be dismissed. In support of the motion, the Local Defendants have adopted the affidavit and other papers attached to the Local Defendants’ and the Union Defendants’ previously filed motions to dismiss.2 The papers show that on September 14, 1977, defendant Anderson ordered the issuance of a temporary injunction enjoining plaintiffs and others from participating in certain strike activities; that on September 19, 1978, defendant Anderson signed a show-cause order requiring plaintiffs and others to show cause why they should not be held in contempt for failure to obey the temporary injunction; that the show-cause hearing was held on September 23, 1977, but no one was found to be in contempt, but instead defendant Anderson again ordered the plaintiff to comply with the temporary injunction; that the strike activities ended on September 23, 1977, and on that date defendant Champion fired the named plaintiffs in this action; that the discharge of the plaintiffs by defendant Champion was submitted to arbitration in accordance with the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement and the arbitrator found that defendant Champion properly discharged plaintiffs and denied the grievance; and that a charge was filed with the NLRB alleging that plaintiffs’ discharge violated the National Labor Relations Act but the charge was found to be without merit.

With the pending motion to dismiss, Local Defendants have submitted a certified copy of an order entered by defendant Anderson on March 6, 1979, in Champion Building Products v. International Woodworkers of America, AFL-CIO, et al., No. A-7028 (Ch.Ct. Lafayette County, Miss., March 6, 1979). That order dissolved the [287] temporary injunction ordered on September 14, 1977.3

Local Defendants note that the court ruled in its Memorandum that the “civil rights” claim was not moot because the temporary injunction was still in effect and therefore the Local Defendants and the Union Defendants’ separate motions to dismiss for mootness were denied. With the dissolution of the temporary injunction, Local Defendants contend the “civil rights” claim is now moot and should be dismissed.

Plaintiffs’ only response to Local Defendants’ motion to dismiss has been the pleading captioned “Opposition to Motion to Dismiss” wherein plaintiffs state that they “believe that the grounds set forth, including the continuous ex parte proceedings shows conclusively that serious statutory, as well as constitutional grounds exist, that dictates that this motion be denied. The claims, of the plaintiffs, are not moot and there is a justicable [sic] controversy between the parties to this action.”

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Booker v. Anderson, 83 F.R.D. 284, 1979 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11933 (N.D. Miss. 1979).

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