Botany Indus., Inc. v. NEW YORK JT. BD., AMAL. CLOTH. WKRS.

375 F. Supp. 485
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedApril 12, 1974
Docket71 Civ. 2381 (DNE)
StatusPublished

This text of 375 F. Supp. 485 (Botany Indus., Inc. v. NEW YORK JT. BD., AMAL. CLOTH. WKRS.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Botany Indus., Inc. v. NEW YORK JT. BD., AMAL. CLOTH. WKRS., 375 F. Supp. 485 (S.D.N.Y. 1974).

Opinion

375 F.Supp. 485 (1974)

BOTANY INDUSTRIES, INC., Plaintiff,
v.
NEW YORK JOINT BOARD, AMALGAMATED CLOTHING WORKERS OF AMERICA, Defendant.

No. 71 Civ. 2381 (DNE).

United States District Court, S. D. New York, Civil Division.

April 12, 1974.

*486 Weil, Gotshal & Manges, New York City (Carl A. Schwarz, Jr., New York City, of counsel), for plaintiff.

Jacob Sheinkman, New York City New York City, and Robert Bach, of counsel), for defendant.

OPINION

EDELSTEIN, Chief Judge:

This is an action in which plaintiff employer seeks to vacate a labor arbitration award and defendant union seeks to confirm and to enforce the award.

The relevant facts, which are not in dispute, are as follows. In 1963, plaintiff Botany Industries, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as "Botany") licensed Levinsohn Bros. & Co., Inc. (hereinafter referred to as "Levinsohn") to manufacture and sell boys', students' and junior clothing; and to use the trademark "Botany" on the manufactured clothing. At the time the licensing agreement was entered into, Levinsohn had a collective bargaining agreement with defendant New York Joint Board, Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (hereinafter referred to as "Joint Board"). In *487 1966, Botany acquired all of the shares of Levinsohn and began operating it as a wholly-owned subsidiary, albeit as a separate corporation. The acquired corporation continued to be known as Levinsohn Bros. & Co., Inc. On November 1, 1966, in conjunction with the acquisition of Levinsohn stock, Botany entered into an agreement with the Joint Board which provided, inter alia:

1. Botany agrees to continue to manufacture boys', students' and junior clothing in a manufacturing facility operated by Botany or on its behalf, by its own subsidiary, or by a company owned or controlled by it pursuant to the terms of a collective bargaining agreement with the union.
2. Botany further agrees that any and all boys', students' and junior clothing manufactured for and on its behalf shall only be manufactured in production facilities which are in contractual relations with the union, and that Botany will not cause, directly or indirectly, any of such boys', students' and junior clothing to be manufactured in any other production facility which is not in contractual relations with the union without first obtaining the prior written consent of the Union.

Paragraph 3 of the Agreement further provides, in pertinent part, that "Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating, directly or indirectly, to the provisions of this Agreement, or the interpretation and performance thereof, shall be settled by arbitration." This Agreement was to remain in effect until June 1, 1981.

In December 1971, based upon a report that Botany intended to close down the Levinsohn operation, the Joint Board requested a hearing before an arbitrator for the purpose of determining the rights and obligations of the parties under the 1966 Agreement which, the arbitrator noted, was "in effect an application for a declaratory judgment." Although Botany questioned the reasons for the hearing,[1] it agreed to attend. After devoting two days to a hearing of the matter, Arbitrator Herman Gray rendered an award in favor of the Joint Board. The essence of the award, the text of which is reprinted in the margin,[2] is that (1) Botany agreed that *488 it would continue to manufacture boys', students' and junior clothing in a manufacturing facility owned or controlled by Botany, by a subsidiary of Botany, or by a company owned or controlled by Botany until June 1, 1981; (2) Botany agreed that the above described clothing would only be manufactured in a manufacturing facility operated under a collective agreement with, and under the geographic jurisdiction of, the Joint Board; and (3) Botany agreed that the trademark "Botany" would be used on the above described clothing only if the clothing was manufactured in a facility operated under a collective agreement with the Joint Board. The arbitrator also forbade Botany from licensing or selling the trademark "Botany" for use in connection with the manufacture, sale or other disposition of the above described clothing unless the sale is to, or the license is with, a facility operated under a collective agreement with the Joint Board.

Botany attacks the arbitration award on two levels. Its main argument is that paragraphs 1 and 2 of the 1966 Agreement constitute an illegal "hot cargo" provision within the meaning of section 8(e) of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, 29 U.S.C. § 158(e) [hereinafter referred to as "L.M.R.A."], as amended by the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 [hereinafter referred to as "L.M.R. D.A."]; that the Agreement cannot be enforced; that any attempt by the arbitrator to force compliance with these illegal provisions, thereby requiring the commission of an unlawful act, is in excess of the arbitrator's power; and that the award, therefore, cannot be enforced and must be vacated.[3] Botany's second line of attack involves the arbitrator's interpretation and construction of the agreement. Succinctly stated, Botany contends that the portion of the arbitrator's award restricting the licensing of the "Botany" trademark is not founded upon the agreement; and, therefore, the granting of such an award is in excess of the arbitrator's power.

The Joint Board, on the other hand, maintains that the arbitrator properly construed the 1966 Agreement and that the award, therefore, is not subject to judicial review. However, should the court decide to review the arbitrator's award, the Joint Board contends that the Agreement does not fall within the strictures of section 8(e). In the alternative the Joint Board argues that even if the language of the Agreement does constitute an illegal "hot cargo" provision, the Agreement is saved by the so-called "garment industry exemption" contained in section 8(e).

JURISDICTION AND SCOPE OF REVIEW

The parties have moved to invoke the remedies available to them under the Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq.: plaintiff seeks to have the award of Arbitrator Gray vacated pursuant to 9 U. S.C. § 10; and defendant seeks to have the award of Arbitrator Gray confirmed, *489 and enforced, pursuant to 9 U. S.C. § 9. Jurisdiction is predicated upon section 301(a) of the L.M.R.A., 29 U.S.C. § 185(a).

The first problem to be considered is the proper role of the court in reviewing an arbitration award in the context of cross motions to confirm and to vacate the award. The Joint Board contends that the arbitrator properly construed the collective bargaining agreement; that, based upon the teachings of United Steelworkers of America v. Enterprise Wheel & Car Corp., 363 U.S. 593, 80 S. Ct. 1358, 4 L.Ed.2d 1424 (1960), one of the Steelworker's Trilogy,[4] the award is not subject to judicial review; and that the award should therefore be enforced.

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