Burns v. Pennsylvania Milk Control Commission

63 Pa. D. & C. 126, 1947 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 321
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Dauphin County
DecidedNovember 17, 1947
Docketno. 66
StatusPublished

This text of 63 Pa. D. & C. 126 (Burns v. Pennsylvania Milk Control Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Dauphin County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Burns v. Pennsylvania Milk Control Commission, 63 Pa. D. & C. 126, 1947 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 321 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1947).

Opinion

Rupp, J.,

This is an appeal General Order No. A-184 of the Milk Control Commission of Pennsylvania, dated April 24, 1946, and effective May .1, 1946, continuing certain war emergency regulations relating to restricted delivery of milk and milk products in the Philadelphia milk marketing area, area no. 1.

No answer was filed to the appeal petition and the case was not heard by the court. However, counsel entered into a stipulation of facts. The matter is therefore before us on the appeal petition and the stipulation, which incorporates by reference the record certified to the court of the proceedings before the commission on the question of promulgating orders of this type.

Plaintiffs, who constitute the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania Commercial Drivers Conference, aver that they are prosecuting this appeal on behalf of themselves and on behalf of the officers and members of 51 local unions which constitute the conference (Local No. 463 of the Philadelphia area, which is included in this group also specifically joined in the appeal as a party plaintiff), which labor organizations, under collective bargaining agreements, represent persons employed, either directly or indirectly, in the milk and milk products industry in Pennsylvania who, because their employment is affected by the order and [128]*128“as consumers”, together with their families, are aggrieved ; that the said unions, under such agreements, also represent persons who are employed in the Commonwealth but not in the milk industry but who, because their “economic interests are related to those of each and every other member” of the unions and because of their “interests as consumers”, are aggrieved by the order, together with their families; that because and by virtue of certain Federal and State labor relations statutes the unions are the exclusive bargaining-agents for the employes of the milk dealers, handlers and distributors regulated by said order and as such agents said unions are the sole representatives of said employes for the purposes of collective bargaining on such matters as wages, hours and working conditions, which includes the days of employment and employment opportunities; that the unions hold many collective bargaining agreements relating to the subject matter of the order and. said order impairs the obligations of said contracts and interferes with and restrains collective bargaining on the subject matter contained therein, and interferes with the rights of said local unions vested in them as bargaining representatives aforesaid; that the subject matter of the aforesaid order is a matter which is exclusively within the field of collective bargaining and cannot be withdrawn from the said field by any order or regulation of the commission; and that the order limits, restricts and otherwise impairs the obligations of milk dealers, handlers and distributors of milk to perform their obligations under collective bargaining contracts with said local unions to reemploy veterans (many of whom have not yet been discharged from the armed services) and also destroys employment opportunities and job security in the industry.

It scarcely need be mentioned that whatever rights plaintiffs may or may not have under other statutes, they have instituted this appeal under the Milk Con[129]*129trol Law of April 28, 1937, P. L. 417, as amended, 31 PS §700j-101, et seq., and therefore their right, if any, to maintain the action must be established under that act.

Section 901 of the Milk Control Law, 31 PS §700j-901, provides as follows:

“Any person aggrieved by an order of the commission fixing, revising or amending the price at, or the terms upon, which milk may be bought or sold, or by any other general action, rule, regulation or order of the commission, may, within twenty (20) days after the effective date of such action, rule, regulation or order, file an appeal therefrom in the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County. No such appeal shall be permitted to act as a supersedeas, except on special order of the court. Refusal by the commission of any application, for revision or amendment, filed as provided in section eight hundred one, shall constitute an appealable action within the meaning of this section.”

Are plaintiffs persons “aggrieved” by the order, within the meaning of the Milk Control Law?

Unfortunately, the following appears in the stipulation of facts agreed to by the commission:

“. . . and said plaintiffs are interested persons within the meaning of the Milk Control Law and are persons aggrieved by the orders hereinafter set forth.”

Nothing appears in the commission’s brief to explain or sustain this position. However, no citation of authority is required to demonstrate that the commission cannot, by stipulation, grant plaintiffs the right of appeal if they do not possess it, nor preclude the court from considering whether or not plaintiffs possess such a right.

It is self-evident that the right of a labor organization in this matter can rise no higher than the right of the persons whom it allegedly represents. Therefore, the question for our determination becomes, are members of a union who are employed by milk dealers, [130]*130handlers and distributors regulated by the order, in their individual capacities, or their labor union, in a representative capacity, “aggrieved”, within the meaning of the Milk Control Law, by an order of the commission which allegedly affects their employment; which allegedly interferes with and restrains collective bargaining on the subject matter of the order and interferes with the rights of their labor union as their sole representative for purposes of collective bargaining on such matters, and which allegedly impairs the obligations of certain existing collective bargaining agreements between the union and employers relating to the subject matter of the order?

Discussion

We neither have discovered, nor have been directed to, any decision of this or any other jurisdiction which posed this exact question. Thus, we must rely on general established legal principles governing “aggrieved” persons and persons having the right of appeal.

In 4 C. J. S. §177, the general rule is stated to be that the interest of a party necessary to entitle him to an appeal must be direct, immediate, pecuniary and substantial; and that an appealable interest in the subject matter exists whenever the interest of the party may be diminished or his rights affected. See also 9 Standard Pa. Practice §107.

In 4 C. J. S. §183b, it is stated:

“In legal acceptation a party or person is aggrieved by a judgment, order, or decree, so as to be entitled to appeal . . . whenever it operates prejudicially and directly upon his property or pecuniary rights or interest, or upon his personal rights, and only when it has such effect. The word ‘aggrieved’ in a statute . . . refers to a substantial grievance, a denial of some personal or property right, legal or equitable, or the imposition upon a party of a burden or obligation . . . [131]*131To render a party aggrieved by an order, so as to entitle him to appeal therefrom, the right invaded must be immediate, not merely some possible, remote consequence. . . .”

To the same effect see 2 Am. Jur. 943 et seq.

The decisions are to the same effect. Thus, in Easton Transit Company’s Petition, 270 Pa.

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Bluebook (online)
63 Pa. D. & C. 126, 1947 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 321, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/burns-v-pennsylvania-milk-control-commission-pactcompldauphi-1947.