Fraternal Order of Police, Penn-Jersey Lodge 30 v. Delaware River Port Authority

924 F. Supp. 2d 574, 2013 WL 592135, 195 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2111, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19732
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedFebruary 13, 2013
DocketCivil No. 12-2170 (JBS/KMW)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 924 F. Supp. 2d 574 (Fraternal Order of Police, Penn-Jersey Lodge 30 v. Delaware River Port Authority) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fraternal Order of Police, Penn-Jersey Lodge 30 v. Delaware River Port Authority, 924 F. Supp. 2d 574, 2013 WL 592135, 195 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2111, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19732 (D.N.J. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION

SIMANDLE, Chief Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Fraternal Order of Police Penn-Jersey Lodge 30 (“FOP”) brought this action against Defendant Delaware River Port Authority (“DRPA”) to move the Court for a mandatory injunction ordering the DRPA to submit to binding interest arbitration1 over the terms and conditions of employment for the patrol officers, corporals, and sergeants whom FOP represents and whom DRPA employs. This matter comes before the Court on DRPA’s motion for summary judgment [Docket Item 12], asking the Court to deny FOP’s request.2 The Court heard oral argument on January 24, 2013.

The Court will deny DRPA’s motion and grant FOP’s request because this issue has been previously litigated in and decided by the New Jersey state courts. In 1999, litigation in New Jersey state courts between FOP and DRPA established that DRPA must submit to interest arbitration. Fraternal Order of Police, Penn-Jersey Lodge 30 v. Delaware River Port Authority, 323 N.J.Super. 444, 733 A.2d 545 (N.J.App.Div.1999), certif. denied, 162 N.J. 663, 745 A.2d 1213 (1999), cert. denied, 530 U.S. 1275, 120 S.Ct. 2743, 147 L.Ed.2d 1007 (2000) (“DRPA I”). In 2002, the Third Circuit held that DRPA I is entitled to preclusive effect on the issue of DRPA’s collective bargaining obligations with police and firefighters under its interstate compact. Delaware River Port Auth. v. Fraternal Order of Police, 290 F.3d 567 (3d Cir.2002) (“DRPA II”). DRPA I and DRPA II mandate the outcome of this [576]*576case: The parties must submit to arbitration because they are bound by collateral estoppel.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The DRPA is a bi-state agency created in 1932 that owns, operates, and secures various transportation facilities associated with the Delaware River, including the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, the Walt Whitman Bridge, the Commodore Barry Bridge, the Betsy Ross Bridge, the Port Authority Transit Corporation (“PATCO”) High-Speed line, and the RiverLink Ferry System. (DRPA Statement of Facts (“SOF”) ¶ 1.)3 The DRPA employs 96 patrol officers, 25 sergeants, and 12 corporals. (DRPA SOF ¶ 2.)

In or around 1975, DRPA voluntarily recognized FOP Lodge 30 as the exclusive bargaining representative of DRPA patrol officers, and now DRPA recognizes FOP as the exclusive bargaining representative of rank-and-file officers, corporals, and sergeants. (DRPA SOF ¶3, 5.) Since 1975, the parties have negotiated a series of collective bargaining agreements. (DRPA SOF ¶ 4.) The most recent collective bargaining agreement commenced in 2005 and expired on December 31, 2009. (DRPA SOF ¶ 6.)

After the 2005-2009 collective bargaining agreement expired, the parties met on several occasions in 2010 to negotiate a successor contract, but their efforts did not succeed. (DRPA SOF ¶ 8.) On November 29, 2010, FOP took the position that the parties were at an impasse and should proceed to interest arbitration. (DRPA SOF ¶ 9.) On December 29, 2010, the DRPA advised the FOP of its belief that interest arbitration is not legally mandatory for the DRPA. (DRPA SOF ¶ 10.) In 2011 and early 2012, the parties’ representatives met on several occasions to negotiate a new contract, but they were unsuccessful. (DRPA SOF ¶ 11.)

Plaintiff FOP then filed this action seeking a mandatory injunction ordering the DRPA to submit to binding interest arbitration. [Docket Item 1, Compl.]

III. ANALYSIS

A. Standard of Review

Summary judgment is appropriate “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). A dispute is “genuine” if “the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the non-moving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A fact is “material” only if it might affect the outcome of the suit under the applicable rule of law. Id.

B. DRPA’s Bi-State Compact

In 1931, the State of New Jersey and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania legislatively created the Delaware River Port Authority to develop the ports of Philadelphia and Camden and to operate bridges and provide mass transportation across the Delaware River. N.J. Stat. Ann. § 32:3-2 et seq.; Pa. Stat. Ann. tit. 36, § 3503 et seq. Under the Compact Clause of the United States Constitution, states may enter into agreements regarding matters of common concern provided they obtain the consent of Congress. U.S. Const, art. I, § 10, cl. 3. The United States Congress formally approved the DRPA [577]*577Compact in 1982. DRPA II at 571. The construction of a bi-state compact that has been consented to by Congress pursuant to the Compact Clause presents a federal question. Cuyler v. Adams, 449 U.S. 433, 438, 101 S.Ct. 703, 66 L.Ed.2d 641 (1981).

The DRPA is a “public corporate instrumentality of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey.” N.J. Stat. Ann. § 32:3-2; Pa. Stat. Ann. tit. 36 § 3503. But it is not an “arm” of either state. Peters v. DRPA, 16 F.3d 1346, 1352 (3d Cir.1994). Nor is it vested with attributes of state sovereignty. Id at 1351-52. The DRPA’s powers and duties are framed entirely by the Compact. DRPA II at 571. The Compact allows either state’s legislature to grant the DRPA additional powers or impose on it additional duties by passing legislation that is “concurred in by the legislation of the other [state].” N.J. Stat. Ann. § 32:3-5; Pa. Stat. Ann. tit. 36 § 3503.

Article IV(e) of the Compact provides the DRPA Commissioners the right to “appoint, hire or employ ... agents and employees, as it may require for the performance of its duties, by contract or otherwise, and fix and determine their qualifications, duties and compensation.” N.J. Stat. Ann. § 32:3-5; Pa.Stat.Ann.' tit. 36, § 3503. The DRPA Compact itself does not expressly grant DRPA employees collective bargaining rights. DRPA II at 571-72. Nor does the Compact impose a duty on the DRPA’s management to bargain collectively with unions. Id.

C. Parties’ Arguments

The crux of this case is a legal dispute regarding how the DRPA compact should be interpreted.

Defendant DRPA argues that the DRPA need not participate in interest arbitration because the DRPA compact does not contain express language ordering it to do so. DRPA argues that the DRPA compact should be interpreted according to the express intent test, which holds that a bi-state entity is only subject to those laws which the creating states expressly discussed in the compact.

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924 F. Supp. 2d 574, 2013 WL 592135, 195 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2111, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19732, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fraternal-order-of-police-penn-jersey-lodge-30-v-delaware-river-port-njd-2013.