Hester v. International Union of Operating Engineers

742 F. Supp. 1517, 18 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 63, 138 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2692, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10992, 1990 WL 121128
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Alabama
DecidedJune 26, 1990
DocketCiv. A. No. 84-AR-5791-NW
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 742 F. Supp. 1517 (Hester v. International Union of Operating Engineers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hester v. International Union of Operating Engineers, 742 F. Supp. 1517, 18 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 63, 138 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2692, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10992, 1990 WL 121128 (N.D. Ala. 1990).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ACKER, District Judge.

The court has before it the motion of plaintiff, Edward C. Hester, for leave to amend his complaint to add a Fifth Claim. This motion was filed some five years after the original complaint was filed on November 9, 1984. Although defendant, Local 320, is not a target of this proposed Fifth Claim, Local 320 nevertheless joins the other two defendants, International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO, and Local 660, in opposing the allowance of the proposed amendment.1

[1518]*1518The Facts and Procedural Posture

Because a 1987 opinion by the Eleventh Circuit in this case clearly and succinctly states the basic- facts and plaintiff's theories of liability, this court adopts the introductory paragraphs of that opinion as its starting point.2

There are procedural facts not contained in the opinion of the Eleventh Circuit set forth in footnote 2 below which are pertinent to the question now under consideration. They must be outlined briefly.

First, on February 19, 1985, after all three defendants had answered the original complaint which then contained three separate claims or theories of liability, the court entered a scheduling order pursuant to Rule 16(b), F.R.Civ.P. Inter alia, that order provided:

If an attorney or party has any objection to, or suggested modification of, the indicated scheduled, he, she or it should file a notice within 15 days from the date hereof with the Clerk setting forth such objection or suggestion. If no such notice is filed, the following maximum time limits shall apply:
(1) All motions to join additional parties and to amend the pleading must be filed within 50 days after the entry of this Order.

(emphasis in original).

Second, after a formal pre-trial conference was held more than 50 days after the said Rule 16(b) order, the court, on August 26,1985, entered what it then considered to be the final pre-trial order. At the pre-trial conference, the proposed pre-trial order, as submitted by Hester, was supplemented in the court’s own handwriting to acknowledge that Hester orally requested the right to add a pendent state claim as his Fourth Claim. Over defendants’ objection, the court, on September 5, 1985, granted Hester’s motion for leave to amend to add the following Fourth Claim:

[1519]*1519Fourth Claim
Plaintiff repeats and realleges each and every averment of fact ... contained in paragraphs 1 through 16, inclusive, of the complaint. Plaintiff avers that these facts constitute a cause of action under Alabama law, and that this Court has pendant [sic] jurisdiction to adjudicate the same. Allen v. Theatrical Workers, 338 F.2d 309 (5th Cir.1964). Federal law does not preempt, but expressly preserves all rights and remedies under State law relating to union disciplinary proceedings. 29 U.S.C. § 413.
Plaintiff realleges the prayer for relief in the original complaint.

The Eleventh Circuit characterized this Fourth Claim as “a pendent state claim based on Alabama contract law.” 818 F.2d at 1539. This court is not sure whether the Fourth Claim is ex contractu or ex delicto. Consistent with the granting of Hester’s motion for leave to add a Fourth Claim, the court amended the pre-trial order to supplement plaintiff’s “statement-of-position.”

Third, because this court granted defendants’ motions for summary judgment after the entry of the pre-trial order of August 26, 1985, the case not proceed to trial on the issues as set forth in the pre-trial order and, instead, proceeded to the Eleventh Circuit (and ultimately to the Supreme Court) on Hester’s appeal. The appellate process did not result in a final appellate mandate until October 26, 1989.

Fourth, on December 19, 1989, Hester filed his present motion for leave to amend, and on May 9, 1990, he amended the motion. The amended motion seeks to add a Fifth Claim against Local 660 and IUOE “based on the provisions of § 3 of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act, 11 U.S.A. [sic] § 8316, and the said collective bargaining agreement entered into pursuant to that statute, which gives rise to a duty of fair representation,_” Among the authorities cited in support of this Fifth Claim, Hester cites Bowman v. Tennessee Valley Authority, 744 F.2d 1207 (6th Cir.1984), Allen v. International Alliance of Theatrical, etc., 338 F.2d 309 (5th Cir.1964), Hall v. Cole, 412 U.S. 1, 93 S.Ct. 1943, 36 L.Ed.2d 702 (1973), and 160 A.L.R. 916. All of these authorities, and the TVA Act itself, were available to Hester when he filed his original complaint on November 7, 1984, when the original Rule 16(b) scheduling order was entered on February 16, 1985, and when the pre-trial order was entered on August 26, 1985. In fact, in his original complaint, Hester invoked § 3 of the TVA act. Undoubtedly recognizing the problem he now faces, Hester avers that his proposed Fifth Claim is also based on Breininger v. Sheet Metal Workers Local No. 6, — U.S. -, 110 S.Ct. 424, 107 L.Ed.2d 388 (1989), which was decided on December 5, 1989, shortly after the issuance of the final mandate from the Eleventh Circuit. Inter alia, the proposed Fifth Claim seeks punitive damages of $100,000 from IUOE and Local 660 for their alleged willful and oppressive conduct and bad faith, $30,000 for plaintiff’s alleged mental suffering and humiliation, and $50,000 for attorney’s fees.

The Law-of-the-Case

The Eleventh Circuit is not perfectly clear to this court in everything it has said in this case, but it was perfectly clear in its holding in 1987 when it unequivocally said, “We affirm on other grounds the district court’s dismissal of Hester’s breach of duty of fair representation claim [the Second Claim]_” Hester v. Intern. Union of Operating Engineers, 830 F.2d 172, 176 (11th Cir.1987) (emphasis supplied). There was no dissent from this explicit holding, which was contained in a clarification of the earlier Eleventh Circuit opinion found at 818 F.2d 1537, et seq. It is true, of course, that the Supreme Court at 488 U.S. 1025, 109 S.Ct. 831, 102 L.Ed.2d 963 (1989), vacated the Eleventh Circuit opinions at 818 F.2d 1537 and 830 F.2d 172 for reconsideration in light of Reed v.

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Related

Hester v. International Union Of Operating Engineers
941 F.2d 1574 (Eleventh Circuit, 1991)
Hester v. International Union of Operating Engineers
742 F. Supp. 1522 (N.D. Alabama, 1990)

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742 F. Supp. 1517, 18 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 63, 138 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2692, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10992, 1990 WL 121128, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hester-v-international-union-of-operating-engineers-alnd-1990.