International Ass'n of Firefighters, Local 786 v. Serrani

602 A.2d 1067, 26 Conn. App. 610, 140 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2354, 1992 Conn. App. LEXIS 72
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedFebruary 11, 1992
Docket10197
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 602 A.2d 1067 (International Ass'n of Firefighters, Local 786 v. Serrani) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Appellate Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
International Ass'n of Firefighters, Local 786 v. Serrani, 602 A.2d 1067, 26 Conn. App. 610, 140 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2354, 1992 Conn. App. LEXIS 72 (Colo. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

Heiman, J.

The plaintiffs in this labor dispute, the International Association of Firefighters, Local 786, and certain probationary firefighters laid off by the city of Stamford,1 appeal from the trial court’s denial of their application for a temporary injunction.

We first note that in the absence of a statutory exception, the denial of an application for a temporary injunction generally is not an appealable final judgment. Doublewal Corporation v. Toffolon, 195 Conn. 384, 389, 488 A.2d 444 (1985). General Statutes § 31-118, however, authorizes any party aggrieved by a decision of the court on an application for a temporary injunction in a labor dispute to appeal from the final judgment thereon. The term “final judgment” as used in the statute means a decision that “definitely determines a motion for the issuance of a temporary injunction either in favor of or against the party seeking it.” H. O. Canfield Co., v. United Construction Workers, 134 Conn. 358, 362, 57 A.2d 624 (1948). Thus, we have subject matter jurisdiction over this appeal.

The plaintiffs claim that the trial court (1) abused its discretion in making an express finding that a layoff did not repudiate the parties’ collective bargaining agreement, (2) incorrectly found that the parties’ collective bargaining agreement must give way to the fiscal constraints facing the city despite the city’s failure to establish any real fiscal necessity for the immediate layoffs, (3) improperly found that there was no substan[612]*612tial probability that the plaintiffs would suffer irreparable harm from its denial of the application, and (4) improperly found the existence of an adequate remedy at law. We affirm the trial court’s judgment.

The facts necessary to our resolution of this appeal may be summarized as follows. The plaintiff International Association of Firefighters, Local 786, is the certified collective bargaining unit representing all uniformed firefighters employed by the city of Stamford. The individual plaintiffs are probationary uniformed firefighters laid off by the city. The defendants are the city of Stamford; Thomas Serrani, mayor of Stamford; Sim Bernstein, personnel director for the city of Stamford; and the fire commission of Stamford.

A collective bargaining agreement dated July 1,1987, presently exists between Local 786 and the city of Stamford. The agreement contains provisions requiring that at least fifty persons be assigned to work each shift. At least forty-one of the fifty persons assigned to each shift must be on the floor.2 The city used overtime to meet the forty-one on the floor requirement until December, 1990, when it met the fifty assigned per shift provision by hiring the nine individual plaintiffs as probationary firefighters. The city budgeted the new positions for its 1990-91 fiscal year.

In preparing the city’s 1991-92 budget, Serrani, facing a $1.8 million deficit precipitated by an unanticipated decline in state revenues, a decline in interest income and an unanticipated increase in insurance costs, eliminated the nine probationary firefighter positions. Serrani considered the layoffs a last resort and ordered them only after reducing the budget of every [613]*613other office within his control. The nine probationary firefighters were notified that they would be laid off as of April 19, 1991.

Local 786 filed a grievance with the fire chief, who denied it. The union then appealed to the fire commission, which upheld the appeal. Despite the fact that the appeal of Local 786 was upheld, the defendants refused to rescind the layoff notices. As a result, the union filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the state labor board and an action in the Superior Court seeking (1) a temporary and permanent injunction requiring the defendants to maintain the status quo prior to the layoffs, (2) wages and other benefits lost as a result of the layoffs and (3) attorney’s fees. The trial court denied the plaintiffs’ application for a temporary injunction after a full evidentiary hearing, and this appeal followed.

General Statutes § 31-115 sets forth five facts that the trial court must find to exist before it may grant injunctive relief in a labor dispute.3 Each is a necessary prerequisite to injunctive relief. If any of the factual predicates are not established, the court cannot grant injunctive relief.

Because it is dispositive of this appeal, we turn first to the plaintiffs’ claim that the trial court improperly found that the plaintiffs failed to establish a substan[614]*614tial probability that they would suffer irreparable harm from the denial of their application for a temporary injunction. In challenging this finding, the plaintiffs attack both the court’s factual determinations and its application of the “substantial probability” standard.

Before granting injunctive relief in a labor dispute, the court must find, inter alia, that the moving party will suffer “substantial and irreparable injury” in the event that injunctive relief is denied. General Statutes § 31-115 (b). Our courts have consistently applied a “substantial probability” standard to the issue of irreparable harm in cases involving injunctive relief outside the labor context. See Karls v. Alexandra Realty Corporation, 179 Conn. 390, 402, 426 A.2d 784 (1980); Silitschanu v. Groesbeck, 12 Conn. App. 57, 65, 529 A.2d 732 (1987), aff’d, 208 Conn. 312, 543 A.2d 737 (1988). The plaintiffs offer no reason to apply a different standard in labor cases, and we decline to do so here. The trial court properly required the plaintiffs to establish a substantial probability that irreparable harm would result from the denial of their application.

We turn next to the plaintiffs’ factually based claims. The plaintiffs dispute the trial court’s findings that neither (1) the risk to the health, safety and welfare of the firefighters, nor (2) the risk to the citizens of Stamford, nor (3) the deterioration in the relationship between the union, its membership and management, nor (4) the city’s unilateral action in contravention of accepted grievance procedures constituted substantial irreparable harm that required granting their application for a temporary injunction. These are issues of fact. The trial court’s findings of fact are subject to reversal only if they are clearly erroneous. Kleinman v. Marshall, 192 Conn. 479, 483, 472 A.2d 772 (1984).

“Nothing in our law is more elementary than that the trier is the final judge of the credibility of witnesses [615]*615and of the weight to be accorded their testimony.” Morgan v. Hill, 139 Conn. 159, 161, 90 A.2d 641 (1952); Robert S. Weiss & Co. v. Mullins, 196 Conn. 614, 621, 495 A.2d 1006 (1985).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Metropolitan Dist. v. Ct Reso. Rec. Auth., No. Cv 01-0809181 (Oct. 12, 2001)
2001 Conn. Super. Ct. 13997 (Connecticut Superior Court, 2001)
G7 Systems v. Ginthwain, No. Cv 01 76334 S (Sep. 17, 2001)
2001 Conn. Super. Ct. 13426 (Connecticut Superior Court, 2001)
Stewart v. Gothie, No. Cv 99-0549831 S (May 24, 2001)
2001 Conn. Super. Ct. 6850 (Connecticut Superior Court, 2001)
Rustici v. Malloy
758 A.2d 424 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2000)
Fleet National Bank v. Burke, No. Cv 98-0584565 (Nov. 20, 1998)
1998 Conn. Super. Ct. 13533 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1998)
Fleet National Bank v. Burke
727 A.2d 823 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1998)
Fass v. Connecticut Dental Comm'n, No. Cv 96-0392586 (Nov. 21, 1996)
1996 Conn. Super. Ct. 9602 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1996)
Saturn Construction Co., Inc. v. State, No. Cv94 542073 (May 6, 1996)
1996 Conn. Super. Ct. 4154 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1996)
International Assn., F. F. v. Bridgeport, No. Cv 95321570s (May 12, 1995)
1995 Conn. Super. Ct. 5259 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1995)
International Assn. of Firefighters v. Bridgeport, No. 321570 (Apr. 7, 1995)
1995 Conn. Super. Ct. 3653 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1995)
Shapiro Farm Limited Parts. v. Passanante, No. Cv 94-0318491 (Dec. 9, 1994)
1994 Conn. Super. Ct. 12492 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1994)
Snyder v. Waterbury Board of Education, No. 121828 (Aug. 30, 1994)
1994 Conn. Super. Ct. 8705 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1994)
Local 998 v. Town of Stratford, No. Cv92-295811 (Jul. 17, 1992)
1992 Conn. Super. Ct. 5657 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1992)
State v. Gaumond
606 A.2d 735 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 1992)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
602 A.2d 1067, 26 Conn. App. 610, 140 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2354, 1992 Conn. App. LEXIS 72, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/international-assn-of-firefighters-local-786-v-serrani-connappct-1992.