International Brotherhood of Boilermakers v. Local Lodge D461

667 F. Supp. 870, 128 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2645, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7761
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Georgia
DecidedAugust 27, 1987
DocketCiv. A. No. 87-95-2-MAC (WDO)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 667 F. Supp. 870 (International Brotherhood of Boilermakers v. Local Lodge D461) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers v. Local Lodge D461, 667 F. Supp. 870, 128 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2645, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7761 (M.D. Ga. 1987).

Opinion

ORDER

OWENS, Chief Judge.

On July 6, 1987, this court issued a preliminary injunction ordering defendant Local Lodge D461 (“Local D461”) to desist from interfering with the trusteeship validly imposed upon it by plaintiff International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (“Boilermakers”), 663 F.Supp. 1031. In furtherance of the trusteeship, the court ordered Local D461 to turn over to the trustee certain funds, books, assets and properties. The court retained in its registry $41,667.00 that defendant had submitted after an evidentiary hearing, and the court instructed intervenor Independent Workers of North America (“IWNA”) to remit to the registry $42,000.00 representing per capita tax diverted to IWNA from defendant during the months of November, 1986, to April, 1987. Defendant Local D461 and intervenor IWNA move this court to stay that order pending appeal. Plaintiff asks this court to cite opposing parties for contempt for their failure to comply with the July 6, 1987, order.

The relevant facts and conclusions of law are contained in the previous order and will not be recited herein. Suffice it to say that this court found plaintiff Boilermakers’ constitution binding upon defendant Local D461, that such constitution and the relevant statutes enabled plaintiff to validly impose a trusteeship upon defendant, that the trusteeship was imposed both in a procedurally proper manner and upon a sound substantive basis, and that defendant failed to establish bad faith on the part of plaintiff in plaintiff’s imposition of the trusteeship. The court also considered the requirements of a preliminary injunction and found that plaintiff established the following: (1) plaintiff will likely succeed on the merits; (2) plaintiff will suffer irreparable injury in the absence of an injunction; (3) plaintiff’s threatened injury outweighs whatever damage the proposed injunction may cause defendant Local D461 and intervenor IWNA; and (4) the court’s issuance of an injunction is not adverse to the public interest.

The court takes this opportunity to note that in meeting the rigorous standard ordinarily required for a preliminary injunction, plaintiff surpassed the standard generally applied to situations involving the imposition of a trusteeship. 29 U.S.C. § 464(c) imbues trusteeships with a presumption of validity. When the international shows that the trusteeship was established both in accordance with the provisions of the international’s constitution and for a purpose permissible under 29 U.S.C. § 462, and that the trusteeship was authorized or ratified after a fair hearing as required by 29 U.S.C. § 464, the presumption of validity may be rebutted only by clear and convincing evidence that the imposition of the trusteeship was not in good faith. Atlanta Fed. & City Serv. Empl. L. U. 554 v. Ser[872]*872vice Emp. I.U., 441 F.2d 1115, 1116 (5th Cir.1971);1 Bailey v. Dixon, 451 F.2d 160, 161 (5th Cir.1971); National Association of Letter Carriers v. Sombrotto, 449 F.2d 915, 921 (2nd Cir.1971); Graphic Arts Intern. U. v. Graphic Arts Intern. U., 529 F.Supp. 587, 593 (W.D.Mo.1982); Hansen v. Guyette, 636 F.Supp. 907, 911 (D.Minn. 1986). Application of the ordinary standard for the issuance of a preliminary injunction in the tusteeship situation places the burden on the international when 29 U.S.C. § 464(c) clearly provides that the burden should be on Local D461 to prove invalidity by clear and convincing evidence. See Tile, Etc., Union v. Granite Cutters, Loc. 106, 621 F.Supp. 1188, 1191 (E.D.N.Y. 1985). Realizing, however, that the issuance of a preliminary injunction is an extraordinary and drastic remedy, this court went beyond the less stringent standard first enunciated in Sombrotto and conducted a thorough examination. Plaintiffs satisfaction of the elements required for the issuance of a preliminary injunction strengthens its position in this motion to stay the injunction pending appeal.

To grant a stay pending appeal, the court must find: (1) a likelihood that the movant will prevail on the merits of the appeal; (2) irreparable injury to the movant unless the stay is granted; (3) an absence of substantial harm to the adverse party if the stay is granted; and (4) no harm to the public interest. Garcia-Mir v. Meese, 781 F.2d 1450, 1453 (11th Cir.1986) (emphasis added); In re Grand Jury Proceedings, 689 F.2d 1351 (11th Cir.1982). In considering movants’ request to stay the preliminary injunction pending appeal of its issuance, the court notes that “[t]he grant of a preliminary injunction lies within the discretion of the district court, and its decision will be overturned only for abuse of discretion.” Compact Van Equipment Co. v. Leggett & Platt, Inc., 566 F.2d 952, 954 (5th Cir.1978); See Shatel Corp. v. Mao Ta Lumber and Yacht Corp., 697 F.2d 1352 (11th Cir.1983) (grant or denial of preliminary injunction reversible on appeal only for abuse of discretion or if contrary to some rule of equity). Since, to receive a stay, movants must show a likelihood of success on the merits of the appeal, they must establish that this court abused its discretion in issuing the preliminary injunction. See Security & Exchange Commission v. G. Weeks Securities, Inc., 483 F.Supp. 1239, 1246 (W.D.Tenn.1980), aff'd 678 F.2d 649 (6th Cir.1982) (district court need not stay preliminary injunction in absence of demonstration that the court abused its discretion in granting the injunction); Eastern Milk Producers v. Lehigh Valley Co-op, 448 F.Supp. 471, 474 (E.D.Pa.1978) (no need to stay preliminary injunction pending appeal in view of movant’s failure to show likelihood of success on appeal). This court does not believe it abused its discretion.

Both the Boilermakers’ constitution and the applicable statutes permit the imposition of a trusteeship for “financial malpractice.” In a similar case, the district court in Missouri said that financial malpractice “is inclusive of the effect of the actions taken by the officers and the members, even though taken in good faith.” Graphic Arts Intern. U. v. Graphic Arts Intern. U., 529 F.Supp. 587, 594 (W.D.Mo.1982). In that action, which involved the imposition of a trusteeship in association with the local’s disaffiliation from the parent international, the financial malpractice involved was a disbursement of funds among members of the local as part of the disaffiliation campaign while continuing to collect but failing to remit per capita monies due to the international. Id. at 591.

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667 F. Supp. 870, 128 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2645, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7761, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/international-brotherhood-of-boilermakers-v-local-lodge-d461-gamd-1987.