International Molders & Allied Workers Union v. Superior Court

70 Cal. App. 3d 395, 138 Cal. Rptr. 794, 95 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2943, 1977 Cal. App. LEXIS 1525
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 3, 1977
DocketCiv. 16210
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 70 Cal. App. 3d 395 (International Molders & Allied Workers Union v. Superior Court) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
International Molders & Allied Workers Union v. Superior Court, 70 Cal. App. 3d 395, 138 Cal. Rptr. 794, 95 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2943, 1977 Cal. App. LEXIS 1525 (Cal. Ct. App. 1977).

Opinions

Opinion

PARAS, J.

On April 15, 1976, after failure of negotiations to renew a collective bargaining agreement, petitioner International Molders and Allied Workers Union, Local 164 (hereinafter Molders) commenced a strike against real party in interest Lodi Iron Works (hereinafter Lodi) of Lodi, California. Peaceful picketing took place until the morning of May 4, 1976, when Lodi placed an advertisement in the local newspaper stating that foundry workers were needed at its plant. On that date the number of pickets dramatically increased.

On May 5, 1976, Lodi filed a complaint for injunction, seeking to enjoin Molders and its members from engaging in illegal picketing activities. After written and telephone notice on May 5 and 6 to Molders and its attorneys, and after the judge himself telephoned the office of the attorney for Molders and established that no appearance would be made, the court on May 6, 1976, issued a temporary restraining order, and an order to show cause which it set for hearing on May 20, 1976.

[400]*400On May 19, 1976, counsel for Lodi sent a telegram to the court, stating: “Counsel for the defendant Union, Victor Van Bourg, and I have agreed to a one week continuance of the hearing on the preliminary injunction in this matter, continuing the hearing and the temporary restraining order to Thursday, May 27, 1976, at 9:00 o’clock AM. Mr. Van Bourg is exercising the defendant’s statutory right to one continuance as a matter of right. A copy of this telegram is being sent to Mr. Van Bourg.” The matter was continued pursuant to this request.

On May 21, 1976, Van Bourg sent a letter to the clerk of the court stating: “This will confirm our telephone call to your office today, indicating that by agreement of the parties, [this case and two unrelated cases in which Molders and Lodi were involved] . .. have been continued to Friday, May 28, 1976 at 9:00 A.M.” (Italics in original.)

On May 28, 1976, the matter was argued, and the court granted the preliminary injunction.

On June 3, 1976, Lodi filed a declaration by Ralph Fuller, its plant superintendent, alleging 63 violations (hereinafter sometimes referred to as counts) of the temporary restraining order. Pursuant to this declaration, the court ordered Molders and four of its individual members to show cause on June 14, 1976, why they should not be held in contempt of the temporary restraining order. On June 14, 1976, the matter was continued to June 22, 1976. On June 16, 1976, Lodi filed a supplemental declaration by Fuller, alleging 45 violations of the preliminary injunction. The court issued another contempt order to show cause to Molders and seven of its members, and set this hearing also for June 22, 1976.

Trial on the first order to show cause was held on June 22 and 23, 1976, and continued to June 29, 1976, at which time the court heard testimony relative to the second order to show cause. On July 1, 1976, the court found Molders guilty of four violations of the temporary restraining order, and fined it $250 on each, for a total of $1,000. On August 19, 1976, the court found Molders guilty of 15 violations of the preliminary injunction, and also found that 6 named individuals had committed specific violations. Molders was fined $250 per violation, for a total of $3,750; and the individuals were ordered to serve five-day jail sentences on each violation, some of which were suspended, with the result that four of the six were actually ordered to serve time in jail. The court stayed enforcement of the sentences for 10 days.

[401]*401In the meantime, on August 10, 1976, Molders filed a petition for writ of certiorari in this court, seeking a stay and a review of the contempt citations on the temporary restraining order. We issued a stay order on August 12, 1976, and a writ of review on September 14, 1976. On September 2, 1976, the six individuals found in contempt of the preliminary injunction filed in this court a petition for writ of habeas corpus. We treated this petition as one for certiorari and issued a stay order on September 2, 1976; on September 28, 1976, we consolidated the latter case (3 Civ. 8892) with the earlier writ of review (3 Civ. 16210).1

The Temporary Restraining Order

With respect to the contempt judgments arising out of the temporary restraining order, Molders makes four arguments:

1. The temporary restraining order violated Code of Civil Procedure section 527.3.
2. The temporary restraining order expired on May 20, 1976, before any of the violations occurred.
3. The judgments of contempt are not supported by substantial evidence.
4. The declaration initiating the contempt charges failed to give adequate notice to Molders to enable it to prepare a defense.

I

The temporary restraining order of May 6, 1976, inter alia, restrained Molders from: “Physically obstructing in any manner any entrance to or exit from, plaintiff's premises; in this regard, there shall not be more than two (2) pickets within 20 feet of any entrance or exit to the premises.” Molders contends that this paragraph of the order violates Code of Civil Procedure section 527.3, enacted September 29, 1975 [402]*402(Stats. 1975, ch. 1156) and effective January 1, 1976.2 It argues that “[t]he purpose of C. C. P. § 527.3 was without a doubt to prohibit such restrictions upon numbers, as long as those numbers are peaceful.”

The statute provides in pertinent part:

“(b) ... no court . .. shall have jurisdiction to issue any restraining order or preliminary or permanent injunction which . . . prohibits ....
“(2) Peaceful picketing or patrolling involving any labor dispute, whether engaged in singly or in numbers.
“(e) It is not the intent of this section to permit conduct that is unlawful including breach of the peace, disorderly conduct, the unlawful blocking of access or egress to premises where a labor dispute exists, or other similar unlawful activity.” (Italics added.)

The law enunciated in section 527.3 does not in our view differ from case law in this area, as most recently summarized in United Farm Workers of America v. Superior Court (1976) 16 Cal.3d 499 [128 Cal.Rptr. 209, 546 P.2d 713], and California Retail Liquor Dealers Institute v. United Farm Workers (1976) 57 Cal.App.3d 606 [129 Cal.Rptr. 407], In these cases, both of which involved the same labor dispute, the California Retail Liquor Dealers Institute had obtained a class injunction on behalf of its 2,000 members against the United Farm Workers Union, which limited the union’s picketing activities (in protest against Gallo products sold in members’ liquor stores) to three pickets at each driveway and store entrance, not less than six feet therefrom, and not directly in front thereof. The injunction was based upon declarations of the institute’s members that union pickets had massed in front of their entrances so as to prevent the public from entering, and had engaged in acts of violence and property damage.

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

Related

Turner Construction v. Plumbers Local 690
130 A.3d 47 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2015)
Ralphs Grocery Co. v. United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 8
290 P.3d 1116 (California Supreme Court, 2012)
Hillhaven Oakland Nursing & Rehabilitation Center v. Health Care Workers Union
41 Cal. App. 4th 846 (California Court of Appeal, 1996)
INT'L ASSN. OF HEAT ETC. WORKERS v. Superior Court
132 Cal. App. 3d 1 (California Court of Appeal, 1982)
Kaplan's Fruit & Produce Co. v. Superior Court
603 P.2d 1341 (California Supreme Court, 1979)
International Molders & Allied Workers Union v. Superior Court
70 Cal. App. 3d 395 (California Court of Appeal, 1977)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
70 Cal. App. 3d 395, 138 Cal. Rptr. 794, 95 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2943, 1977 Cal. App. LEXIS 1525, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/international-molders-allied-workers-union-v-superior-court-calctapp-1977.