Llacer v. Pan American World Airways, Inc.

582 F. Supp. 188, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18696
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedMarch 13, 1984
DocketCiv. No. 83-2604 (JP)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 582 F. Supp. 188 (Llacer v. Pan American World Airways, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Llacer v. Pan American World Airways, Inc., 582 F. Supp. 188, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18696 (prd 1984).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

PIERAS, District Judge.

Pending in the above captioned case were two motions for summary judgment, one filed by co-defendant Pan American World Airways, Inc. (Pan Am) on December 12, 1983, and another motion for summary judgment filed by co-defendant Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO, Transport Division, Local 500 (the Union) filed on December 30, 1983. The plaintiff, Anthony Font Llacer, duly filed his opposition to both motions for summary judgment, but informs the Court that settlement has been reached between plaintiff and the Union. The Court hereby addresses itself to Pan Am’s motion for Summary Judgment and hereby concludes as follows:

FINDINGS OF FACT:

1. Plaintiff Anthony Font Llacer worked for Pan American as a fleet serviceman, mechanic and ground service employee from 1953 to 1976.

2. Plaintiff is a member of the Transport Workers Union and his terms of employment were governed by a collective bargaining agreement between the Union and Pan Am, pursuant to the Railway Labor Act, 45 U.S.C. Sections 151 et seq.

3. Plaintiff was laid off by Pan Am in October 1976, and subsequently, received disability benefits because of a favorable decision of the Social Security Administration.

4. On February 22, 1980, Pan Am sent plaintiff a recall notice advising him that effective February 27, 1980, positions of fleet servicemen were available. Plaintiff advised his employer that due to his disabil[190]*190ity from the Social Security Administration, he could not accept the recall.

5. Pan Am notified plaintiff by letter on February 29, 1980 that because of the Social Security disability finding, Pan Am would remove plaintiff from all recall lists for mechanics and fuelers. Pan Am notified plaintiff that he had fifteen (15) days to object to the removal of his name from the list; however, plaintiff never responded.

6. Plaintiff’s disability period ceased on August 1982 when the Social Security Administration sent him a termination notice. Pan Am did not recall plaintiff.

7. On July 16, 1982, the plaintiff filed a grievance under the procedures of the collective bargaining agreement in effect between Pan Am and the Union.

8. On July 20, 1982, Pan American denied plaintiff’s grievance as untimely based on Pan American’s letter of February 29, 1980. (See Finding 5, supra.).

9. On July 26, 1982, the plaintiff filed an appeal with the Board of Adjustment; pursuant to Article 23 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the Railway Labor Act, Sec. 184, this board is an arbitration panel.

10. On March 30, 1983, plaintiff was notified by the office of the Union’s president that his grievance had been “heard recently at the Systems Board” and that he should be receiving a decision in the near future.

11. By letter of June 7, 1983, plaintiff was notified of the April 21, 1983 final decision of the Board of Adjustment. The Board denied plaintiff's demand for reinstatement, but held that he be reinstated to the Mechanic recall list and that he be eligible for future recall subject to the normal qualification.

PLAINTIFF’S CLAIM FOR RELIEF:

Plaintiff Anthony Font Llacer alleges error on the Board’s decision because he has more seniority than any mechanic on the recall list and, as such, Pan Am has failed to recall him or return him to the payroll while granting working and recall rights to employees with less seniority. (Paragraph 14 of the Complaint). Plaintiff also claims that the Union failed to advise him in advance of the Hearing before the Board, thereby denying him the right of fair representation and the right to appear personally to prepare and assist in the presentation of his claim for employment and seniority. (Paragraph 17 of the Complaint). For all of the above, plaintiff seeks an order for reinstatement to his former employment as a mechanic, retroactive to August 1, 1982, and damages in an amount equal to the amount he would have earned since that date, based on the earnings of the persons who replaced him on the seniority list.

ISSUES OF LAW:

The jurisdiction of this Court is premised on 45 United States Code, Section 181, which applies Sections 151 to 152 and 154 to 163 of the Railway Labor Act to Carriers by Air. The plaintiff seeks judicial review by the district court of the decision of the Board of Adjustment. Both co-defendants, Pan American and the Union, allege in their respective motions for summary judgment that plaintiff has failed to state a cause of action upon which relief may be granted because this Court lacks jurisdiction over the subject matter. The ease of Union Pacific Railroad Co. v. Sheehan, 439 U.S. 89, 99 S.Ct. 399, 58 L.Ed.2d 354 (1978), reh. den., 439 U.S. 1135, 99 S.Ct. 1060, 59 L.Ed.2d 98 (1979) is cited for the narrow scope of judicial review afforded to the Courts when reviewing a decision of the Adjustment Board.

“Judicial review of Adjustment Board orders is limited to three specific grounds: (1) failure of the Adjustment Board to comply with the requirements of the Railway Labor Act; (2) failure of the Adjustment Board to conform, or confine, itself to matters within the scope of its jurisdiction; and (3) fraud or corruption. 45 U.S.C. Sec. 153 First (q). Only upon one or more of these bases may a court set aside an order of the Adjustment Board.” Union Pacific Railroad Co., supra, 439 U.S. at 93, 99 S.Ct. at 402.

[191]*191The plaintiff does not allege any of the above mentioned grounds for judicial review. Plaintiff has not alleged a failure of the Adjustment Board to comply with the requirements of the Railway Labor Act, a failure of the Board in conforming itself to matters within its jurisdiction, and lastly, no allegations of fraud or corruption are alleged. Plaintiffs allegations of violations in the collective bargaining agreement consist in Pan Am’s failure in recalling him despite his seniority status. This allegation falls well within the definition of a “minor dispute” because there exists a collective bargaining agreement and there is “a situation in which no effort is made to bring about a formal change in the terms or to create a new one.” Elgin, J. & E.R. Co. v. Burley, 325 U.S. 711, 723, 65 S.Ct. 1282, 1290, 89 L.Ed. 1886 (1945); De La Rosa Sánchez v. Eastern Airlines, Inc., 574 F.2d 29, 31 (1st Cir.1978). It is precisely these types of “minor disputes” which fall squarely within the jurisdiction of the Advisory Board and “no federal or state court has jurisdiction over the merits of any employment dispute subject to determination by a system board of adjustment.” Andrews v. Louisville & Nashville R. Co., 406 U.S. 320, 92 S.Ct. 1562, 32 L.Ed.2d 95 (1972); De La Rosa Sánchez v. Eastern Airlines, Inc., supra, at 32.

In Union Pacific Railroad Co., supra, The United States Supreme Court reversed the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals holding that:

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