Local No. 1 v. D.O. Summers Cleaners & Shirt Laundry Co.

954 F. Supp. 153, 154 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2574, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1381, 1997 WL 63303
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedFebruary 5, 1997
DocketNo. 1:95 CV 1211
StatusPublished

This text of 954 F. Supp. 153 (Local No. 1 v. D.O. Summers Cleaners & Shirt Laundry Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Local No. 1 v. D.O. Summers Cleaners & Shirt Laundry Co., 954 F. Supp. 153, 154 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2574, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1381, 1997 WL 63303 (N.D. Ohio 1997).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

WELLS, District Judge.

This case is before the Court on the motion for summary judgment filed by defendant D.O. Summers Cleaners and Shirt Laundry Co. (“D.O. Summers”) (Docket no. 20). For the reasons which follow, D.O. Summers’s motion will be granted.

I. Procedural History and Background

Plaintiff Local No. 1, Textile Processors, Service Trades, Healthcare, Professional and Technical Employees International Union (“Union”) originally filed suit against defendant D.O. Summers in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1441, D.O. Summers removed the case to this Court on June 1, 1995, on the basis of this Court’s original jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. § 1331. In its notice of removal, D.O. Summers contended that although the Union’s claim was styled a general state law breach of contract claim, its claim was actually for a determination of union representation under section 301 of the Labor-Management Relations Act (“LMRA”), 29 U.S.C. § 185(a).

In its complaint, the Union - claims D.O. Summers breached its collective bargaining agreement with the Union,1 which was in effect between April 1992, and March 1995, by failing to provide required wage rates, vacation days, and fringe benefits to employees at four of D.O. Summers’s franchise stores.2 The employees at the franchise stores had never been represented by a union at the time the collective bargaining agreement was reached. The Union filed a grievance in August 1994, which it alleges was not properly processed' by D.O. Summers. The complaint also raises a claim for unjust enrichment. D.O. Summers filed an answer along with its notice of removal.

D.O. Summers filed a motion for summary judgment on July 12, 1996, in which it contends that the Union’s claims are preempted under the doctrine set forth in San Diego Bldg. Trades Council v. Garmon, 359 U.S. [155]*155236, 79 S.Ct. 773, 3 L.Ed.2d 775 (1959),3 and that this Court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction because the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has exclusive jurisdiction over the issues presented. D.O. Summers argues, reiterating an argument made in its notice of removal, that the Union has “disguised” as a breach of contract claim what is actually a claim regarding the recognition of the Union as a bargaining representative for its employees. The Union responded to the motion on September 17,1996.

II. Law and Analysis

Summary judgment is appropriate if the evidence in the record shows there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Where the non-moving party bears the burden of proof in the case, the burden on the moving party under Rule 56 “may be discharged by ‘showing’ — that is, pointing out to the district court — that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party’s ease.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2554, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). “Only disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). See generally Betkerur v. Aultman Hosp. Assoc., 78 F.3d 1079, 1087 (6th Cir.1996) (discussing summary judgment standards).

The issue is whether section 301 of the LMRA, 29 U.S.C. § 185(a),4 confers subject-matter jurisdiction over this case, as the Union argues, or whether the NLRB has exclusive jurisdiction to decide the Union’s claim of representation, pursuant to section 9 of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”), 29 U.S.C. § 159.5 The Union argues summary judgment is inappropriate in this case because a genuine issue of material fact exists with respect to the relationship between the stores at which D.O. Summers recognizes the Union and the franchise stores at which the Union is not recognized. Furthermore, the Union argues that even if no genuine issues of material fact exist, D.O. Summers’s motion for summary judgment should be denied because its legal arguments lack merit.

The Court finds that no genuine issue of material fact exists. Furthermore, the Court finds that it lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate, as a matter of law, the Union’s ultimate claim that the scope of its lawful representation includes all of D.O. Summers’s stores.

The Sixth Circuit has decided that a section 301 breach of contract claim is preempted by an identical unfair labor practice claim pending before the NLRB. International Bhd. of Boilermakers, Local 852 v. Olympic Plating Indus. Inc., 870 F.2d 1085, 1089 (6th Cir.1989) (holding “where the [NLRB’s] resolution of non-contractual issues could also resolve the controversial breach of contract claims brought under § 301, the federal courts should decline to exercise jurisdiction over the contractual allegations”); See also Whitehouse & Sons Co. v. Local Union No, 118 of the Int'l Bhd. of Painters, Nos. 91-5307, 91-5867, 1992 WL 19472 (6th Cir. Feb. 5, 1992) (unreported), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 823, 113 S.Ct. 76, 121 L.Ed.2d 41 (1992).

The question this case raises is whether the same result is reached where no claim is [156]*156pending before the NLRB. The Sixth Circuit has not addressed this issue and there is a split of authority among the Circuits.

The Eighth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals have held in factually similar cases that the NLRB has primary jurisdiction to determine representational issues. See Local Union 204, Int’l Bhd. of Elec. Workers v. Iowa Elec. Light and Power Co., 668 F.2d 413, 420-21 (8th Cir.1982); Local 3-193 Int’l Woodworkers of Am. v. Ketchikan Pulp Co., 611 F.2d 1295, 1299-1300 (9th Cir.1980). The Fifth and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeals have held that the district court and the NLRB share concurrent jurisdiction over representational issues. See Carpenters Local 1846 v.

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954 F. Supp. 153, 154 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2574, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1381, 1997 WL 63303, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/local-no-1-v-do-summers-cleaners-shirt-laundry-co-ohnd-1997.