McArthy v. District Lodge No. 9

252 F. Supp. 350
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedFebruary 18, 1966
DocketNo. 66 C 66(2)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 252 F. Supp. 350 (McArthy v. District Lodge No. 9) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McArthy v. District Lodge No. 9, 252 F. Supp. 350 (E.D. Mo. 1966).

Opinion

MEREDITH, District Judge.

This matter is pending upon defendants’ motion to dismiss. The Court has been fully advised by briefs and oral argument.

Plaintiff, in a complaint filed February 10, 1966, attacks the action of defendants in declaring plaintiff and twenty-two similarly situated parties to be ineligible as candidates for offices in District No. 9, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (hereinafter referred to as I.A.M.A.W.). Plaintiff is alleged to be a member in good standing of Local Lodge No. 837, which is affiliated with District No. 9 of the I.A.M.A.W. Under the by-laws of District No. 9, proceedings commenced in January 1966 for the election of a directing business representative and twenty-two business representatives. Plaintiff alleges he was validly nominated for the office of directing business representative in a nominating election held by Local No. 837 on January 11, 1966. Notice of this nomination was published in the St. Louis Labor Tribune, traditionally recognized by District No. 9 as the designated vehicle for official news about District No. 9, on January 20, January 27, and February 3, 1966. Plaintiff alleges that notice of his nomination - and a letter accepting nomination were submitted to the district office prior to February 5, 1966, as provided in the by-laws. However, on February 9, 1966, at a meeting of the District No. 9 Board of Delegates, defendant Krausz, incumbent recording secretary of District No. 9, announced that a “letter of nomination” had not been received from Local No. 837. Thereafter, defendant Becker, president of District No. 9, announced that plaintiff and the other candidates nominated by Local No. 837 were officially disqualified because of failure to comply with the by-laws. Following an objection from the floor, a vote of the attendees at said meeting affirmed the order of defendant Becker and defendant Krausz thereupon entered the order of disqualification into the official records of District No. 9.

Plaintiff contends his nomination complies in all respects with the provisions, of the by-laws of District No. 9 and. that the action of defendants is an illegal attempt to deprive plaintiff of his. valuable rights as a bona fide candidate. Accordingly, plaintiff has brought this; suit under 29 U.S.C. § 481 seeking the issuance of a show cause order and, upon return, the issuance of an injunction enjoining said defendants from taking any action on the basis of the order of disqualification, ordering said defendants to. [352]*352restore plaintiff’s name as a bona fide candidate, enjoining said defendants from in any way infringing upon or interfering with the candidacy of plaintiff, and other appropriate relief.

An order to show cause was issued, returnable before this Court at 11:00 a. m., on February 18, 1966. Defendant, by motion to dismiss, asserts that this Court lacks jurisdiction of the subject matter of this complaint, that the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, that plaintiff has failed to allege exhaustion of intra-union remedies, that plaintiff has failed to allege exhaustion of the administrative remedies provided in 29 U.S.C. § 482, that plaintiff has an adequate remedy at law, and that plaintiff has no standing or right to bring suit for himself or for other unknown persons for the matters alleged in the complaint. We consider only the question of jurisdiction.

Disposition of this matter turns on application of Title IV, Elections, § 401 et seq., of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (L.M.R.D.A.), 29 U.S.C. § 481, et seq. Plaintiff contends that this Court has jurisdiction under Title IV. We cannot agree.

Numerous recent decisions have dealt with the question of judicial relief under the L.M.R.D.A. The problem engendering these controversies is that while § 481 establishes safeguards and substantive rules regarding union elections, at the same time § 482 imposes an administrative channel for enforcement of these rights and duties which must be exhausted. The relief afforded by § 482 is limited in several ways. First, it is of a post-election nature; it can only be invoked after the election has been conducted. Second, it places the right to institute judicial action in the Secretary of Labor. Third, judicial relief is available only if the Court finds that the violations complained of may have affected the outcome of the elections. Naturally, the aggrieved candidate desires to secure relief prior to the election. The plaintiff here, for instance, alleges the establishment of a large-scale campaign organization entailing substantial expenditures. Generally, litigants have tried two approaches to obtain pre-election relief in the federal courts.

The first approach was. an effort to construe the acts complained of as violations of Title I of the L.M.R.D.A., the “Bill of Rights” section, 29 U.S.C. 401, et seq. Judicial relief is available for violation of § 401 rights. 29 U.S.C. § 402. In Harvey v. Calhoon, 324 F.2d 486 (2 Cir. 1963), it was held that allegations as to acts which, in their primary significance, related to eligibility of candidates also created an issue as to nomination rights, protected by § 401, over which the federal court would have jurisdiction under § 402. The Supreme Court reversed, Calhoon v. Harvey, 379 U.S. 134, 85 S.Ct. 292, 13 L.Ed.2d 190 (1964), reh. den. 380 U.S. 901, 85 S.Ct. 878, 13 L.Ed.2d 793, holding that jurisdiction under § 402 cannot be upheld by reliance in whole or in part on allegations which in substance charge a violation of Title IV rights.

The second approach, and that contended for by plaintiff, is that § 481 supports jurisdiction under the facts of this case. The premise of this argument is that the exclusive remedy provision of § 482 refers only to attacks upon elections already conducted; that it does not prohibit pre-election judicial relief in the federal courts to preserve and enforce the fair election requirements of § 481(c) and the § 481(e) requirement that “[t]he election shall be conducted in accordance with the constitution and bylaws of such organization * * Section 483 is said to support this position:

“ * * * Existing rights and remedies to enforce the constitution and bylaws of a labor organization with respect to elections prior to the conduct thereof shall not be affected by the provisions of this subchapter. The remedy provided by this subchapter for challenging an election already conducted shall be exclusive.”

[353]*353Section 483 was carefully considered in Colpo v. Highway Truck Drivers and Helpers, 201 F.Supp. 307 (D.Del.1961), vacated as moot 305 F.2d 362 (3 Cir. 1962), cert. den. 371 U.S. 890, 83 S.Ct. 188, 9 L.Ed.2d 123 (1962).

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Bluebook (online)
252 F. Supp. 350, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcarthy-v-district-lodge-no-9-moed-1966.