Operative Plasterers & Cement Masons International Ass'n v. Benjamin

776 F. Supp. 1360, 138 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2856, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16221, 1991 WL 230190
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Indiana
DecidedOctober 30, 1991
DocketS91-293M
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 776 F. Supp. 1360 (Operative Plasterers & Cement Masons International Ass'n v. Benjamin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Operative Plasterers & Cement Masons International Ass'n v. Benjamin, 776 F. Supp. 1360, 138 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2856, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16221, 1991 WL 230190 (N.D. Ind. 1991).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

MILLER, District Judge.

This cause comes before the court on defendant James Benjamin’s motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The plaintiffs, an international union and its affiliated local, seek equitable relief and money damages against James Benjamin for alleged acts of misconduct he committed while he was an official of the local union. The union claims this court has jurisdiction over this action under Section 501 of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (“LMRDA”), 29 U.S.C. § 501, Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (“LMRA”), 29 U.S.C. § 185, the general jurisdictional grant of 28 U.S.C. § 1337, and the doctrine of pendent jurisdiction with regard to several state common law claims. Mr. Benjamin claims that neither § 501 of the LMRDA nor § 301 of the LMRA provides subject matter jurisdiction for a union’s suit against an individual union member. Mr. Benjamin further claims that without an independent jurisdictional base, the court lacks jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1337 and also lacks jurisdiction over the unions’ pendent state law claims. The court heard argument on the motion on October 29, 1992.

For the following reasons, the court finds that Mr. Benjamin’s motion to dismiss must be denied. Although § 501 of the LMRDA provides no jurisdiction for these claims, the court finds ample jurisdictional authority under 28 U.S.C. § 1337, § 301 of the LMRA, and 28 U.S.C. § 1367.

I.

The plaintiffs are the Operative Plasterers and Cement Masons International Association of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO (“OPCMIA”), and affiliated Local Union No. 101 (“Local 101”), located in *1362 South Bend, Indiana. Mr. Benjamin served as the Local 101’s chief executive officer for nearly twenty years until he resigned from that position on or about June 13, 1991.

The complaint alleges that from May 1 through June 13, 1991, Mr. Benjamin breached his oath of office and fiduciary duty by, among other things, trying to solicit the mass resignation of Local 101’s membership, encouraging Local 101 contractors to disregard their collective bargaining obligations and assign work to a rival union, discouraging Local 101 members from paying their dues, using confidential property and information of Local 101 on behalf of the rival union, and misrepresenting to both union members and contractors that the OPCMIA was preparing to merge with another labor organization.

In response to this alleged course of conduct, the OPCMIA ordered Local 101 placed into trusteeship on June 13, 1991, in accordance with the terms of Article XIII of its international constitution, and ordered Mr. Benjamin to turn over to the appointed Trustee all Local 101 property in his possession. The complaint alleges that Mr. Benjamin failed to comply with this order, retaining in his possession certain Local 101 property and using that property to the detriment of Local 101 and for the benefit of a rival union.

The plaintiffs seek equitable relief and monetary damages from Mr. Benjamin. They allege that the court has jurisdiction to hear its claims for equitable relief under § 501 of the LMRDA (29 U.S.C. § 501), § 301 of the LMRA (29 U.S.C. § 185), and 28 U.S.C. § 1337. The plaintiffs seek the return of union property currently in Mr. Benjamin’s possession and an order enjoining Mr. Benjamin from using the property to Local 101’s detriment. They also claim monetary damages for Mr. Benjamin’s alleged breaches of contract and tortious acts, and allege the court has jurisdiction over these state law causes of action as claims pendent to the federal causes of action.

II.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) authorizes dismissal of complaints that fail to bring an actionable claim within the subject matter jurisdiction of the federal courts. The party asserting jurisdiction bears the burden of demonstrating that he has alleged a claim under federal law and that claim is not frivolous. Thomson v. Gaskill, 315 U.S. 442, 62 S.Ct. 673, 86 L.Ed. 951 (1942); Evans v. Tubbe, 657 F.2d 661 (5th Cir.1981); Fuehrer v. Owens-Coming Fiberglas Corp., 673 F.Supp. 1150 (D.Conn.1986); Cospito v. Califano, 89 F.R.D. 374 (D.N.J.1981).

Under the notice pleading of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a complaint must include allegations respecting all material elements of all claims asserted, including elements establishing federal jurisdiction. Bare legal conclusions attached to narrated facts will not suffice. Strauss v. City of Chicago, 760 F.2d 765, 768 (7th Cir.1985); Sutliff, Inc. v. Donovan Companies, 727 F.2d 648, 654 (7th Cir.1984). Ordinarily, then, a motion to dismiss for want of subject matter jurisdiction may take the form of a facial attack on the complaint. Evans v. Tubbe, 657 F.2d at 664; Claxton v. Small Business Administration of the U.S. Government, 525 F.Supp. 777 (S.D.Ga.1981).

A district court may, however, consider other materials in the evidentiary record outside of the pleadings in determining the nature of the jurisdictional facts. Voisin’s Oyster House, Inc. v. Guidry, 799 F.2d 183 (5th Cir.1986); Enka B. V. of Arnhem, Holland v. E.I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co., 519 F.Supp. 356 (D.Del.1981); Dangerfield v. Bachman Foods, Inc., 515 F.Supp. 1383 (D.N.D.1981). In this circuit, the non-moving party must respond to a motion to dismiss for want of subject matter jurisdiction with affidavits or other relevant evidence to resolve the factual dispute regarding the court’s jurisdiction. Kontos v. United States Dept. of Labor, 826 F.2d 573 (7th Cir.1987); see also Bowyer v. United States,

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776 F. Supp. 1360, 138 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2856, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16221, 1991 WL 230190, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/operative-plasterers-cement-masons-international-assn-v-benjamin-innd-1991.