Richman Bros. v. Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America

71 Ohio Law. Abs. 561, 57 Ohio Op. 487, 1955 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 361
CourtCuyahoga County Common Pleas Court
DecidedJune 27, 1955
DocketNo. 641936
StatusPublished

This text of 71 Ohio Law. Abs. 561 (Richman Bros. v. Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Richman Bros. v. Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, 71 Ohio Law. Abs. 561, 57 Ohio Op. 487, 1955 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 361 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1955).

Opinion

OPINION

By LYBARGER, J.

This cause comes before the court on what the defendants (hereinafter called “Amalgamated”) designate as a "Motion to vacate judgment and dismiss petition,” on the ground that this court lacks jurisdiction of the subject matter of the action.

It will be helpful to review what has happened here and in the federal courts before the filing of the present motion. This action arose in this court October 18, 1952, when The Richman Brothers Company (hereinafter called “Richman”) sought 'to restrain Amalgamated from picketing its stores in Ohio and fifteen other states.

On March 12, 1953,, this court overruled a motion by Amalgamated to [562]*562dismiss the suit, holding that the National Labor Relations Board did not have jurisdiction over it, and that the state court did.

Amalgamated made an unsuccessful effort to remove the case to the United States District Court, and then asked that court to enjoin Richman from proceeding herein on the ground that the state court lacked jurisdiction over the subject matter of the action. On March 25, 1953, the District Court held that it was prohibited by Section 2283 of the Judicial Code from enjoining this court. This decision was affirmed March 30, 1954, by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (211 Fed. [2d], 449 [55 O. O. 289]) and by the Supreme Court of the United States on April 4, 1955 (348 U. S., 643 [56 O. O. 249]).

Meanwhile this court heard arguments on Richman’s motion for a temporary restraining order against picketing and granted the same April 20, 1953. (See 51 O. O. 145.) 65 Abs 273.

Coming to a consideration of Amalgamated’s present motion, the court is first confronted by the procedural problem of how to deal with the motion. There has been no judgment of this court, as that term is used in the Revised Code of Ohio. Sec. 2323.01 R. C. says that “a judgment is the final determination of the rights of the parties in action.”

Here an injunction was ordered as a provisional remedy under authority granted in Chapter 2727 R. C. By like token a party may apply to the court to vacate such injunction (§2727.14 R. C.). The court, therefore, will treat Amalgamated’s pleading as a motion to dissolve the temporary restraining order of April 20, 1953, and will entertain such motion because since this court’s original order, the appellate courts of Ohio and the Supreme Court of the United States have handed down decisions which, Amalgamated contends, bear upon the issue here involved.

Amalgamated’s motion also prays that Richman’s petition herein be dismissed on the ground that this court is without jurisdiction. The question of jurisdiction is one which may be raised at any stage of a judicial proceeding. If-jurisdiction is lacking, it is a fatal defect. It is the facts of a case, not merely the words used to describe them, that indicate jurisdiction or the lack of it. Here the facts on which Richman bases its cause are fully set forth in the petition. Further, on the hearing they were brought to the attention of the court. They are reflected in the court’s opinion bearing on the temporary restraining order. It is impossible for the facts to have changed since the granting of the injunction. If, therefore, the court has jurisdiction it should proceed to hear the case on its merits, without further pleading. If it lacks jurisdiction, then without further pleading the cause should be dismissed, to the end that the question at issue may be speedily tested in the appellate courts.

With a view to passing on the issue here involved the court has reviewed the facts that are alleged in the pleadings; that were brought forward by Richman on the hearing in the form of affidavits; that were quoted in the briefs and arguments of counsel, and that are reflected in the opinions of the several courts which have passed on phases of the case.

[563]*563Richman is a corporation of Ohio engaged in the manufacture and retail sale of wearing apparel, with eighteen stores in fifteen cities of Ohio and fifty-one stores in thirty-one cities of fifteen other states in the United States (plaintiff’s Exhibit 1, page 1). Amalgamated embraces labor unions, composed of clothing workers, which in 1951 inaugurated an effort to organize Richman’s manufacturing employees.

The gist of Richman’s cause of action is the general allegation in paragraph fourteen of its petition: “* * * the defendants are now engaged in carrying forward a conspiracy to cause economic pressure to be directed against plaintiff with the intention and for the purpose and objective of thereby causing plaintiff to force sufficient of its eligible employees to become members of defendant Amalgamated, so that defendant Amalgamated may become the representative of its such employees for the purpose of collective bargaining with plaintiff, regardless of the desires of a majority thereof.”

Richman alleges, and it is sustained by statements in defendant’s Exhibit 1 (the affidavit of George H. Richman), that Amalgamated has caused various Richman’s stores to be picketed “generally by one or two, in some instances by several, in others by many, pickets at each picketed store;” also that there have been “special sporadic picketing demonstrations” in front of individual stores in eleven cities, on which occasions “as many as fifteen to twenty and in some instances more persons,” would mill about in front of a store and so block “the entrance of the picketed store as to divert much of the pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk outwardly from the entrance” (plaintiff’s Exhibit 1, paragraph 18, page 8). At the same time, in neither Richman’s petition, nor its sustaining affidavits, are there allegations of “mass picketing” or “obstructing of the streets,” unless the statement just quoted can be construed as such. The court finds no allegation or proof of the use of force, violence or intimidation.

The federal appellate courts which have dealt with one phase of this case, having a transcript of record before them, have characterized the union effort as “peaceful picketing.” The Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said in passing: “Nor is this a case of mass picketing, threatening of employees, obstructing-streets and highways, or picketing-homes.” See 211 Fed. [2d], 449 [55 O. O. 289].)

The Supreme Court says in the second paragraph of its decision: “Petitioner, an unincorporated association of clothing workers, was responsible for peaceful picketing of a number of respondent’s retail stores * * (See 348 U. S., 643 [56 O. O. 249].)

From the above, the court concludes that in spite of a number of “special, sporadic picketing demonstrations,” it is fair to denominate the actions by Amalgamated as peaceful picketing.

It is Richman’s contention that in the absence of any dispute between it and the union, the conspiracy of Amalgamated is contra to the public policy of Ohio and as an unreasonable restraint of trade is a violation of the Valentine Act, Chapter 1331 R. C.

On the other hand, Amalgamated takes the position that it had a right to engage in the activities above described, but that even if such were not the case Richman’s grievance against the union is within the [564]*564exclusive jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board so that this court is without jurisdiction to entertain it.

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Bluebook (online)
71 Ohio Law. Abs. 561, 57 Ohio Op. 487, 1955 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 361, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/richman-bros-v-amalgamated-clothing-workers-of-america-ohctcomplcuyaho-1955.