Sedlarik v. General Motors Corp.

54 F.R.D. 230, 15 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 517, 77 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3029, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13203
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Michigan
DecidedMay 20, 1971
DocketCiv. A. No. 215
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 54 F.R.D. 230 (Sedlarik v. General Motors Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sedlarik v. General Motors Corp., 54 F.R.D. 230, 15 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 517, 77 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3029, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13203 (W.D. Mich. 1971).

Opinion

PRELIMINARY OPINION

ENGEL, District Judge.

A welder equipment maintenance repairman employed by defendant General Motors Corporation at its Fisher Body Division plant at Kalamazoo brings this action under Section 301 of the National Labor Relations Act, U.S.C. Title 29, Section 185, against General Motors Corporation and the UAW “on behalf of himself and all other employees of defendant General Motors Corporation who may be similarly situated”.

The first count purports to set out a cause of action against General Motors for alleged breach of its collective bargaining agreement with the UAW and in particular with the local lines of demarcation agreement of the Kalamazoo plant in basically two parts. In paragraph 7, plaintiff alleges that defendant corporation, contrary to its agreement, assigned work to employees other than welding equipment maintenance repairmen and second, in paragraph 9 of the complaint, it is alleged that the defendant corporation failed to credit the plaintiff and other employees in like circumstances with their proper training time toward employee in training seniority rating.

The last three paragraphs of the complaint are quoted verbatim as follows:

“11. Plaintiff and other welding equipment maintenance repairmen have brought many grievances protesting these violations into the collective bargaining agreement grievance procedure and the grievances have been largely denied.
[232]*232“12. Defendant Union arbitrarily and in bad faith, has refused to process some of these grievances and refused to take any of these grievances to arbitration.
“13. Plaintiff and other welding equipment maintenance repairmen have been denied any relief through appeals within Defendant Union so that further appeals within the defendant Union would be futile.”

The second count alleges the liability of defendant Union and arises under U. S.C. Title 29, Section 158(b).

Plaintiff in this count alleges that he is a member of Local 488 of the Defendant Union and further claims, quoting verbatim the last three paragraphs of that complaint :

“5. Defendant Union has breached its duty of fair representation to Plaintiff and other welding equipment maintenance repairmen by its failure to process grievances concerning failure of Defendant Corporation properly to assign them work and give them proper credit for training time, settling other such grievances against them contrary to the contract and failure to submit any such grievance to arbitration.
“6. Defendant Union breached its duty of fair representation by reason of its arbitrary and bad faith handling of grievances and complaints of the plaintiff and other welding equipment maintenance repairmen.
“7. Plaintiff and other welding equipment maintenance repairmen have been denied any relief through appeals within Defendant Union so that further appeals within the defendant Union would be futile.”

Plaintiff asks as relief against defendant General Motors Corporation, that it be ordered to cease violating the collective bargaining agreement and that it be ordered to assign welding equipment maintenance repair work and to credit proper time to employees in training seniority rating in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement. Plaintiff also seeks damages to himself and other employees in like circumstances a sum of $1,250,000.

For relief against defendant Union plaintiff requests that this court order the Union to process and fairly represent the grievances of the plaintiff and other employees in like circumstances concerning the failure, of defendant corporation properly to assign them work and to process the grievance of plaintiff and other employees concerning the failure of defendant corporation to properly credit them in time with seniority rating. Further, plaintiff asks damages for himself and others in like circumstances in like amount of $1,250,000.

To this complaint defendant Union has moved under FRCP 12(b) to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

In support of its motion, the Union claims that the complaint has not alleged sufficient facts which indicate that the Union has violated the duty of fair representation (under applicable case law). The Union further asserts that the intra-union appellate procedures have not been exhausted and that an allegation that “further appeals within the defendant Union would be futile” is not sufficient to cure the requirement that intra-union procedures be resorted to.

Defendant corporation has, pursuant to FRCP 56 moved for a summary judgment of no cause of action in its favor for the reason that there is no genuine issue as to a material fact because plaintiff “has not and cannot allege facts which would permit him and the class he represents to avoid the final and binding effect of the grievance settlements arrived at between the parties to the collective bargaining agreement upon which this suit is based.”

General Motors seeks, by the filing of affidavits and reliance upon the plead[233]*233ings, to show affirmatively that the general allegations in the complaint against it are baseless. It further adopts the position taken by defendant Union and urges that if the suit against the Union is dismissed on the latter’s motion, it cannot in any wise continue to stand against the corporation alone. (Citing the following cases in support of the stand: Vaca v. Sipes, 386 U.S. 171, 87 S.Ct. 903, 17 L.Ed.2d 842; Harrington v. Chrysler, D.C., 303 F.Supp. 495 (1969).

The Court has carefully reviewed the briefs filed by all parties and most of the cited cases cited therein. It has also considered Dill v. Greyhound Corporation, et al, 435 F.2d 231 decided and filed December, 1970, in the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and Williams v. Dana Corporation, 442 F.2d 412, decided and filed May 3, 1971, in the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

In response to the motions so filed, plaintiff insists that his pleadings are adequate and that under the notice pleading concept of the Federal Rules 8(a-f), he has adequately set forth a cause of action cognizable by this court. He further takes a different position than the defendant’s as to the law concerning adequacy of remedy.

The court is inclined to agree with the position taken by the defendants that simple averments of bad faith in representing the plaintiff in his grievance procedure are inadequate to give the plaintiff standing to bring suit in this court, and further, this court agrees that it is incumbent upon the plaintiff as a condition to his seeking relief in this court to plead affirmatively that he has either exhausted his remedies as set forth upon the contract upon which he relies or to plead facts in avoidance of that obligation showing that such procedures would be futile. Vaca v. Sipes, 386 U.S. 171, 87 S.Ct. 903, 17 L.Ed.2d 842; Glover v. St.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Billy Ray Apperson v. Fleet Carrier Corporation
866 F.2d 431 (Sixth Circuit, 1989)
Batsakis v. Federal Deposit Ins. Corp.
670 F. Supp. 749 (W.D. Michigan, 1987)
Graphic Arts International Union v. Oakland National Engraving Co.
185 Cal. App. 3d 775 (California Court of Appeal, 1986)
Brown v. INTERN. UNION, UNITED AUTO. AEROSPACE, ETC.
512 F. Supp. 1337 (W.D. Michigan, 1981)
Levine v. Empire Sav. & Loan Ass'n
579 P.2d 642 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 1978)
Peak v. Topeka Housing Authority
78 F.R.D. 78 (D. Kansas, 1978)
Balsavich v. Local Union 170 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters
356 N.E.2d 1217 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1976)
Balsavich v. LOCAL 170, INT'L BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS
356 N.E.2d 1217 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1976)
Brookins v. Chrysler Corporation, Dodge Main Division
381 F. Supp. 563 (E.D. Michigan, 1974)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
54 F.R.D. 230, 15 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 517, 77 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 3029, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13203, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sedlarik-v-general-motors-corp-miwd-1971.