Terrizzi Beverage Co. v. Local Union No. 830 Brewery & Beer Distributor Drivers, Helpers & Platform Men

27 Pa. D. & C.2d 507, 1962 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 350
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County
DecidedMay 8, 1962
Docketno. 2333
StatusPublished

This text of 27 Pa. D. & C.2d 507 (Terrizzi Beverage Co. v. Local Union No. 830 Brewery & Beer Distributor Drivers, Helpers & Platform Men) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Terrizzi Beverage Co. v. Local Union No. 830 Brewery & Beer Distributor Drivers, Helpers & Platform Men, 27 Pa. D. & C.2d 507, 1962 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 350 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1962).

Opinion

Blanc, J.,

Plaintiff filed a complaint in equity requesting a preliminary injunction against defendants for harassment and interference with the business relations and contract of plaintiff with C. Schmidt & Sons, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Schmidt).

Plaintiff alleges it is a beer distributor in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and has an oral contract with C. Schmidt & Sons, Inc., wherein Schmidt agreed to sell to plaintiff beer in such quantities as ordered, said beer to be delivered to plaintiff at the platform of the brewery of Schmidt in Philadelphia. Under the terms of the agreement, the platform employes of Schmidt were to unload the trucks of plaintiff at the brewery of empty cases of beer and to reload them with full cases of beer.

Plaintiff further alleges that beginning on or about March 21, 1961, and continuously thereafter, defendants have unlawfully harassed, coerced, and intimidated plaintiff by purposely, wilfully, and maliciously interfering with and delaying the unloading and loading of beer onto plaintiff’s trucks at Schmidt’s loading platform, and also interfering with the oral contract between plaintiff and Schmidt.

Plaintiff further alleges that this unlawful interference is continuous in nature and that plaintiff has suffered and will continue to suffer great and irreparable harm. Plaintiff therefore requests the chancellor to grant a preliminary injunction until final hearing.

[509]*509At the time of the preliminary injunction hearing, defendants’ counsel served a copy of preliminary objections on plaintiff.

The court excluded any testimony on the question concerning the preliminary objections and directed all testimony to the preliminary injunction.

An answer to the preliminary objections was filed thereafter. Subsequent thereto, argument and testimony was heard to the preliminary objections.

Defendants, in their preliminary objections, allege that this court has no jurisdiction over the subject matter of this action because exclusive jurisdiction is conferred upon the National Labor Relations Board.

Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act of July 5,1935, as amended, 61 Stat. 140, 29 USCA §157, provides as follows:

“Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organization, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, and shall also have the right to refrain from any or all of such activities except to the extent that such right may be affected by an agreement requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment as authorized in section 8(a) (3).” Section 8(b) (4) (i) (ii) (B) provides as follows:
“ (b) It shall be an unfair labor practice for a labor organization or its agents ... (4) (i) to engage in, or to induce or encourage any individual employed by any person engaged in commerce or in an industry affecting commerce to engage in, a strike or a refusal in the course of his employment to use, manufacture, process, transport, or otherwise handle or work on any goods, articles, materials, or commodities or to perform any services; or (ii) to threaten, coerce, or restrain any [510]*510person engaged in commerce or in an industry affecting commerce, where in either case an object thereof is . . . (B) forcing or requiring any person to cease using, selling, handling, transporting or otherwise dealing in the products of any other producer, processor, or manufacturer, or to cease doing business with any other person, or forcing or requiring any other employer to recognize or bargain with a labor organization as the representative of his employees unless such labor organization has been certified as the representative of such employees under the provisions of section 9 . .

In San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon, 359 U.S. 236 (1959), the Supreme Court of the United States held that the National Labor Relations Board has exclusive jurisdiction where there is a labor dispute. The court stated that in order to determine whether or not there is a labor dispute, the principle to be used is whether the conduct of the union is “arguably within the conduct prohibited by sections 7 and 8 of the National Labor Relations Act, supra.” If said conduct does “arguably fall within either of these sections”, then the state courts have no jurisdiction and the matter must be submitted to the National Labor Relations Board.

In the present case, the conduct complained of is not such conduct that is described in section 7 ór 8 of the act, because there has been no direct demand made upon plaintiff by the union.

We note that section 8 of the act deals with failure and refusal or the concerted refusal to handle goods of a secondary employer. This is not the situation in the present case. There is merely a deliberate “slowdown” of the handling of plaintiff’s beer.

Secondly, the complaint is based on a tort action under the State common law. The cause of action is [511]*511brought against defendants for malicious interference with plaintiff’s oral contract with Schmidt and also for malicious interference with plaintiff’s business relations with its customers.

In Wilson & Co., Inc. v. United Packing House Workers of America, 181 F. Supp. 809, the court stated at page 817:

“The National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C.A. §151, et seq., does not exclude a tort action under state common law against a union. United Construction Workers v. Laburnum Const. Corp., 1954, 347 U.S. 656, 74 S. Ct. 833, 98 L. Ed. 1025. An action may be maintained under state common law against a union for breach of contract even though the breach also constitutes an unfair labor practice under the National Labor Relations Act. International Association of Machinists v. Gonzales, 1958, 356 U.S. 617, 78 S. Ct. 923, 2 L. Ed. 2d. 1018. An action may be maintained against a union under state common law to recover damages for malicious interference with a contract of employment even though the wrongful conduct constituted a violation of the National Labor Relations Act. International Union, United Automobile, etc., Workers of America v. Russell, 1958, 356 U.S. 634, 78 S. Ct. 932, 2 L. Ed. 2d 1030. In that case the interference was by force and intimidation. In the case of San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon, 1959, 359 U.S. 236, 79 S. Ct. 773, 3 L. Ed. 2d 775, a state court award of damages in favor of an employer and against a union for peaceful picketing which had as its objective the acceptance by the employer of a proposed agreement was set aside. It was stated in the majority opinion (at page 246 of 359 U.S. at page 780 of 79 S. Ct.) that the activity for which damages were awarded was arguably a protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act. In the same opinion it was stated (at page 247 of 359 U.S.

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Related

International Ass'n of MacHinists v. Gonzales
356 U.S. 617 (Supreme Court, 1958)
San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon
359 U.S. 236 (Supreme Court, 1959)
Dukes v. BROTHERHOOD OF PAINTERS, ETC.
235 S.W.2d 7 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1950)
Sorenson v. Chevrolet Motor Co.
214 N.W. 754 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1927)

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27 Pa. D. & C.2d 507, 1962 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 350, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/terrizzi-beverage-co-v-local-union-no-830-brewery-beer-distributor-pactcomplphilad-1962.