Union de Tronquistas de Puerto Rico, Local 901 v. Cadillac Uniform & Linen Supply, Inc.

257 F. Supp. 3d 188
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedJuly 5, 2017
DocketCIVIL NO. 16-1795 (GAG)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 257 F. Supp. 3d 188 (Union de Tronquistas de Puerto Rico, Local 901 v. Cadillac Uniform & Linen Supply, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Union de Tronquistas de Puerto Rico, Local 901 v. Cadillac Uniform & Linen Supply, Inc., 257 F. Supp. 3d 188 (prd 2017).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

GUSTAVO A. GELPI, United States District Judge

This suit concerns an arbitration between a union employee and his employer. Union de Tronquistas de Puerto Rico, Local 901 (“the Union”) seeks judicial review of an arbitration award entered in favor of Cadillac Uniform & Linen Supply, Inc. (“Cadillac”). The Union asserts two reasons to vacate the award: the arbitrar tor erred in concluding the Union’s complaints were non-arbitrable, and the arbitrator erred by failing to provide a written decision of the judgment, as required by the parties’ collective bargaining agreement. These arguments are meritless because neither the factual record nor the applicable law lends support to either claim. After review of the parties’ submissions and applicable law, the Court GRANTS Cadillac’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim and GRANTS Cadillac’s request for attorney’s fees and costs at Docket No. 17.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

The Union and Cadillac are parties to a collective bargaining agreement (“the CBA”). (Docket No. 8-1, at 6.) Article X of. the CBA provides a procedure for the filing of employee complaints and grievances. Id. at 12-17. Within Article. X, Section 11 provides procedures for resolving “Small Claims.” Id. at 15-17. Small claims are complaints “not involving the termination of an employee, the suspension of a union employee implying lost income no greater than $900.00, or an interpretation of the collective bargaining agreement less than $900.00 per complaint[.]” Id. at 16. Section 11 creates a two-step procedure for resolving small claims:, first, the employee raises the grievance with the Human Resources department, then, the- employee and employer present brief oral arguments to a small claims arbitrator. Id. Then, the arbitrator “shall, - as soon as possible, enter a brief, written, judgment for the Company or the Union.” Id. “The arbitrator’s decision in small qlaims shall be final and binding for both Parties. It may not be appealed or used as a precedent for future claims, arbitrations or liti-gations.” Id. at 17.

The Union filed three small claims complaints .as a representative for employee Manual Rivera Sierra. Id.-, at 6. The three claims involved Mr. Rivera Sierra’s lost income, a two-day suspension, and a vacation scheduling dispute. Id. The parties agree the complaints were arbitrable as small claims. Id. at 6-7. An arbitration was held on February 26, 2016. Id. at 7. Following the hearing, the arbitrator issued three awards in favor of Cadillac, determining the three complaints were “not procedurally arbitrable.” Id. at 20-22.

Unsatisfied, the Union filed a petition to vacate the arbitration awards in the San Juan Court of First Instance on March 28, 2016. (Docket No. 8-1.) On April 22, 2016, Cadillac removed the case to federal court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a) and Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (“LMRA”), 29 U.S.C. § 185(a). Cadillac subsequently moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6). (Docket No. 17.) The Union responded in opposition, and Cadillac replied. (Docket Nos. 18, 21.)

II. Standard of Review

Rule 12(b)(6) provides , that a defendant may move to dismiss an action for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be [191]*191granted. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter “to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). This requires determining whether the complaint alleges enough facts to “raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Id. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. The court accepts all well-pleaded facts and draws all reasonable inferences in plaintiffs favor. Parker v. Hurley, 514 F.3d 87, 90 (1st Cir. 2008). However, “the tenet that a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in a complaint is inapplicable to legal conclusions.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Id. (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955). “The make-or-break standard ... is that the combined allegations, taken as true, must state a plausible, [but] not a merely conceivable, case for relief.” Sepulveda-Villarini v. Dep’t of Educ. of P.R., 628 F.3d 25, 29 (1st Cir. 2010); see also Soto-Torres v. Fraticelli, 654 F.3d 153, 159 (1st Cir. 2011).

III. Discussion

The small claims arbitrator determined the Union’s three claims were “not procedurally arbitrable.” (Docket No. 8-1, at 20-22.) The Union seeks to vacate the award for two reasons: first, because Cadillac waived the “not procedurally arbitra-ble” defense, and second, because the arbitrator failed to provide the “brief, written judgment” required by the CBA. Cadillac moves to dismiss, arguing that the small claims procedure is not appealable under the CBA, and even if the small ■ claims procedure were appealable, the facts alleged in the petition are insufficient grounds to vacate the award. (Docket No. 17, at 6-9.) Cadillac also seeks to recover attorney’s fees and costs.

A. Arbitrability

This case arises under section 301 of the LMRA, 29 U.S.C. § 185. In section 301 cases, courts have long embraced the “presumption of arbitrability” applicable to disputes subject to an arbitration clause. AT&T Techs., Inc. v. Commc’ns Workers of Am., 475 U.S. 643, 650, 106 S.Ct. 1415, 89 L.Ed.2d 648 (1986); United Steelworkers of Am. v. Warrior & Gulf Nav. Co., 363 U.S. 574, 582-82, 80 S.Ct. 1347, 4 L.Ed.2d 1409 (1960). Accordingly, district court review of an arbitration award is “one of the narrowest standards of judicial review in all of American jurisprudence.” UMass Mem’l Med. Ctr. Inc. v. United Food and Commercial, Workers Union, Local 1445, 527 F.3d 1, 4 (1st Cir. 2008) (citation omitted).

The arbitrator’s result is subject to judicial review — not her reasoning. Coastal Oil of New England, Inc. v. Teamsters Local, 134 F.3d 466

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Bluebook (online)
257 F. Supp. 3d 188, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/union-de-tronquistas-de-puerto-rico-local-901-v-cadillac-uniform-linen-prd-2017.