United States v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters

907 F.2d 277
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit·Decided June 27, 1990·No. Nos. 1348, 1462, 1463, 1464, 1465, 1466, 1467, 1468, 1469, 1470, 1471, 1472, 1473, 1474, 1475, 1476, 1480, 1481, 1565, 1569, 1570, 1571, 1572, 1573, 1578, 1590, 1591, 1592, 1593, 1594, 1602, 1603, 1604, 1605, 1606, 1619, 1629, 1630, 1631 and 1802, Dockets 90-6038, 6046, 6048, 6056, 6058, 6060, 6064, 6066, 6068, 6070, 6074, 6076, 6078, 6080, 6082, 6084, 6086, 6088, 6090, 6094, 6096, 6098, 6100, 6102, 6106, 6108, 6110, 6112, 6114, 6116, 6118, 6120, 6122, 6124, 6126, 6128, 6130, 6132, 6134 and 6140·Published·Cited by 18 cases

Opinion

WINTER, Circuit Judge:

These appeals challenge Judge Edel-stein’s order enjoining all members and affiliates of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (“IBT”) from litigating issues related to a Consent Decree between the IBT and the government in any court other than the Southern District of New York. We affirm the injunction as a valid exercise of the district court’s authority under the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651 (1988), to issue orders “in aid of [its] jurisdiction ].” Id. at § 1651(a).

In June 1988, the government filed this civil action in the Southern District against the IBT and its General Executive Board under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), 18 U.S.C. § 1964 (1988). On March 14, 1989, Judge Edelstein entered a Consent Decree embodying a settlement agreement between the parties to the suit. The details of that Consent Decree are described in United States v. International Bhd. of Teamsters, 905 F.2d 610, 612-13 (2d Cir.1990), familiarity with which is assumed.

After the Consent Decree was entered, various members and local affiliates of the IBT began litigation in other district courts challenging the actions of the officers appointed by Judge Edelstein under the Consent Decree. On December 15, 1989, in response to that litigation and the threat of similar actions being brought in other districts, Judge Edelstein issued a temporary restraining order enjoining all members and affiliates of the IBT from “filing or taking any legal action that challenges, impedes, seeks review of or relief from, or seeks to prevent or delay any act of [the court-appointed officers] in any court or forum in any jurisdiction except this Court.” United States v. International Bhd. of Teamsters, 726 F.Supp. 943 (S.D.N.Y.1989). On January 17, 1990, Judge Edel-stein converted the restraining order into a permanent injunction pursuant to the All Writs Act, see United States v. International Bhd. of Teamsters, 728 F.Supp. 1032 (S.D.N.Y.1990), from which the present appeals were taken. Appellants include the IBT and various local unions, joint councils, and area conferences affiliated with the IBT.

Large portions of the extensive papers filed in this appeal are devoted to the issue [280]*280of whether local affiliates are “bound” by the Consent Decree. Appellants thus argue that various purported amendments to the IBT Constitution embodied in the Consent Decree and actions taken by the court-appointed officers with regard to affiliates are invalid. These issues are not before us, however. The coercive portion of the January 17 injunction merely channels all litigation by affiliates relating to the Consent Decree into the federal court that has jurisdiction over implementation of the Decree. The injunction does not purport to resolve challenges to the authority of the court-appointed officers or to purported amendments to the IBT Constitution. It resolves no question concerning the meaning or effect of the Consent Decree but simply determines that those issues must be litigated in the Southern District of New York.

It is true that a “Whereas” clause of the injunction states that affiliates are “bound” by the Consent Decree. However, as the district court’s opinion demonstrates, see 728 F.Supp. at 1048-57, that clause merely reflects one rationale for the order and is not part of the order’s coercive mandate. Because we uphold the order as a necessary means of protecting the district court's jurisdiction over implementation of the Consent Decree, we need not address the extent of the Decree’s binding effect on non-parties, an issue best resolved in the context of concrete disputes adjudicated by the district court. See United States v. International Bhd. of Teamsters, 905 F.2d 610, 622 (2d Cir.1990) (non-party local IBT officer “bound by the terms of the disciplinary mechanism set in place by the Consent Decree”).

The Supreme Court has stated that the All Writs Act empowers courts to issue extraordinary writs “as may be necessary or appropriate to effectuate and prevent the frustration of orders it has previously issued.” United States v. New York Tel., 434 U.S. 159, 172, 98 S.Ct. 364, 372, 54 L.Ed.2d 376 (1977). Although the writ need not be “ ‘necessary’ in the sense that the court could not otherwise physically discharge its ... duties,” Adams v. United States ex rel. McCann, 317 U.S. 269, 273, 63 S.Ct. 236, 239, 87 L.Ed. 268 (1942), it should not be used simply to avoid the inconvenience of following statutory procedures that govern the particular circumstances. See Pennsylvania Bureau of Correction v. United States Marshals Serv., 474 U.S. 34, 43, 106 S.Ct. 355, 361, 88 L.Ed.2d 189 (1985). Where an alternative procedure is available, however, “exceptional circumstances” which “show clearly the inadequacy” of that alternative procedure may still justify issuing the writ. See id.

The district court acted well within its authority under the All Writs Act in issuing the injunction. The district court found that collateral lawsuits filed by IBT affiliates in Chicago, Cleveland, and New Jersey created a “significant risk of subjecting the Consent Decree to inconsistent interpretations and the Court Officers to inconsistent judgments.” 728 F.Supp. at 1047. The court further found that because the Consent Decree is of three years’ duration, it is necessary to avoid repetitive and burdensome litigation lest the government and the court-appointed officers be diverted from implementing the Decree by the need to respond to endless legal actions. Finally, it found that consolidating all litigation relating to the Consent Decree in one forum would promote judicial economy. See id. at 1047-48. These findings establish a need for the injunction to protect the district court’s jurisdiction over the parties to the Consent Decree quite apart from any binding effect that the Decree may have on affiliates. The findings are thus sufficient to establish the special circumstances that justify issuance of an extraordinary writ under the All Writs Act.

In Yonkers Racing Corp. v. City of Yonkers, 858 F.2d 855 (2d Cir.1988), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 109 S.Ct. 1527, 103 L.Ed.2d 833 (1989), pursuant to a consent decree entered in the Southern District, the City of Yonkers initiated condemnation proceedings in state court against certain property owners. In response, those property owners instituted a separate state court action to invalidate proposed condemnations. The federal district court ordered [281]*281the City to remove the state invalidation proceedings to the Southern District. See id. at 860-61. We affirmed the district court’s order under the All Writs Act, because there was a significant risk of inconsistent judgments with respect to that consent decree. See id. at 863-65. Appellants make much of our observation in Yonkers, in upholding the district court’s removal order, that the City might not vigorously defend the condemnation action. See id.

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United States v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 907 F.2d 277 (2d Cir. 1990).

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