United Transportation Union v. Birmingham Southern Railroad

901 F. Supp. 2d 1307, 2012 WL 4738865
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Alabama
DecidedSeptember 28, 2012
DocketCase No. 2:11-cv-04128-SLB
StatusPublished

This text of 901 F. Supp. 2d 1307 (United Transportation Union v. Birmingham Southern Railroad) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United Transportation Union v. Birmingham Southern Railroad, 901 F. Supp. 2d 1307, 2012 WL 4738865 (N.D. Ala. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

SHARON LOVELACE BLACKBURN, Chief Judge.

This case is currently before the court on counterclaim defendant United Transportation Union’s Motion to Dismiss Counts II through VII of BSRR’s Counterclaim (“Motion to Dismiss”), (doc. 18).1 Upon consideration of the submissions, the arguments of counsel, and the relevant law, the court finds that the Motion to Dismiss, (doc. 18), is due to be granted.

I. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), a party may move the court to dismiss a case based on a failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. When deciding a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), the court “must accept the allegations set forth in the complaint as true.” Gonzalez v. McNary, 980 F.2d 1418, 1419 (11th Cir.1993); see also Rivell v. Private Health Care Sys., Inc., 520 F.3d 1308, 1309 (11th Cir.2008).

The allegations in the complaint are taken as true and construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs. [Hoffman-Pugh v. Ramsey, 312 F.3d 1222, 1225 (11th Cir.2002).] However, the complaint’s “[f]actual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1965, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007); see also Watts v. Florida Int’l Univ., 495 [1309]*1309F.3d 1289, 1295 (11th Cir.2007). “The Supreme Court’s most recent formulation of the pleading specificity standard is that ‘stating such a claim requires a complaint with enough factual matter (taken as true) to suggest’ the required element.” Watts, 495 F.3d at 1295 (quoting Twombly, 127 S.Ct. at 1965). This rule does not “impose a probability requirement at the pleading stage.” Twombly, 127 S.Ct. at 1965. Instead, the standard “simply calls for enough fact to raise a reasonable expectation that discovery will reveal evidence” of the required element. Id. “It is sufficient if the complaint succeeds in ‘identifying facts that are suggestive enough to render [the element] plausible.’ ” Watts, 495 F.3d at 1296 (quoting Twombly, 127 S.Ct. at 1965).

Rivell, 520 F.3d at 1309-10.

“[T]he threshold that a complaint must meet to survive a motion to dismiss is ‘exceedingly low.’ ” Holley v. City of Roanoke, 162 F.Supp.2d 1335, 1338 (M.D.Ala. 2001) (quoting Ancata v. Prison Health Servs., Inc., 769 F.2d 700, 703 (11th Cir. 1985)). However, taking the facts as true, a court may grant a motion to dismiss when, “on the basis of a dispositive issue of law, no construction of the factual allegations will support the cause of action.” Marshall County Bd. ofEduc. v. Marshall County Gas Dist., 992 F.2d 1171, 1174 (11th Cir.1993) (citations omitted). A court need not accept legal conclusions as true, but only well-pleaded factual allegations are entitled to an assumption of truth. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949-50, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (citation omitted).

II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY2

A. Previously Paid COLA Dispute

Counterclaim plaintiff Birmingham Southern Railroad Company (“BSR”) is a common railroad carrier engaged in interstate commerce and a “carrier” within the meaning of the Railway Labor Act (“RLA”), 45 U.S.C. § 151 et seq. (Doc. 6 ¶ 3.) Counterclaim defendant United Transportation Union (“UTU”) is a national labor organization and the collective bargaining representative for four classes of BSR employees. (Id. ¶4.) Between July 2004 and April 2005, UTU and BSR entered into four local collective bargaining agreements (the “Local Agreements”) — one for each craft of BSR employee represented by UTU.3 (Id. ¶ 35.) The Local Agreements provided for the payment of specified general wage increases and cost-of-living payments. (Id. ¶ 36.) The Local Agreements also provided that cost-of-living allowances (“COLA”) payable thereunder “will be disposed of in the manner provided in the next national agreement after 2004.” (Id.)

The “next national agreement” (the “National Agreement”) came into effect on July 1, 2008. (Id. ¶ 37.) The National Agreement contained provisions relating to COLA previously paid to UTU-represented employees. (Id.) In light of the National Agreement’s treatment of previously paid COLA, BSR believed that it was entitled to recover COLA previously paid to its UTU-represented employees under the Local Agreements. (Id. ¶ 38.) BSR proposed to deduct $45.00 from the future paychecks of each UTU-represented employee until the requisite amount was fully [1310]*1310recovered. (Id.) UTU objected to BSR’s proposal, contending that BSR was not authorized to recover previously paid COLA. (Id. ¶ 39.)

After a series of unsuccessful negotiations, BSR and UTU agreed to resolve their COLA dispute in arbitration under the provisions of Section 7 of the RLA, 45 U.S.C. § 157. (Id. ¶40^1.) Accordingly, BSR and UTU entered into an arbitration agreement (the “Arbitration Agreement”) on September 17, 2008, which created a tripartite arbitration board known as Board 594. (Id. ¶ 42; see doc. 6-1.) The Arbitration Agreement provided that Board 594 shall consist of Francis X. Quinn (“Quinn”), UTU’s appointed arbitrator; Joseph A. Cassidy, Jr. (“Cassidy”), BSR’s appointed arbitrator; and counterclaim defendant Carol J. Zamperini (“Zamperini”), the “Chairwoman.” (Doc. 6 ¶ 9; doc. 6-1 at 1.) Zamperini was intended to serve as Board 594’s neutral arbitrator. (Doc. 6-1 ¶ 11.) The Arbitration Agreement also provided that Board 594’s award “will constitute a valid and binding award provided a majority of the members of the Board have affixed their signatures to the award.” (Doc. 6-1 at 2.)

Board 594 conducted a hearing and rendered its award, labeled as “Award No. 1,” on November 28, 2008. (Id. ¶ 47.) In Award No. 1, Board 594 concluded that BSR was not entitled to recoup previously paid COLA from its UTU-represented employees. (Id. ¶ 49.) BSR petitioned for review of Award No. 1 in the Northern District of Alabama pursuant to Section 9 of the RLA, 45 U.S.C. § 159. (Id. ¶ 50.) The petition. was denied on August 12, 2010. (Id.)

B. Discontinuance of COLA Prospectively/Interpretation of Award No. 1

A “separate and distinct” COLA dispute arose between BSR and UTU concerning the interpretation of the Local Agreements. (Id.

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Bluebook (online)
901 F. Supp. 2d 1307, 2012 WL 4738865, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-transportation-union-v-birmingham-southern-railroad-alnd-2012.