Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 20, 1990 TAG: 9003202927
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A/2 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
"We hold that the [Constitution's] Seventh Amendment entitles such a plaintiff to a jury trial," Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote for the court in the 6-3 decision.
Justices Anthony Kennedy, Sandra Day O'Connor and Antonin Scalia dissented.
Lawsuits accusing unions of breaching their duty of fair representation usually are tried before judges without juries. Such suits generally seek to end some asserted unfair treatment or to force a union into taking some action.
But, ruling in a case from North Carolina last year, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a jury trial can be demanded when monetary compensation such as back pay is part of the relief sought.
Other appeals courts had ruled differently.
Today's decision, resolving the issue, is a victory for 27 truck drivers who in 1983 sued Local 391 of the Teamsters union.
The lawsuit stemmed from the drivers' transfer from various locations to the McLean Trucking Co.'s terminal in Winston-Salem, N.C. After the transfers, the 27 were laid off and recalled on several occasions.
The drivers contend that McLean breached a collective-bargaining agreement by manipulating recall procedures so it could give other drivers preference, and that Local 391 failed to represent them fairly in the resulting grievances.
The suit seeks, among other things, compensatory damages for lost wages and benefits. As a result of today's ruling, the suit now will reach a jury.
In a separate jury-trial decision, the court unanimously reinstated a lawsuit by a black machinist from North Carolina who said he was fired because of his race.
John S. Lytle's suit also alleged that he was given an unfavorable job reference because he had filed a discrimination claim against his former boss.
Today's ruling broadens the right to a jury trial in lawsuits by those who claim their civil rights have been violated.
Lytle was fired in 1983 by Schwitzer Turbochargers in Arden, N.C., a subsidiary of Household Manufacturing Inc.
He accused the company of racial bias in violation of two civil rights laws: a 19th century statute first used to protect freed slaves and a 1964 law.
A federal judge ruled for the company, and denied Lytle a jury trial.
The high court today said Lytle's Seventh Amendment rights were violated.
The cases are Chauffeurs, Teamsters and Helpers vs. Terry, 88-1719, and Lytle vs. Household Manufacturing Inc., 88-334.
by CNB