Source: http://www.chanrobles.com/usa/us_supremecourt/412/1/case.php
Timestamp: 2019-11-21 18:28:38
Document Index: 316244202

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 102', '§ 412', '§ 101', '§ 401', '§ 101', '§ 35', '§ 1117', '§ 35', '§ 201', '§ 431', '§ 102', '§ 102', '§ 102']

HALL V. COLE, 412 U. S. 1 (1973) - US SUPREME COURT DECISIONS ON-LINE
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3. Under all the facts of the case, the District Court did not chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
BRENNAN, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BURGER, C.J.,and DOUGLAS, STEWART, BLACKMUN, and POWELL, JJ., joined. WHITE, J. filed a dissenting opinion, in which REHNQUIST, J., joined, post, p. 412 U. S. 16. MARSHALL, J., took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
This case requires us to consider the propriety of an award of counsel fees to a successful plaintiff in a suit brought under § 102 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, 73 Stat. 523, 29 U.S.C. § 412. [Footnote 1] On August 6, 1962, at a regular meeting of the membership of petitioner Seafarers International Union of North America -- Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District, respondent introduced a set of resolutions alleging various instances of undemocratic actions and shortsighted policies on the part of union officers. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
On May 27, 1964, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued a temporary injunction restoring respondent's membership in the union, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed. 339 F.2d 881 (1965). Some five years later, the case came on for trial and the District Court, finding a violation of respondent's rights under § 101-(a)(2), ordered him permanently reinstated to membership in the union and, although denying respondent's damages claims, [Footnote 3] granted him counsel fees in the sum of $5,500 against the union. The Court of chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Although the traditional American [Footnote 4] rule ordinarily disfavors the allowance of attorneys' fees in the absence of statutory [Footnote 5] or contractual authorization, [Footnote 6] federal courts, chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Mills v. Electric Auto-Lite, supra, at 396 U. S. 393-394. [Footnote 7] "Fee shifting" chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Id. at 396 U. S. 392; see also Fleischmann Distilling Corp. v. Maier Brewing Co., supra, at 386 U. S. 719; Trustees v. Greenough, 105 U. S. 527, 105 U. S. 532 (1882). Thus, in Mills v. Electric Auto-Lit Co., supra, we approved an award of attorneys' fees to successful shareholder plaintiffs in chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
29 U.S.C. § 401(b). In an effort to eliminate these abuses, Congress recognized that it was imperative that all union members be guaranteed at least "minimum standards of democratic process. . . ." [Footnote 9] Thus, Title I [Footnote 10] of the LMRDA -- the "Bill of Rights of Members of Labor Organizations" as specifically designed to promote the "full and active participation chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
462 F.2d 780. See also International Assn. of Machinists v. Nix, 415 F.2d 212 (CA5 1969); Salzhandler v. Caputo, 316 F.2d 445 (CA2 1963).
Viewed in this context, there can be no doubt that, by vindicating his own right of free speech guaranteed by § 101(a)(2) of Title I of the LMRDA, respondent necessarily rendered a substantial service to his union as an institution, and to all of its members. When a union member is disciplined for the exercise of any of the rights protected by Title I, the rights of all members of the union are threatened. And, by vindicating his own right, the successful litigant dispels the "chill" cast upon the rights of others. Indeed, to the extent that such lawsuits contribute to the preservation of union democracy, they frequently prove beneficial "not only in the immediate impact of the results achieved, but in their implications for the future conduct of the union's affairs." Yablonski v. United Mine Workers of America, 150 U.S.App.D.C. 253, 260, 466 F.2d 424, 431 (1972). Thus, as in Mills, reimbursement of respondent's attorneys' fees chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
This does not end our inquiry, however, for even where "fee-shifting" would be appropriate as a matter of equity, Congress has the power to circumscribe such relief. In Fleischmann Distilling Corp. v. Maier Brewing Co., supra, for example, we held that § 35 of the Lanham Act, 60 Stat. 439, 15 U.S.C. § 1117, precluded an award of attorneys' fees as a separate element of recovery in a suit for deliberate infringement of a trademark. In reaching that result, we reasoned that, since § 35 "meticulously detailed the remedies available to a plaintiff chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Petitioners argue further, however, that, because Congress expressly authorized the recovery of counsel fees in §§ 201(c) and 501(b) of the LMRDA, 29 U.S.C. §§ 431(c), 501(b), the absence of a similar express provision in § 102 indicates an intent to preclude "fee-shifting" in suits brought under that section. Sections 201(c) and 501(b), which are not a part of Title I, deal with narrowly defined problems under the Act, and specifically authorize such limited remedies as an examination of the union's books and records and an accounting. [Footnote 15] By contrast, § 102 was premised upon the fact chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Finally, petitioners call our attention to two isolated comments in the legislative history of Title I -- one by Senator Goldwater in his testimony before a House Committee [Footnote 18] chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Yablonski v. United Mine Workers of America, 150 U.S.App.D.C. at 258, 46 F.2d 429. See Gartner v. Soloner, supra, at 352. Indeed, both of these comments expressly favored the allowance of counsel fees in Title I litigation, and there is no suggestion anywhere in the chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
462 F.2d 780-781. Thus, it is simply
Gartner v. Soloner, supra at 355. See Yablonski v. United Mine Workers of America, supra, at 259, 466 F.2d 430; Robins v. Schonfeld, 326 F.Supp. at 531; Sands v. Abelli, 290 F.Supp. at 686; cf. Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc., 390 U.S. at 390 U. S. 402. We therefore hold that the allowance of counsel fees to the successful plaintiff in a suit brought under § 102 of the LMRDA is consistent with both the Act and the historic equitable power of federal courts to grant such relief in the interests of justice.
Finally, petitioners maintain that the award of counsel fees to respondent under the facts of this case constituted an abuse of the District Court's discretion. Specifically, petitioners argue that the District Court's finding that some of respondent's actions "were, in part, motivated by [his] political ambitions for union office" represents a finding of "bad faith" on the part of respondent. The District Court clearly rejected the "logic" of this contention, and we agree. Title I of the LMRDA was specifically designed to protect the union member's right to seek higher office within the union, [Footnote 22] and we can hardly accept the proposition that the exercise of that right is tantamount to "bad faith." See Yablonski v. United Mine Workers of America, supra, at 259-260, 466 F.2d 430-431. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Petitioners also contend that the award of attorneys' fees in this case was improper because the District Court, in denying respondent's claim for punitive damages, found that "the defendants, in good faith, believed that they had a right to charge and discipline [respondent] for his actions." It is clear, however, that "bad faith" may be found not only in the actions that led to the lawsuit, but also in the conduct of the litigation. And, as the Court of Appeals noted, the conduct of this particular litigation was marked by "the dilatory action of the union and its officers. . . ." 462 F.2d 780. Moreover, although the presence of "bad faith" is essential to "fee-shifting" under a "punishment" rationale, neither the presence nor absence of "bad faith" is in any sense dispositive where attorneys' fees are awarded to the successful plaintiff under the "common benefit" rationale recognized in Mills and operative today. Under that theory, counsel fees are granted not because of the "bad faith" of the defendant, but rather because the litigation confers substantial benefits on an ascertainable class of beneficiaries. In that situation, the element of "bad faith" of the defendant is simply one of many considerations best addressed to the sound discretion of the District Court. [Footnote 23] Under the facts of this case, we cannot say that the District Court abused that discretion.