Carpenters v. Building Trades, No. 12-36049 (9th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseThis case concerns the "Push-Back-Carpenters Campaign," a campaign of intense economic pressure orchestrated by the Building Trades to force the Carpenters into paying what is called "monthly bloated per capita payments in perpetuity," that is, into reaffiliating with the Building Trades and paying dues. Carpenters filed suit alleging claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act's (RICO), 18 U.S.C. 1964(c), private cause of action and under the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), 29 U.S.C. 411(a)(5), as well as state law. The district court dismissed all of the Carpenters' federal claims under Rule 12(b)(6). The court concluded that the Carpenters' complaint does not allege a violation of the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. 1951, through the use of economic fear merely because the Building Trades might have committed some tort or breached some contract as part of the Campaign. The complaint does not plausibly allege that any defendant used threats of violence to obtain the Carpenters' property; the Carpenters' formulaic and conclusory allegations of conspiracy and agency do not suggest plausibly that the Building Trades or any named defendant attempted to acquire the Carpenters' property through violence or threats; and the district court correctly rejected the Carpenters' arguments under state extortion law. The court affirmed the judgment because the complaint failed to state a claim under civil RICO or the LMRDA by orchestrating the termination of an affiliation agreement against the Building Trades, and the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying leave to amend.
Court Description: RICO / Labor Law. The panel affirmed the dismissal of an action brought under RICO and the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, a labor union, against the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO, an umbrella labor organization representing unions and individuals in the construction industry. The Carpenters, together with subordinate labor organizations and individual members, alleged that the Building Trades conducted a campaign of intense economic pressure, as well as acts of vandalism and threats of force, to persuade the Carpenters to reaffiliate with the Building Trades and pay dues to it. The panel held that the Carpenters failed to state a civil RICO claim because it did not plausibly allege any predicate acts, or racketeering activity, under either the Hobbs Act or state extortion law. The panel held that the Hobbs Act is not violated, and a “claim of right” defense is not defeated, based on unwanted or subjectively valueless services in the context of an economic pressure campaign. The panel also held that the Carpenters did not adequately allege that the Building Trades, its agents, or its coconspirators used violence or force against the union or its members. The panel held that the Carpenters failed to state a claim that officers of the Building Trades violated the LMRDA by orchestrating the termination of an affiliation agreement between the Carpenters and the Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO, another labor organization, because Carpenters members were not expelled from the Metal Trades as a disciplinary action. The panel held that the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying leave to amend the complaint.
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