Petition for Writ of Certiorari — Breitwieser v. KMS Industries, Inc.
Supreme Court brief1973
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Supreme Court, U. S.
FILED
JAN 22 1973
FILE Copy
JR.,CL
IN THE
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
OCTOBER TERM, 1972
“72-1070
MARGARET LOUISE BREITWIESER and
JAMES J. BREITWIESER,
Petitioners,
KMS INDUSTRIES, INC., d/b/a
ADVO SYSTEMS,
Respondent.
PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
WILLIAM V. GEORGE
George & George
P.O. Box 488
Forest Park, Georgia 30050
Attorney for Petitioner
Wastoat DC e@ THIEL PRESS @ 202 393.0625
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
OPINIONS BELOW ...............-.-0.000 00. 2
ESI eee 2
QUESTIONS PRESENTED FOR REVIEW ............ 2
STATUTE AND REGULATION INVOLVED .......... 3
STATEMENT OF THECASE .................... 4
Point 1 — Denying a Civil Remedy for Damages
Resulting from Violation of the Child Labor
Provisions of the FLSA because the FLSA Pro-
vides Criminal Sanctions Conflicts with Previous
Decisions of this Court as to the Availability of
Civil Remedies for the Violation of Federally
a ie as a a gi Red Ko ks i & wa 6
Point II — Denial of a Civil Remedy because of the
Existence of Criminal Penalties Conflicts with
Decisions of Other Courts of Appeals ............. 8
Point III -- Whether or Not a Private Civil Remedy
Is Available for Violation of FLSA Rights Othe:
Than Minimum Wages and Overtime Compensa-
tion Is a Substantial Federal Question not Hereto-
fore Determined by thisCourt ..............-.--. 9
Point IV — This Court Should Grant Review To
Define the Criteria for Determining When a
ee are 10
i ae sk Ge as kb eee eee ee Oe Kk we 11
APPENDIX A — Opinions of the United States Court
of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit:
ci evcen so eee se ne eee es wee oe la
ee a iad ow bx Ke 8 60k oie we 8a
Denial of Motion for Rehearing ................. 1Sa
APPENDIX B — Opinions of the District Court for
the Northern District of Georgia ................ Ib, 5b
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Sabtaatedd
~
SR ae RN Epc TU Ie OE i ELI TG EM
Beenicuns Ma AG SNF Raa
(ii)
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Cases:
Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal
Bureau of Narcotics, 1971, 403 U.S. 388, 91 S.Ct.
og ee! , ee re Serer ny ere
Burke v. Compania Mexicana de Aviacion, 9 Cir., 433
SN ge cry ais aie tue x iba eee eR
Dann v. Studebaker Packard Corp., 6 Cir., 288 F.2d
BM Lace CLRe A Eee eee ee ere eee ks Ks
Deckert: v. Independence Shares Corp., 1940, 311
be 2} tee oe Sree ee
Fagot v. Flintkote Co., USDC ED La., 1969, 305
ee keer eee err ee eee ee 9,
Fitzgerald v. Pan American World Airways, Inc., 2
ee a ee 6b eee etn eda eae ews
Fratt v. Robinson, 9 Cir. 1953, 203 F.2d627 ..........
J.1. Case Co. v. Borak, 1964, 377 U.S. 426, 84 S.Ct.
ee Be a 5G wis RAN Rae RR WER 78 eX
Mitchell v. Robert DeMario Jewelry, Inc., 1960, 361
U.S. 288, 80 S.Ct. 332, 4 LEd.2d 323 .......-----
Reitmeister v. Reitmeister, 2 Cir. 1947, 162 F.2d 691 .....
Texas and Pacific Railway Company v. Rigsby, 317
U.S. 173, 36 S.Ct. 482, 60 L.Ed. 874 ...........--
United States v. Perma Paving Co., 2 Cir. 1964, 332
+ pS rr re Tr rere eT ee ee ee
Wyandotte Transportation Co. v. U.S. 389 U.S. 191
ee ew ee ee ee eee oe
Statutes and Other Sources:
Federal Statutes:
p tik ime me. |) re eae ere ee
y oth tom Oe OS) ey rere era eee
(iii)
Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C.A. Sec.
ieee e ereere ere ee ee ee 8
Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C.A. Sec. 201 et
eer ee eee eer eee ee ee ee 5,6
SND deals cna WEs hese ee ee nen ass 3,4
SG ee eee era ree ee er 2,3,4
Occupational Safety and Health Act, 29 U.S.C.A.
ee ae re ree err ea 10
Securities Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C.A. Sec. 78ff ....... 6
Miscellaneous:
I ay ig gh gk os EEE R BRE ROO 3,4
“Note, Implying Civil Remedies from Federal
Regulatory Statutes” (1963), 77 Harv. L. Rev. Ra 10
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rae te eee there teens Rear ota Sra
WREST IE Ee FEEL TO
IN THE
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
OCTOBER TERM, 1972
No.
MARGARET LOUISE BREITWIESER and
JAMES J. BREITWIESER,
Petitioners,
KMS INDUSTRIES, INC., d/b/a
ADVO SYSTEMS,
Respondent.
PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
To the Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of the
Supreme Court of the United States:
Your Petitioners, Margaret Louise Breitwieser and
James J. Breitwieser, hereby petition for a writ of
certiorari to review the decision of the United States
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit denying a civil
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remedy for violation of the child labor provisions of the
Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C.A. Section 212.
2
OPINIONS BELOW
The majority and minority opinions of the Court of
Appeals and the denial of the motion for rehearing are
not yet reported. (App. A)
The opinions of the United States District Court for
the Northern District of Georgia are not reported. (App.
B.)
pe ase
JURISDICTION |
The judgment sought to be reviewed was entered on
September 21, 1972, in accordance with the opinion of
the Court rendered on September 21, 1972. An order
denying a timely motion for rehearing was made and
entered on November 2, 1972. The statutory provision
conferring on this Court jurisdiction to review the
ete 5 ae RA EA LEI ii EEE IE SI AS
judgment is 28 U.S.C.A. Sec. 1254(1).
; QUESTIONS PRESENTED FOR REVIEW ;
i |. Whether the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29U.S.C.A.
2 Sec. 212. creates a federal right in minors under eighteen
i to be free from working on hazardous jobs and whether
: the existence of this statutorily created right implies a
remedy in damages for injury resulting from the
employer’s violation of the right.
2. Whether the criminal penalties established by the
A* constitute a remedy for the violation of the Act.
3. Whether the existence of criminal penalties pre-
cludes an implied remedy under the Act.
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4. What criteria should be used in determining
whether a remedy is implied under the Act.
STATUTE AND REGULATION INVOLVED
Fair Labor Standards Act
29 U.S ©. Section 203(1)
“(1) ‘Oppressive child labor’ means a condition of
employment under which ... any employee
between the ages of sixteen and eighteen years is
employed by an employer in any occupation which
the Secretary of Labor shall find and by order
declare to be particularly hazardous for the
employment of children between such ages or
defrimental to their health or well-being .. .”
29 U.S.C. Section 212(c)
“(c) No employer shall employ any oppressive child
labor in commerce or in the production of goods
for commerce.”
29 C.F.R. Section 422.7 (Hazardous Occupation Order
No. 7 issued by the Secretary of Labor)
“The following occupations involved in the opera-
tion of power-driven hoisting apparatus:
“(1) Work of Operating an elevator, crane
derrick, hoist, or high-lift truck. except operating
an unattended automatic operation Passenger
elevator or an electric or air-operated hoist not
exceeding | ton capacity.”
* * * * *
“The term ‘high-lift truck’ shall mean a power-
driven industrial type of truck used for laterai
transportation that is equipped with a power-
Operated lifting device usually in the form of a
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Favs
RRO ele Pie oy SE LEIURD tra Hare dh
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a,
fork or platform capable of tiering loaded pallets
or skids one above the other. Instead of a fork,
or platform, the lifting device may consist of a
ram, scoop, shovel, crane, revolving fork, or
other attachments for handling specific loads.
The term shall mean and include high-lift trucks
known under such names as forklifts, fork
trucks, forklift trucks, tiering trucks, or stacking
trucks, but shall not mean low-lift trucks or
low-lift platform trucks that are designed for the
transportation of, but not the tiering of,
material.”
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
A sixteen-year-old boy was crushed to death when the
high-lift fork-lift truck which he was operating went off
the loading platform and turned over. The operation of a
high-lift fork-lift truck is an operation deciared by the
Secretary of Labor to be particularly hazardous for
employees under eighteen. The assignment of a sixteen-
year-old to such work is a violation of the Fair Labor
Standards Act. (29 U.S.C.A. Sections 203(1)and 21 2(c):
29 C.F.R. Sec. 422.7)
The complaint, as amended, brought by the peti-
tioners, the parents of the boy, alleged an action for
damages for violation of the federal right established in
minors by the Fair Labor Standards Act to be free from
working in hazardous occupations. The District Court
ruled that the FLSA did not create a cause of action for
damages resulting from such a violation.
Plaintiffs appealed on the grounds that money damages
is the remedy normally available for the violation of a
federally established right whether or not the statute so
provides.
5
In affirming the decision, the Court of Appeals for the
Fifth Circuit held that federal courts imply remedies only
when a law creating a right provides for no remedy or for
a grossly inadequate remedy and further held that the
criminal penalties of the Fair Labor Standards Act
constitute a remedy. Judge Wisdom, dissenting, would
hold that the Act creates a right and that the existence of
the right implies a remedy in damages.
The bases for federal jurisdiction in the district court
as alleged in the complaint as amended were the fact that
the complaint sought recovery directly under the Fair
Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C.A. Sec. 201 et seq.):
general federal question jurisdiction (28 U.S.C.A. Sec.
1331); federal jurisdiction of any cause of action arising
under a statute regulating interstate commerce (28
U.S.C.A. Sec. 1337) and diversity of citizenship. (The
count of the complaint alleging a wrongful death action
based on Georgia law, for which diversity of citizenship
would have been the basis for jurisdiction, was held to be
barred by the Georgia Workmen’s Compensation Act, and
petitioners do not seek review of this ruling. They seek
review only of the holding as to the availability of a
federal remedy for the violation of a federally established
right. Jurisdiction of the count alleging this cause of
action is based on the first three grounds set out above.)
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POINT I
DENIAL OF A CIVIL REMEDY FOR DAMAGES
RESULTING FROM VIOLATION OF THE CHILD
LABOR PROVISION OF THE FLSA BECAUSE THE
ACT PROVIDES CRIMINAL SANCTIONS CON-
FLICTS WITH PREVIOUS DECISIONS OF THIS
COURT AS TO THE AVAILABILITY OF CIVIL
REMEDIES FOR THE VIOLATION OF FEDER-
ALLY ESTABLISHED RIGHTS.
Beginning in 1916 with Texas & Pacific Ry. v. Rigsby.
241 U.S. 33, 36 S.Ct. 482. 60 L.Ed. 874, a decision
under the Federal Safety Appliance Act. the decisions of
this Court consistently hold that in the absence of
congressional declaration to the contrary, where the
violation of a statute results in damage to one of the class
for whose benefit the statute was enacted, the right to
recover damages is implied. These decisions have not
confined implied remedies to statutes deficient in
criminal sanctions as is demonstrated by cases arising
under the Securities Exchange Act, which provides
heavier criminal penalties (15 U.S.C.A. 78ff) than does
the FLSA (29 U.S.C.A. 216). UL Case Co. v. Borak.
1964, 377 U.S. 426, 84 S.Ct. 1555, 12 L-Ed.2d 433:
Deckert v. Independence Shares Corp., 1940, 311 US.
282. 61 S.Ct. 229, 85 L.Ed. 189).
Although the FLSA criminal penalties applicable to
the child labor provisions are applicable also to the
wrongful discharge provision, Mitchell v. Robert De
Mario Jewelry, Inc.. 1960, 361 U.S. 288, 80 S.Ct. 332.4
L.Ed.2d 323. holds that a remedy for violation of the
wrongful discharge provision is implied. Although De
Mario was an injunction proceeding, it is significant here
because it expresses the view of the entire Court that an
employee wrongfully discharged should be compensated
emma
in money damages even though the Act does not
specifically so provide. The majority held that he could
recover in the injunction proceeding despite the proviso
against the collection of underpayment of the minimum
wage in this manner.
The dissent reinforced its argument that damages
consisting of back pay could not be had in an injunctiori
proceeding by stating that a wrongfully discharged
employee may maintain in his own right an action at law
to recover wages lost as a result of his wrongful discharge
(361 U.S. at 303). One member of the majority con-
curred specially, expressing the opinion that the
employee could recover either at law or in equity.
Despite the provision for criminal penalties in the
Rivers and Habors Act, this Court held in Wyandotte
Transportation Co. v. U.S., 389 U.S. 191 (1967), that
there was an implied cause of action for the cost of
removal of a vessel negligently sunk.
The enforcement criterion is specifically rejected in
Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal
Bureau of Narcotics, 1971, 403 U.S. 388, 397, 91 S.Ct.
1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619, 627, where this Court said that
the question was not whether the availability of money
damages was necessary to enforce the Fourth Amend-
ment but whether one injured upon violation of his
Fourth Amendment rights is entitled to redress his injury
through a “remedial mechanism normally available in
federal courts.”
Under the decisions of this Court, in the absence of an
explicit congressional declaration to the contrary, money
damages are available for the violation of a federally
established right. The dissenting opinion of Judge
Wisdom in the instant case contains a correct and simple
statement of the doctrine of implied remedies as enunci-
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POINT Il
DENIAL OF A CIVIL REMEDY BECAUSE OF THE
EXISTENCE OF CRIMINAL PENALTIES CON.
FLICTS WITH DECISIONS OF OTHER COURTS OF
APPEALS’
This decision conflicts with Fratt v. Robinson, 1953,
203 F.2d 627, in which the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals held that there was an implied remedy for
damages for violation of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, and also with Burke v. Compania Mexicana de
Aviacion, 9 Cir., 433 F.2d 1031, and with Dann r.
Studebaker Packard Corp., 6 Cir., 288 F.2d 201.
It conflicts with the leading decisions on implied rem-
edies. which are decisions of the Second Circuit. Judge
Learned Hand in Reitmeister v. Reitmeister, 1947. 162
F.2d 691, stated that although the Communications Act
of 1934 (47 U.S.C.A. Sec. 151 et seq.) did not expressly
create any civil liability, it came “within the doctrine
which, in the absence of contrary implications, construes
a criminal statute, enacted for the protection of a
specified class, as creating a civil right in members of the
class, although the only express sanctions are criminal.”
(The maximum sentence provided (47 U.S.C.A. Sec. 501)
is longer than that provided by the FLSA.)
By the same reasoning a civil remedy was found.
despite the provisions for criminal sanctions, to exist
under the Federal Aviation Act in Fitzgerald v. Pan
American World Airways, Inc., 1956, 229 F.2d 499, and
under the Rivers and Harbors Act in United States '.
Perma Paving Co., 1964, 332 F.2d 754. The Court (p.
758) saw no basis for thinking that the imposition of
criminal penalties indicated a Congressional desire to
withhold a remedy.
BA ie BIE «
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POINT Ill
WHETHER OR NOT A PRIVATE CIVIL REMEDY IS
AVAILABLE FOR VIOLATION OF FLSA RIGHTS
OTHER THAN MINIMUM WAGES AND OVERTIME
COMPENSATION IS A SUBSTANTIAL FEDERAL
QUESTION NOT HERETOFORE DETERMINED BY
THIS COURT.
Whether the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor
Standards Act create a private cause of action for
damages resulting from their violation is a question of
first impression. Should the decision below be allowed to
stand, enforcement of the Act is weakened in two ways.
The child labor provisions are left to be enforced by
inspection by the Department of Labor only. Unlike the
underpaid employee who has an incentive to file a
complaint to collect any underpayment of the minimum
wage, the sixteen year old assigned to a dangerous job is
not likely to complain.
Furthermore, the decision weakens the statutory
scheme for enforcing wage-hour provisions by raising
doubt as to whether an employee discharged for filing a
complaint or testifying under the Act has a private cause
of action for wages lost because of his unlawful discharge.
Partially on the basis of Mitchell v. Robert De Mario
Jewelry, Inc., 1960, 361 U.S. 288, a district court held in
Fagot v. Flintkote Co., USDC ED La., 1969, 305 F.
Supp. 407, that such a remedy does exist. Now even this
is in doubt.
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POINT IV
THIS COURT SHOULD GRANT REVIEW TO DEFINE THE
CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING WHEN A REMEDY IS IMPLIED.
Judge Wisdom stated in his dissent that under the
majority view there could never be a private right of
action in the absence of specific statutory language.
Statutes defining illegal conduct customarily provide
penalties, and to hold that a remedy is not implied if
there are penal provisions is in effect to abolish implied
remedies.
The underlying reason for the decision may have been
the employer-appellee’s argument that granting a remedy
in this case would lead to a flood of actions for violations
of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, 29 U.S.C.A.
Sec. 651 et seq. The majority was reluctant to create a
remedy in a field “that has been traditionally left to the
states.” Thus, absent criteria for determining the circum-
stances under which remedies are implied. courts are left
to make value judgments as to the use of judicial
resources.
This Court may wish to consider either the criteria set
out in “Note, Implying Civil Remedies from Federal
Regulatory Statutes,” 77 Harv. L. Rev. 285 (1963). or
those applied to the FLSA in Fagot r. Flintkote Co..
1969, 305 F. Supp. 407, 413; namely, whether a private
civil remedy would be in keeping with the statutory
policy and scheme. The policy criterion was easily met
since the FLSA was obviously intended to make the
abolition of oppressive working conditions a federal
matter. A private remedy was in keeping with the
statutory scheme also since the Act bestows rights on
employees and specifically provides that suits for collec-
7, ls
tion of underpayment of minimum wages or overtime
may be filed either by the Secretary of Labor or by
employees. The same criteria would eliminate the
possibility of a suit for damages under the Occupational
Safety and Health Act since it was not the purpose of this
Act, which also sets up a commission to study workmen’s
compensation, to remove job injuries to federal court,
and since the statutory scheme of this act leaves
enforcement entirely under the control of the Secretary
of Labor.
The doctrine of implied remedies has stood the test of
time, and courts should not unduly circumscribe their
power by adopting ill-considered limitations. Clarification
of the doctrine is needed.
CONCLUSION
This Court should grant certiorari, and the judgment
below should be reversed.
Respectfully submitted,
WILLIAM V. GEORGE
George & George
P.O. Box 488
Forest Park, Georgia 30050
Attornev for Petitioner
CODY QaMIiinasgn Croat is Co arse
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APPENDIX A
IN THE
United States Court of A
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 71-3422
MARGARET LOUISE BREITWIESER and’/, +2 \ °° ~
JAMES J. BREITWIESER, Tost
Plaintiffs-Appellants,
versus
KMS INDUSTRIES, INC. d/b/a ADVO SYSTEMS,
Defendant-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the
Northern District of Georgia
(September 21, 1972)
Before WISDOM, THORNBERRY and GODBOLD,
Circuit Judges.
THORNBERRY, Circuit Judge: The issue in this
case is whether the child labor provisions of the Fair
Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C.A. §212, and the regu-
lations promulgated pursuant thereto, create a private
cause of action for damages for wrongful death. This
arently a question of first impression.
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oe
Appellants are the parents of a sixteen-year-old boy
who died when the forklift truck he was driving, while
allegedly in the scope of his employment with appellee,
turned over. In Order No. 7, 29 C.F.R. §422.7, issued
on the authority of 29 U.S.C.A. §203(1), the Secretary
of Labor declared the operation of a high lift forklift
truck to be an occupation “particularly hazardous”
for employees under the age of eighteen years old.
The decedent’s assignment to the forklift was thus in
violation of the Act.
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This diversity case was originally brought in the
court below as a wrongful death action based on Geor-
. gia law. The complaint was later amended to allege
j the FLSA as a separate basis for liability. The district
: court ruled on a motion to dismiss that the FLSA did
not create an independent cause of action for wrongful
death. He grounded his decision on statutory construc-
: tion, concluding that since the FLSA establishes civil
i remedies for certain violations but only criminal sanc-
tions for child labor violations, Congress must not have
intended private damage suits to be an available reme-
dy under the child labor section of the Act. Subsequent-
: ly, the court held on a motion for summary judgment
that appellants’ wrongful death claim was barred by
Georgia workmen’s compensation law, GA. CODE
ANN. §114-103. This appeal followed.
; Appellants argue first that they have a right to dam-
ages based on the alleged FLSA violation and second-
ly that their state law wrongful death claim is not pre-
cluded by the Georgia workmen’s compensation stat-
Bodine LI lew he
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ute. The second contention is without merit but the
first requires comment.
Appellants concede that the FLSA does not provide
on its face for damages as a remedy in child labor
cases. Instead they rest their case on the oft-stated
principle that when there is a right there is a remedy,
See Bell v. Hood, 327 U.S. 678 (1946). They argue that
(1) the FLSA establishes the right of sixteen year olds
not to be assigned to certain hazardous work, (2) that
right has been violated, and (3 ) the Act does not pro-
vide a remedy; therefore. they conclude, the federal
courts should fashion a remedy in the form of mone-
tary damages.
This theory of recovery has a serious flaw, namely
that the FLSA does establish a remedy for contraven-
tion of its child labor provisions. Although federal
courts have on occasion implied remedies for infringe-
ment of federally conferred rights, e.g., Bivens v. Six
Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Nar-
cotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971); J. I. Case Company v. Borak,
377 U.S. 426 (1964); Gomez v. Florida State Employ-
ment Service, 5th Cir. 1969, 417 F.2d 569. thev have
done so only when the law creating the right provided
for no remedy or for a grossly inadequate remedy.
The courts have thus implied relief when necessary
to prevent abrogation of congressional policies. The
instant case presents a very different situation in that
the FLSA, rather than lacking in remedies or providing
inadequate remedies, contains a comprehensive en-
forcement scheme, 29 U.S.C.A. §$215-217, including
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substantial criminal penalties for violations of child
labor law.
Appellants rely primarily on the three cases cited,
supra. In J. I. Case Company v. Borak, 377 US. 426
(1964), the Supreme Court was faced with an alleged
vjolation of §14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934. §27 of the Act gave the federal courts jurisdic-
tion over violations but did not specify what relief
might be granted. The Court held that $27 was an
adequate basis for a suit for damages. J. I. Case, al-
though ostensibly a statutory con struction decision, is
a case in which the Court imp. ed a remedy when none
was specifically provided by the statute. However,
whether we denominate J. /]. Case a statutory construc-
tion case or an implied remedy case, it is distinguish-
able from the cause before us. First, the FLSA simply
cannot be construed to create a private cause of action
for damages in a child labor case. Secondly, taking
the implied remedy tack, we note that the Securities
Exchange Act and its legislative history indicated a
strong congressional policy against stock fraud. The
Act set out, however, no specific remedy for achieving
this congressional goal. The Court was thus faced with
the choice of fashioning a remedy or risking nullifica-
tion of congressional intent.
We, therefore, believe that under the circum-
stances here it is the duty of the courts to be
alert to provide such remedies as are neces-
sary to make effective the congressional pur-
pose.
Sa
J. I. Case, supra, at 433. In contrast, in the instant case
we do not need to leap into the legislative breach to
preserve congressional goals because there is no
breach. Congress has provided remedies of its own
in the FLSA.
The second case that appellants urge in support of
their position is Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents
of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971).
The plaintiff in Bivens was the victim of an allegedly
illegal search by federal agents. The Court held that
he could sue the agents for damages. The fourth a-
mendment, on which the suit was grounded, does not,
of course, set out any specific remedies for violations.
Moreover, the court-developed remedy of suppression
of evidence is useless to an innocent person. Bivens
thus presented a clear case of a federal right without
a federal remedy. The issue was whether the plaintiff
should be relegated to a tort suit based on state law.
The Court held he was not, concluding that when fed-
eral law creates a right there should be a federal rem-
edy. In the instant case there is a federal remedy for
infringement of the federal right; it is set out in the
Statute itself.
Appellant’s third case is Gomez v. Florida State Em-
ployment Service, 5th Cir. 1969, 417 F.2d 569. In Gomez
the employers of migratory workers and certain state
officials had allegedly violated the Wagner-Peyser Na-
tional Employment System Act. The workers alleged
they had been paid inadequately and subjected to a-
bominable living conditions. The only sanction set forth
in the Act was a cut off of federal grants to the states
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for programs under the Act. The court decided that
this remedy was inadequate and held that the workers
were entitled to additional relief under the Act.
The three cases relied on by appellants involve viola-
tions of federal rights where the remedy provided by
the law creating the right was unclear, J. I. Case, non-
existent, Bivens, or grossly inadequate, Gomez. The
courts were thus faced with federal policies that were
likely to be undermined if the court did not provide
effective relief to the complainant. The instant case
is distinguishable. First, we do not have a statutory
construction problem such as existed in J. I. Case. The
FLSA clearly does not provide for damages in child
labor cases. Secondly, we do not have a right without
a remedy as in Bivens or with an inadequate remedy
as in Gomez. The FLSA explicitly provides for crim-
inal penalties of up to six months in prison and a $10.000
fine for child labor violations, 29 U.S.C.A. §216. Third-
ly, the one thread that runs through the three cases
discussed is absent here: Congress’ determination that
sixteen year olds shall not be assigned to forklifts will
not be subverted if we fail to read a civil damages
remedy irto the Act. The criminal sanctions found in
the Act are substantial enough to serve as an adequate
deterrent to violations of the Act’s child labor provi-
sions.
The Supreme Court said in Bivens that the existence
of a state remedy for violation of a federal right does
not preclude a federal court from fashioning a federal
remedy to ensure the enjoyment of that right. How-
ever, in Bivens the question was whether state relief
<a
should be the exclusive recourse since the fourth a-
mendment, which was the basis of the suit, provided
no remedy. The Court decided that it should not be
and decreed federal relief.
The question in the case before us is different. We
must decide here whether we should imply an addi-
tional federal remedy although a substantial one al-
ready exists. We are asked to order civil damages
since the FLSA provides only criminal penalties that
offer no solace to the injured party. We believe that
in this situation, where Congress has provided a reme-
dy but we are urged to formulate a more extensive
one, it is appropriate to look, as the district court did,
to appellants’ remedies under state law to determine
if additional federal relief is necessary to implement
Congress’ intent in enacting the child labor law.
We conclude that further relief is not called for. Al-
though Georgia workmen's compensation law provides
low awards to the beneficiaries of deceased workers
without dependents — $750 in this case — the State
does provide relief. We conclude that the size of the
State award does not justify a federal court’s creating
a new federal remedy based on a statute that gives
no hint of such a remedy in a field — job-related in-
juries to employees — that has traditionally been left
to the states.
In summary, we can find no indication that Congress
intended the FLSA, which was passed to deter oppres-
sive child labor and contains substantial enforcement
provisions, to form the basis for an expansion of state
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wrongful death liability. See Rogers v. Ray Gardner
Flying Service, 5th Cir. 1970, 435 F.2d 1389. Moreover,
we do not believe policy considerations call for this
Court to extend FLSA remedies to include private suits
for damages. In Bivens, supra, Justice Harlan said
[I]n suits for damages based on violations of
federal statutes lacking any express authoriza-
‘ tien of a damage remedy, this Court has
authorized such relief where, in its view, dam-
ages are necessary to effectuate the congres-
sional policy underpinning the substantive pro-
visions of the statute.
Bivens, supra, at 402 (Harlan J. concurring). This is
not such a case.
AFFIRMED
WISDOM, Circuit Judge, dissenting:
I respectfully dissent.
I would hold that the Fair Labor Standards Act creat-
ed a federal right in minors to be free from working
in hazardous employment tasks. The existence of this
statutorily created right implies a remedy in damages
for the individual who is injured by his employer's
violation of the right.
The majority find “a serious flaw” in the plaintiff's
theory of recovery in that “the FLSA does establish
a remedy for contravention of its child labor provi-
9a
sion”. (Original emphasis). This case differs, there-
fore, the Court contends, from cases involving federal
regulatory statutes which provide no remedy. The
remedy here, according to the majority, is “a compre-
hensive enforcement scheme, 29 US.CA. §§ 215-217,
including substantial criminal penalties for violation
of child labor law”.
I have conceptual difficulties in thinking of criminal
sanctions as remedial. Assuming, however, that they
are remedial in terms of inhibiting future violations
of the child labor provisions of the law, the enforce-
ment scheme is society's remedy; it is not the victim’s.
A fine and prison sentence imposed on the offender
put no money in the bank to compensate the minor
for his injury or his family for his death. The individual
minor’s right to work under safe conditions has been
violated by the employer’s breach of a statutory duty
owed to the minor as well as to society. If the majori-
ty’s view were sound, in the absence of specific statu-
tory language authorizing a suit for damages there
could never be a private right of action for conduct
newly defined by federal law as a public wrong.
We know however that in numerous situations courts
have inferred civil liability from violation of a statute
or regulation that is silent as to civil liability. See Go-
mez v. Florida State Employment Service, 5 Cir. 1969,
417 F.2d 569, 576; Note, Implying Civil Remedies From
Federal Regulatory Statutes, 77 Harv. L. Rev. 285
(1963). The most conspicuous examples are private ac-
tions for violation of the federal securities law. Sec-
tion 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and
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earn
a oe ae wich ‘i
Bidccrtiucrtrrccxts aah ot
Rule 10b-5 only prohibit certain conduct; they do not
provide compensation for the parties injured by the
violations or recognize a standing to sue for recovery
of damages. Yet the courts are clogged with private
actions based on § 10(b); the courts’: problem now
is how to devise reasonable limits on the implied right
to hold offenders civilly liable. See Birnbaum v. New-
; port Steel Corp., 2 Cir. 1952, 193 F.2d 461. See also
Herpich v. Wallace, 5 Cir. 1970, 430 F.2d 792, 794.
$ As Chief Judge Brown pointed out in Gomez v. Flori-
da State Employment Service, 5 Cir. 1969, 417 F.2d
569, 576, the “implication of a private civil remedy
was first recognized by the Supreme Court in 1916 in
Texas & Pacific Ry. v. Rigsby, 241 US. 33, 36 S.Ct.
482, 60 L.Ed. 874, where the Court held that an em-
ployee could recover damages under the Federal Safe-
ty Appliance Act.”* In Rigsby the Supreme Court de-
clared: “[D]isregard of the command of the statute
is a wrongful act, and where it results in damage to
one of the class for whose especial benefit the statute
was enacted, the right to recover damages from the
_ party in default is implied .. ” This doctrine has been
applied to many regulatory statutes “and is invoked
- with increasing frequency, in the federal courts”.
Note, Implying Civil Remedies from Federal Regula-
tory Statutes, 77 Harv. L. Rev. 285 (1963).
‘The FSAA is no longer held to provide a basis for an implied
cause of action. See Jacobson v. New York, N. H. & H. RR.
1 Cir. 1953, 206 F.2d 153, aff'd per curiam 347 U.S. 909 (1954);
Moore v. Chesapeake & O. Ry., 1934, 291 US. 205, S.Ct.
, LEd. _ But the safety requirements of the
FSLA set the standard of care owed to interstate railway em-
ployees under the FELA.
i
lla
A considerable portion of the majority opinion is de-
voted to attempting to distinguish three leading cases
which support the plaintiff's theory of recovery. These
cases are J. I. Case Company v. Borak, 1964, 377 U.S.
426, 84 S.Ct. 1555, 12 L.Ed.2d 433; Bivens v. Six Un-
known Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Nar-
cotics, 1971, 403 U.S. 308, 91 S.Ct. 1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619;
and Gomez v. Florida State Employment Service, 5
Cir. 1969, 417 F.2d 569. The majority’s effort to dis-
tinguish these cases falls short of its goal.
(1) J. I. Case. First, the Court declares that “FLSA
simply cannot be construed to create a private cause
of action”. This statement suggests that the Securities
Exchange Act can be construed to create a private
cause of action. But although private remedies are ex-
pressly provided for in certain sections of the Act (e.g.
§§ 9(e), 16(b), and 18(a) ), there is no language that
can be said to provide a private remedy under §§ 10
(b) and 14. Second, the Court argues that the Securi-
ties Exchange Act is based on a strong congressional
policy against stock frauds. This, however, is matched
by the equally strong congressional policy against the
improper use of child labor. On any scale of social
values the interests of working minors rank at least
as high as the interests of stockholders defrauded by
misleading proxies. Cf. Bivens, 403 U.S. at 410. Third,
as for the “remedy”, Congress provided as compre-
hensive a scheme of sanctions for violations of the Se-
curities Exchange Act, including substantial criminal
penalties, as it did under FLSA. 15 U.S.C. 78ff.
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(2) Bivens. The majority atternpts to Gistinguish
Bivens by reasserting the theory that, unlike the FLSA,
which has a remedy (a comprehensive scheme of en-
forcement), the Fourth Amendment has no specific
remedy for its violation. The Court overlooks the fact,
however, that there are criminal penalties for violation
dt the Fourth Amendment, 18 U.S.C. § 2236 (1970),
that the exclusionary rule, barring the use of evi-
dence unconstitutionally seized is an effective remedy
to a defendant in any criminal prosecution.*
(3) Gomez. Gomez is troublesome to the majority.
In that case, this Court concluded that cutting off fed-
eral grants to the states for programs under the Wag-
ner-Peyser National Employment System Act was an
inadequate remedy for those who suffered from the
loss — the workers. That is similar to the situation
we have here. Criminal sanctions against an employer
for violation committed in the past or injunctions a-
gainst violations in the future offer no temedy to the
minor who has suffered the injury from the employ-
er’s misconduct.
Initially the Court took the broad view that there
is no implied civil remedy under the FLSA because
the Act provides a comprehensive enforcement
scheme including criminal sanctions. In attempting to
2For a discussion of Bivens in the context of the power to infer
remedies directly from the constitution without benefit of
express congressional authority to bring a civil action see
Dellinger, Of Rights and Remedies: The Constitution as @
Sword, 85 Harv. L. Rev. 1533 (1972).
—
13a
distinguish J. I. Case, Bivens and Gomez the Court
apparently retreated to the more tenable position that
in these cases the enforcement measures were inade-
quate. Undoubtedly they were. I ask, inadequate to
whom? It seems to me that, absent the civil liability
of the offender, the SEC Act, the Fourth Amendment,
the Wagner-Peyser National Employment System Act,
and the FLSA are all inadequate for the individual
whose rights under any of those laws are violated by
the offender’s breach of duty.
In Herpich v. Wallace this Court said, citing J. I.
Case v. Borak: “The SEC deems itself unequipped to
make persons whole who have been injured by viola-
tions of Rule 10b-5; it seeks only to deter violators
of the rule by making violations unprofitable ... .
Moreover, the Commission has neither the manpower
nor the time that completely effectively enforcement
of the securities laws by it alone would require. Con-
sequently private action violative of the rule serve as
“a necessary supplement to commission action. J. I.
Case Co. v. Borak, 377 U. S. 426, 432.” Similarly, in
Gomez this Court recognized that to achieve “the pur-
pose of the regulations — the protection of migratory
farm workers” — it was necessary or appropriate to
allow a “private civil remedy ... to individuals, acting
as a private Attorney General”. 417 F.2d at 576.
This is an acceptable rationale for implication of a
civil remedy fom a federal regulatory statute. But
the same arguments for allowing private actions under
the SEC Act or the Warner-Peyser Act would allow
private actions under the FLSA in the interest of work-
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14a
ing minors. The Secretary of Labor has no way of mak-
ing whole a minor who is injured as a result of being
assigned to a hazardous task beyond his competency
to perform. Nor does the Labor Department have the
manpower or the time that complete enforcement of
the law by it alone would require. Consequently civil
Spits for violations of the FLSA serve as a necessary
or appropriate supplement in the nature of an action
by a private attorney general to effectuate congres-
sional policy in favor of protecting child labor from
an employer’s abuses.
I would take a simple approach to this case, one
that need not rely on the fiction that the plaintiff is
a private attorney general. The effect of the Act is
to impose on employers the duty of assigning minors
only to non-hazardous tasks. Correlatively, working
minors have a right to be free from assignment to
hazardous tasks. An employer’s violation of his statu-
tory duty imposes civil liability in this as in any other
case where the violation of a duty causes injury to
an individual to whom the duty is owed. For every
-right there is a remedy. If the right is created by 2
federal statute, the federal courts have the power to
fashion an appropriate remedy. As Mr. Justice Black
said in Bell v. Hood, , 327 U.S. at 694, a statement
Mr. Justice Brennan quoted for the majority in Bivens:
“where federally protected rights have been invaded, —
it has been the rule from the beginning that courts
will be alert to adjust their remedies so as to grant
the necessary relief”.
ee ee
4 1Sa
IN THE
United States Court of Appeals
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT |
No. 71-3422
MARGARET LOUISE BREITWIESER and
JAMES J. BREITWIESER,
Plaintiffs-Appellants,
versus
KMS INDUSTRIES, INC. d/b/a ADVO SYSTEMS,
Defendant-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the
Northern District of Georgia
ON PETITION FOR REHEARING AND PETITION
FOR REHEARING EN BANC
(Opinion Sept. 21, 1972, 5 Cir., 197_, ___ F.2d __).
(November 2, 1972)
Before WISDOM, THORNBERRY and GODBOLD,
Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM: The Petition for Rehearing is DE-
NIED and no member of this panel nor Judge in regu-
lar active service on the Court having requested that
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16a
the Court be polled on rehearing en banc, (Rule 35
Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure; Local Fifth Cir-
cuit Rule 12) the Petition for Rehearing En Banc is
DENIED. .
WISDOM, Circuit J udge, dissents from the petition for
rehearing.
lb
APPENDIX B
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
ATLANTA DIVISION
MARGARET LOUISE BREITWIESER _ )
and JAMES J. BREITWIESER ‘Saree
: ) Civil Action
Fil 14
KMS INDUSTRIES, INC. d/b/a on oeee
ADVO SYSTEM
ORDER
The plaintiffs initiated this action to recover for the
wrongful death of their son Larry D. Breitwieser, age 16.
Plaintiffs named as defendants KMS Industries, Inc.
(hereinafter KMS), a Delaware corporation, and _ its
General Manager in Atlanta, Fred Forkers, a Georgia
resident. In response, the defendants filed a motion to
dismiss the Complaint alleging the following grounds for
dismissal: (1) this Court’s lack of jurisdiction; (2) failure
of the Complaint to state a cause of action; (3) failure of
the Complaint to state a cause of action not barred by
the provisions of the Workmen’s Compensation laws of
Georgia.
After the filing of the defendant’s motion, the plain-
tiffs filed an amendment to their Complaint striking the
individual defendant Forkers. Subsequently, the plaintiffs
filed a second amendment further setting out their claim.
In their second amended Complaint, the plaintiffs con-
tended that KMS had violated the Fair Labor Standards
Act by negligently allowing a child sixteen years of age to
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\ ae
2b
perform duties’ declared to be hazardous for persons
under the age of eighteen. They therefore sought to set
5 forth a separate cause of action arising under the Fair
5 Labor Standards Act.
In an Order denying the defendant’s motion for
: dismissal, this Court held that: (1) it had jurisdiction over
é the matter; (2) the Complaint was sufficient to state a
} cause of action; and (3) the Complaint did not appear on
its face to be barred by the provisions of the Workmen’s
4 Compensation Law of the State of Georgia. This Court
also determined that the plaintiffs’ second amendment
3 merely clarified their claim of negligence rather than
5 presenting a claim based on a right created by the Fair
3 Labor Standards Act.
‘ The plaintiffs now move this Court to reconsider that
part of its earlier Order which held that their second
amended Complaint only clarified their claim of negli-
d gence. This motion is based on the plaintiffs’ contention
j that the Fair Labor Standards Act creates a federally
4 enforceable right and remedy for violation of that Act.
Also before this Court, is a motion by the defendant
KMS for summary judgment in its favor. Defendant
: contends that the wrongful death action is barred by the
4 provisions of the Georgia Workmen’s Compensation Act,
; Ga. Code Ann. § 114-103. The defendant further claims
that if the Court refuses to reconsider its earlier Order
denying the existence of a separate right of action under
the Fair Labor Standards Act, no genuine issue as to any
E material fact exists, and therefore, that summary judg-
; ment should be granted in its favor.
y pariaieteraaeiess:
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3b
MOTION TO RECONSIDER
The Court has studied carefully the provisions of the
Fair Labor Standards Act to determine if a private civil
remedy exists for a violation of the type alleged by these
plaintiffs. The Act as a whole deals with wage and hour
regulation as well as with the regulation of child labor.
Explicit remedies are set out in sections 216 and 217 of
the Act. The latter section provides injunctive relief to
restrain the violation of the wage and hour provisions.
Section 216 provides a civil remedy for minimum wage
and hour violations but sets out only criminal sanctions
for violations of the oppressive child labor provisions. It
is into this gap that the plaintiffs wish the Court to place
a civil remedy. The Court is of the Opinion that the
express authorization of both a civil and criminal remedy
for any wage and hour violation with no mention of a
corresponding civil remedy for a child labor violation
strongly suggests that the Congress did not intend for a
civil remedy to exist in that area. Had the Congress
intended that such a remedy exist, it would have so
provided.
In making this decision, the Court takes note of the
fact that an adequate remedy at state law exists in most
states to provide for child labor violations which result in
the death of the child. That remedy is in the form of
state wrongful death actions and/or Workmen’s Compen-
sation claims. This Court feels that the existence of these
slate remedies further suggests that no federal remedy
should be implied.
For these reasons, this Court upholds its earlier
decision whereby it held that the plaintiffs’ allegation of
a Fair Labor Standards Act violation is merely eviden-
tiary, going only to the weight of the proof in deter-
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ee et
4b
mining whether there was negligence or not. No private
civil remedy will be implied by this Court for a violation
of the oppressive child labor provisions of the Fair Labor
Standards Act. Therefore, the plaintiffs’ motion for
reconsideration is hereby DENIED and Count II is
MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
The defendant moves this Court to dismiss the
plaintiffs’ wrongful death claim (Count I) on the grounds
that plaintiffs’ action is barred by Georgia’s Workmen's
Compensation Law § 114-103 Ga. Code Ann. That law
provides that the rights and remedies granted an
employee under the Workmen’s Compensation Act “shall
exclude all other rights and remedies of such employee.
his personal representative, parents, dependents or next
of kin at common law or otherwise, on account of such
injury, loss of service or death.” Section 114-103 Ga.
Code Ann. Minors “even though working in violation of
any child labor law or other similar statute,” are to be
included in the term “employee” as used in this Act. See
§ 114-101 Ga. Code Ann. The defendant has submitted
the affidavit of the Production Manager of the Atlanta
Branch of ADVO Systems, Division of KMS Industries.
Inc., to show that the defendant was an “employer”
within the meaning of the Act and that Larry D.
Breitwieser was, at the time of his death, an “employee”
within the meaning of the Act, and that none of the
exclusions of the Act operated to remove this case from
the effect of § 114-103 Ga. Code Ann.
The defendant is correct in pointing out that the
Georgia Workmen's Compensation Statute provides for
alternative remedies. One may not seek to recover under
both the Georgia Workmen’s Compensation Statute and
the Georgia Wrongful Death provisions. It is not a matter
mee
Sb
for this Court to determine the merits of this statutory
system but only to follow it as it is set out. Therefore,
since the instant situation appears to be covered by the
Workmen’s Compensation Statute, plaintiffs’ wrongful
death action is precluded by that statute. For this reason,
the defendant's motion for summary judgment is hereby
GRANTED.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 29th day of September,
1971.
/s/ William C. O’ Kelley
WILLIAM C. O’KELLEY
United States District Judge
ORDER ON MOTION TO DISMISS
The plaintiffs, mother and father of Larry D. Breit-
wieser, age 16, bring this action for the wrongful death of
their son. The action was brought against the corporate
defendant, a Delaware corporation, and its General
Manager in Atlanta, an individual resident of the state of
Georgia.
The defendants filed a motion to dismiss on the
grounds that (1) the court lacks jurisdiction, (2) the
complaint fails to state a cause of action, (3) the
complaint shows on its face that it is barred by the
provisions of the Workman's Compensation Laws of
Georgia.
Following the filing of that motion, the plaintiff filed
an amendment striking the individual defendant. Sub-
sequent to that time the plaintiff filed a second amend-
ment elucidating on the claims of negligence. The
plaintiff claims that the employer was negligent by
allowing a child of 16 years of age to perform duties
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aie
6b
declared by the Secretary of Labor to be hazardous for
persons below 18 years of age and thus constituting
Dealing first with the question of jurisdiction of this
court wherein the defendant argues that the complaint
does not present a federal question since it is clear that
the plaintiffs are attempting to set out a claim under the
Georgia Wrongful Death Statute. We are of the opinion
that the case of Suggs v. Brotherhood of Locomotive
Firemen, etc., 217 F. Supp. 770 (D.C., Ga., 1960),
correctly outlined the law in this regard when it held:
“In order for this Court to have jurisdiction of
this action, it must be an action ‘arising under any
Act of Congress’ (28 U.S.C. § 1337) or one which
‘arises under the Constitution, laws or treaties of the
United States.” 28 U.S.C. §1331.... The test as
above indicated is whether the matter in contro
versy, the civil action or proceeding, ‘arises under’
the Constitution, laws or treaties of the United
States. Language used frequently and imprecisely by
courts and lawyers would, at first blush, incorrectly
indicate an equation of that test with whether the
action involves a federal question.”
The Court further stated:
“Many cases involve federal questions, however,
without having federal law as the basis of the suit.
Not every question of federal law emerging in a suit
is proof that a federal law is the basis of the suit.
Gully v. First National Bank, 299 U.S. 109, 115, 57
S.Ct. 96, 99, 81 L.Ed. 70, 73 (1936).”
This case involves the Fair Labor Standards Act (29
U.S.C. §201, et seq.) and Order No. 7 issued by the
Secretary of Labor pursuant to that section. However.
that Act does not create a cause of action for wrongful
death, conversely, it is controlled by the law of Georgia.
ee
7b
“A case arises under the Constitution or laws of the
United States whenever its correct decision depends upon
the construction of either or when the title or rights set
up by the party may be defeated or sustained by a
particular construction of the Constitution or law.”
Citing Gully, supra. Fountain v. New Orleans Public
Service, Inc., 387 F.2d 343 (C.A., Sth Cir., 1967).
The statute and order are alleged to be the basis of
jurisdiction, but they are merely evidentiary and go to
the weight of the proof in determining whether there was
negligence or not. The complaint does not allege a
requirement for interpretation or construction of the
statute in question: it prima facie is one alleging
negligence. Violation of the statute or order would be
The defendant has further argued that there was not a
complete diversity of citizenship imasmuch as the
individually-named defendant was a resident of the state
of Georgia. Plaintiffs first amendment having been
allowed without any objection having been made, this
jurisdictional question is cured. See Moore’s Federal
Practice, Vol. 3 €15.15[3], wherein Professor Moore
states in part as follows:
“An amendment which changes the jurisdictional
basis of an action will also relate back. the factual
situation alleged otherwise reme2ining unaltered.
Even though parties must be dropped to perfect
diversity jurisdiction, if they were not indispensable
parties the amendment will relate back to allow for
entry of judgment on the original verdict where this
is not prejudicial to the remaining parties. Similarly,
although there may not be complete diversity when
the action is brought, filing the complaint tolls the
statute of limitations and an amendment dropping
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non-indispensable parties to cure the jurisdictional
defect will relate back. In allowing relation back in
these situations, courts have emphasized the lack of
prejudice to the remaining defendants.”
Secondly, dealing with the defendant's contention that
the complaint does not state a cause of action, it is
sufficient here to state that the plaintiff has alleged more
than is necessary to comply with the requirements of
notice pleading.
Thirdly, the defendant has contended that the com-
plaint shows on its face that it is barred by the provisions
of the Workman’s Compensation Law of the State of
Georgia. A review of the pleadings do not reflect any
allegations concerning the number of employees of the
defendant corporation or any claim for benefits under
the provisions of the Workman’s Compensation Law, or
any other facts that would affirmatively show such
coverage.
Without precluding defendant's right to raise, at a
subsequent time, the defense of election under the
Workman’s Compensation Laws, the defendant’s motion
to dismiss plaintiff's complaint is denied.
This 23rd day of December, 1970.
/s/ William C. O’ Kelley
WILLIAM C. O’KELLEY
United States District Judge
This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.