Isthmian Steamship Co. v. National Marine Engineers Beneficial Ass'n

40 Cal.2d 433 (1953) ISTHMIAN STEAMSHIP COMPANY (a Corporation), et al., Respondents,

v.

NATIONAL MARINE ENGINEERS BENEFICIAL ASSOCIATION et al., Appellants; BROTHERHOOD OF MARINE ENGINEERS, AFL et al., Interveners and Respondents.

S. F. No. 18519. Supreme Court of California. In Bank.

Mar. 10, 1953. Delany, Werchick, Fishgold & Minudri, Jack H. Werchick, Lee Pressman, Robert E. Burns, Cummins, Kent, Draper & Bradley for Appellants.

McCutchen, Thomas, Matthew, Griffiths & Greene and Morris M. Doyle for Respondents.

Tobriner & Lazarus and Mathew O. Tobriner for Interveners and Respondents.

SHENK, J.

This is an appeal from an order granting a preliminary injunction enjoining picketing of plaintiffs by defendant union in an action for a permanent injunction and damages. One phase of this case was before this court in In re Regan and In re Kelleher, ante, p. 424 [254 P.2d 572]. In those cases, Regan and Kelleher sought their release from custody after their arrest for violating a temporary restraining order issued by the court in the action, and we there held that the Jurisdictional Strike Law (Lab. Code, 1115 et seq.) furnished a proper basis for the restraining order, and that plaintiffs' employees--marine engineers--were supervisory employees and hence not subject to the National Labor Management Relations Act (29 U.S.C.A. 141 et seq.). The factual basis for the preliminary injunction is the same, with some amplification, as the temporary restraining order in the Regan and Kelleher cases. Defendants assert facts as grounds for reversal, in addition to the ones raised in those cases, but nothing more than a conflict is [435] created and the question of credibility of witnesses is presented, and this has been resolved favorably to plaintiffs by the trial court in ordering the preliminary injunction. The facts recited in the Kelleher and Regan cases are supported by the record here.

Defendants make three additional legal arguments: (1) That a preliminary injunction will not be issued in a "doubtful" case; (2) that such an injunction is to preserve the status quo as it existed at the commencement of the action and this one does not do so because the temporary restraining order swung the balance in favor of plaintiff employer, Isthmian Steamship Company; and (3) that the injunction will cause defendants great damage.