Wilson v. Rockwell International Corp.

Citation: 8 F. App'x 628Docket: No. 95-56191; D.C. No. CV-91-00093-AHS

Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; April 17, 2001; Federal Appellate Court

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Kevan M. Wilson, a former Satellite Technician at Rockwell International, was placed on mandatory medical leave on July 13, 1990, and has not returned to work since. His employment was governed by a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the United Automobile, Aerospace, Agricultural Implement Workers of America, Local Union No. 887 (the Union). Throughout his employment, Wilson lodged numerous complaints regarding his work environment and treatment by supervisors, leading to a federal lawsuit on February 14, 1991, against Rockwell, the Union, and several individual defendants. His claims included illegal retaliation for whistle-blowing on billing discrepancies, harassment based on his Aleutian Indian ancestry, and the Union's failure to adequately represent him, breaching its duty of fair representation and the Master Agreement. The district court granted summary judgment to all defendants, and Wilson appealed the decisions.

However, the appellate court determined it lacked jurisdiction over Wilson's appeal against Rockwell and the Individual Defendants. Under Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, an appeal must be filed within 30 days of a judgment or order. Wilson's notice of appeal, filed on July 31, 1995, was limited to the Union defendants following a July 3, 1995, judgment, as the retaliation claim against Rockwell and the Individual Defendants was still pending. Wilson did not appeal the subsequent 1998 judgment in favor of Rockwell and the Individual Defendants, which he failed to do while representing himself. The court noted that while it typically liberally interprets notices of appeal, Wilson's notice explicitly excluded Rockwell and the Individual Defendants, preventing them from being part of the appeal.

The notice of appeal filed by Wilson was made nearly three years prior to the judgment favoring Rockwell and the Individual Defendants and explicitly referenced only the "Judgment as to UNION Defendants." Therefore, non-Union defendants did not have notice of Wilson's intent to appeal their judgment, resulting in a lack of jurisdiction for the court to consider his appeal concerning them. However, the court has jurisdiction over Wilson's appeal regarding the Union defendant's rulings. Wilson abandoned his appeal on discrimination and retaliation claims but continued to appeal the breach of fair representation. 

The district court identified forty-four grievances Wilson filed with the Union, concluding that twenty were "not in issue," fifteen were time-barred, and nine were dismissed due to Wilson's failure to exhaust administrative remedies. The court affirmed that Wilson made no argument regarding the statute of limitations, thus upholding the time-bar ruling. Regarding the remaining grievances, the Union demonstrated that adequate internal remedies were available, and Wilson did not prove that exhausting these remedies would have been futile. He failed to show that those managing the appeals process were biased against him or that pursuing those remedies would have unduly delayed his judicial hearing. Additionally, he could not demonstrate that the internal procedures were inadequate for reinstating his grievances. Consequently, the court affirmed the district court's decision that Wilson did not exhaust his internal Union remedies, leading to the grant of summary judgment in favor of the Union on the duty of fair representation. This decision is not for publication and may not be cited except under specific circuit rules. Rockwell International Corporation's ownership has changed to Boeing during the case's progression, but it will continue to be referred to as Rockwell in this memorandum.