Opinion
No. 41867.
October 8, 1951.
Plaintiffs operated two non-union cafeterias which defendant union officials were attempting to organize. Plaintiffs were not entitled at the time of the trial to an injunction against picketing, as the picketing was peaceful and for a lawful purpose. At the time the suit was filed defendants were engaged in an illegal secondary boycott which was abandoned prior to trial. No ruling is made whether the boycott also violated the Missouri anti-trust laws. Since equity acquired jurisdiction, it was improper to dismiss plaintiffs' petition. Evidence of the motives of plaintiffs' suppliers in discontinuing business relations was improperly rejected. Newspaper articles were not admissible. A party may be cross-examined the same as any other witness. The record shall become part of the record on retrial. The costs are divided.
1. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: Master and Servant: Injunctions: Picketing to Prevent Delivery of Supplies: Picketing Not Unlawful: Injunctive Relief Not Justified by Isolated Incidents. Picketing the service entrances of plaintiffs' non-union cafeterias to prevent the delivery of supplies by union truck drivers was not illegal. The picketing was peaceful, and a few isolated incidents were not sufficient to justify an injunction at the time of the trial.
2. MONOPOLIES: Master and Servant: Illegal Secondary Boycott. For a ten day period there was an illegal secondary boycott whereby suppliers of plaintiffs' cafeterias were threatened with economic loss if they sold supplies to plaintiffs. This boycott was abandoned two days after the suit was filed.
3. EQUITY: Injunctions: Monopolies: Master and Servant: Right to Injunctive Relief When Suit Filed: Subsequent Abandonment of Illegal Boycott: Retention of Jurisdiction in Equity: Action Improperly Dismissed. Since plaintiffs were entitled to injunctive relief when the suit was filed, the subsequent abandonment of the illegal boycott did not deprive the trial court of equitable jurisdiction, even though only a money judgment could be awarded. The suit was improperly dismissed by the trial court.
4. MONOPOLIES: Master and Servant: Illegal Boycott: Issue of Violation of Missouri Anti-Trust Laws Not Ruled. It is not necessary to rule whether the illegal boycott was also a violation of the Missouri antitrust laws.
5. EVIDENCE: Statements of Motive: Letters and Oral Statements Improperly Rejected. Letters and oral statements of plaintiffs' suppliers giving their reasons for discontinuing business relations with plaintiffs were admissible as an exception to the hearsay rule which applies to statements of motive.
6. EVIDENCE: Newspapers Properly Rejected. Labor newspapers describing defendants' campaign to organize plaintiffs' cafeterias were properly rejected.
7. EVIDENCE: Witnesses: Cross-Examination of Party. A defendant used as a witness by plaintiffs could be cross-examined to the same extent as any other witness.
8. APPEAL AND ERROR: Same Record on Retrial. The record shall become part of the record on the retrial of the case.
9. COSTS: Appeal and Error: Costs Equally Divided. Since appellants failed to establish their major contention the costs should be paid one-half by appellants and one-half by respondents.
Appeal from Circuit Court of City of St. Louis; Hon. James F. Nangle, Judge.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
John R. Stockham, Roscoe Anderson and William R. Gilbert for appellants; Anderson, Gilbert Wolfort, Allen Bierman of counsel.
(1) Picketing does not enjoy constitutional protection of free speech if it has an unlawful objective or if it is accompanied by the use of unlawful means. Giboney v. Empire Storage Ice Co., 357 Mo. 671, 210 S.W.2d 55, affirmed 336 U.S. 490, 69 S.Ct. 684, 93 L.Ed. 834; Teamsters Union v. Hanke, 339 U.S. 470, 70 S.Ct. 775, 94 L.Ed. 644; Hughes v. Superior Court, 339 U.S. 460, 70 S.Ct. 718, 94 L.Ed. 637; Building Service Union v. Gazzam, 339 U.S. 532, 70 S.Ct. 784, 94 L.Ed. 653; Carpenters Joiners Union v. Ritter's Cafe, 315 U.S. 772, 62 S.Ct. 807, 86 L.Ed. 1143; Milk Wagon Drivers v. Meadowmoor Dairies, Inc., 312 U.S. 287, 61 S.Ct. 552, 85 L.Ed. 836; Bakery Pastry Drivers Helpers Local v. Wohl, 315 U.S. 769, 62 S.Ct. 816, 86 L.Ed. 1178; Thornhill v. Alabama, 310 U.S. 88, 60 S.Ct. 736, 84 L.Ed. 659; American Federation of Labor v. Swing, 312 U.S. 321, 61 S.Ct. 568, 85 L.Ed. 513; Cafeteria Employees Union v. Angelos, 320 U.S. 293, 64 S.Ct. 126, 88 L.Ed. 58; Secs. 8301-8308, R.S. 1939; Report of the Committee on State Legislation of the Section of Labor Relations Law of the American Bar Association, October 15, 1949. (2) The evidence clearly shows that the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to achieve unlawful objectives in violation of the Missouri Anti-Trust Laws, R.S. 1939, Secs. 8301-8308, and the Missouri common law of conspiracy, and the Court erred in not so finding. The Missouri Anti-Trust Law: Giboney v. Empire Storage Ice Co., 357 Mo. 671, 210 S.W.2d 55, affirmed 336 U.S. 490, 69 S.Ct. 684, 93 L.Ed. 834; Rogers v. Poteet, 355 Mo. 986, 199 S.W.2d 378, certiorari denied 331 U.S. 849, 91 L.Ed. 1856, 67 S.Ct. 1732; Fred Wolferman, Inc., v. Root, 356 Mo. 986, 204 S.W.2d 733; Waitress' Union, Local No. 249 v. Benish Restaurant Co., Inc., 6 F.2d 568; In re Hunn, 357 Mo. 256, 207 S.W.2d 468; Printing Specialties Paper Convertors Union v. Le Baron, 171 F.2d 331. (3) Missouri common law of conspiracy: Lohse Patent Door Co. v. Fuelle, 215 Mo. 421, 114 S.W. 997; Hughes v. Kansas City Motion Picture Machine Operators, 282 Mo. 304, 221 S.W. 95; Rogers v. Poteet, 355 Mo. 986, 199 S.W.2d 378; Beck v. Teamsters' Protective Union, 118 Mich. 516, 77 N.W. 13; Hoffman v. United States, 68 F.2d 101; Kirby v. Davis, 91 S.W.2d 215; Moore v. Carter, 356 Mo. 351, 201 S.W.2d 923; Wood v. Wells, 270 S.W. 332. (4) The evidence is that the defendants utilized unlawful means in that there was coercion, intimidation and harassment; there were material and fraudulent misrepresentations, and there were threats of economic loss. Bedford Cut Stone Co. v. Journeymen Stone Cutters' Assn., 274 U.S. 37, 47 S.Ct. 522, 71 L.Ed. 916; Dietrich v. Cape Brewery Ice Co., 315 Mo. 507, 286 S.W. 38; Hughes v. Superior Court, 339 U.S. 460, 70 S.Ct. 718, 94 L.Ed. 637; 4 A.L.I., Restatement of the Law, Torts, sec. 779. (5) There was coercion, intimidation and harassment. Webb v. Cooks', Waiters' Waitresses' Union, 205 S.W. 465; United States v. Taliaferro, 298 F. 214. (6) There were material and fraudulent misrepresentations. Traub Amusement Co. v. Macker, 127 Misc. 335, 215 N.Y.S. 397; Hughes v. Kansas City Motion Picture Machine Operators, 282 Mo. 304, 221 S.W. 95. (7) There was economic coercion. Giboney v. Empire Storage Ice Co., 336 U.S. 490, 69 S.Ct. 684, 93 L.Ed. 834; Bedford Cut Stone Co. v. Journeymen Stone Cutters' Assn., 274 U.S. 37, 47 S.Ct. 522, 71 L.Ed. 916. (8) That the defendants altered the course of their conduct to some degree after suit was filed and after a stipulation was entered into by the parties cannot be the basis of dismissing the first amended petition and refusing to grant plaintiffs the relief sought. Local 167, L.B.I., v. United States, 291 U.S. 293, 54 S.Ct. 396, 78 L.Ed. 804; Stauffer v. Metropolitan St. Railway Co., 243 Mo. 305, 147 S.W. 1032; Hoynes v. Hoynes, 218 S.W.2d 823. (9) The dismissal is a colorable dismissal which, if allowed to stand, affords the defendants and others an impenetrable retreat from violations of the law of this State which they have committed. State v. Standard Oil Co., 218 Mo. 1, 116 S.W. 902; Giboney v. Empire Storage Ice Co., 336 U.S. 480, 69 S.Ct. 684, 93 L.Ed. 834. (10) The effects of the admitted unlawful conduct committed prior to the stipulation have not been fully dissipated. Joe Dan Market, Inc., v. Wentz, 223 Mo. App. 772, 20 S.W.2d 567; Vaughan v. Kansas City Moving Picture Operators' Union, 36 F.2d 78; Champion Spark Plug Co. v. Reich, 121 F.2d 769; Morton Salt Co. v. A.S. Suppiger Co., 314 U.S. 488, 62 S.Ct. 402, 86 L.Ed. 363; B.B. Chemical Co. v. Ellis, 314 U.S. 495, 62 S.Ct. 406, 86 L.Ed. 367. (11) An abandonment must be proved by evidence and there must be complete compliance with all of the demands of the plaintiffs, including the payment of costs, before the abandonment can be effective. Stegmann v. Weeke, 279 Mo. 131, 214 S.W. 134; Local 167, I.B.T., v. United States, 291 U.S. 293, 54 S.Ct. 396, 78 L.Ed. 804. (12) Defendants continued unlawful conduct after the stipulation was filed. Joe Dan Market v. Wentz, 223 Mo. App. 772, 20 S.W.2d 567. (13) If an injunction is not issued as prayed, defendants will be free to coerce, threaten, intimidate, or injure any person which may sell or deliver to the plaintiffs. State v. Standard Oil Co., 218 Mo. 1. 116 S.W. 902. (14) The court erred in concluding that with the exception of differences in names the case of Caldwell v. Anderson and the instant case were alike "in all particulars." Caldwell v. Anderson, 357 Mo. 1199, 212 S.W.2d 784; Giboney v. Empire Storage Ice Co., 336 U.S. 490, 69 S.Ct. 684, 93 L.Ed. 834; Teamsters Union v. Hanke, 339 U.S. 470, 70 S.Ct. 775, 94 L.Ed. 644; Ex parte Hunn. 357 Mo. 256, 207 S.W.2d 468. (15) The court erred in refusing to admit in evidence the following testimony and documents: Testimony of various suppliers as to reasons they ceased making deliveries to plaintiffs; letters from suppliers giving reason they could not make deliveries; testimony of Harold Plengemeier as to reasons given by suppliers for ceasing to do business, and copies of the St. Louis Labor Tribune. Lawlor v. Loewe, 235 U.S. 522, 35 S.Ct. 170, 59 L.Ed. 341; Swartz v. Kay, 89 W. Va. 641, 109 S.E. 822; Weston v. Barnicoat, 175 Mass. 454; Moores Co. v. Bricklayers' Union, 10 Ohio Dec. Rep. 665; Greater New York Poultry C. of C. v. United States, 47 F.2d 156; Johnson v. J.H. Yost Lumber Co., 117 F.2d 53; Terminal Railroad Assn. of St. Louis v. Schmidt, 349 Mo. 890, 163 S.W.2d 772; Emich Motors Corp. v. General Motors Corp., 181 F.2d 70. (16) The court erred in permitting defendants to cross-examine defendant Amsler generally when she had been called as a witness by the plaintiffs for the sole and limited purpose of showing that defendant Amsler telephoned defendant Burke and informed him that a picket line was going to be established just immediately prior thereto. Lolordo v. Lacy, 337 Mo. 1097, 88 S.W.2d 353; 68 Am. Jur. 349, sec. 629; Union Electric L. P. Co. v. Synder Estate Co., 65 F.2d 297; Tunnell, R.W., "Advice to a Young Man About to Embark Upon the Practice of Law, Being Some Remarks Upon Calling the Adverse Party as for Cross-Examination," 1950 Wn. U.L.Q. 220; State ex rel. Prudential Ins. Co. v. Bland, 354 Mo. 495, 190 S.W.2d 234; Massey v. Young, 73 Mo. 273; Shepard v. Shepard, 353 Mo. 1057, 186 S.W.2d 472. (17) The refusal of the court to grant plaintiffs the relief sought deprives them, without due process of law, of their rights to acquire, possess and enjoy property and denies them the equal protection of the law as guaranteed by the Constitutions of Missouri and of the United States. Constitution of the United Sates, Amendments V and XIV; Constitution of Missouri, Art. I, Secs. 2 and 10; Giboney v. Empire Storage and Ice Co., 336 U.S. 490, 69 S.Ct. 684, 93 L.Ed. 834; Truax v. Corrigan, 257 U.S. 312, 42 S.Ct. 124, 66 L.Ed. 254; Duplex Printing Press Co. v. Deering, 254 U.S. 443, 41 S.Ct. 172, 65 L.Ed. 349; Purcell v. Journeymen Barbers, 234 Mo. App. 843, 133 S.W.2d 662; Mlle. Reif, Inc., v. Randau, 1 N.Y.S.2d 515. (18) The court erred in dismissing the petition at the close of the plaintiffs' case and this court in reviewing the case de novo should enter judgment for the plaintiffs as prayed in the first amended petition. Shepard v. Shepard, 353 Mo. 1057, 186 S.W.2d 472; Hoynes v. Hoynes, 218 S.W.2d 823; Binnion v. Clark, 359 Mo. 202, 221 S.W.2d 214. (19) Peaceful picketing is enjoinable if it has an unlawful object. The object might be unlawful by virtue of a federal statute. N.L.R.B. v. Denver Building and Construction Trades Council, 341 U.S. 675, 95 L.Ed. 782; I.B.E.W. Local 501, A.F. of L. v. N.L.R.B., 341 U.S. 694, 95 L.Ed. 793; by virtue of a state statute. Giboney v. Empire Storage Ice Co., 336 U.S. 490, 69 S.Ct. 684, 93 L.Ed. 834, or by virtue of state public policy as announced by state courts, Hughes v. Superior Court, 339 U.S. 460, 70 S.Ct. 718, 94 L.Ed. 985; I.B.T. Local 309 v. Hanke, 339 U.S. 470, 70 S.Ct. 775, 94 L.Ed. 995. (20) The unlawful object does not have to be the only object. Even if there are lawful objects, the picketing is enjoinable if there is an unlawful object (N.L.R.B. v. Denver Building Construction Trades Council, supra; I.B.E.W., Local 501, A.F. of L., v. N.L.R.B., supra). (21) "* * * the very purpose of a picket line is to exert influences, and it produces consequences, different from other modes of communication. The loyalties and responses evoked and exacted by picket lines are unlike those flowing from appeals by printed word" (Hughes v. Superior Court, supra). (22) "Industrial picketing `is more than free speech, since it involves patrol of a particular locality and since the very presence of a picket line may induce action of one kind or another, quite irrespective of the nature of the ideas which are being disseminated'" (Hughes v. Superior Court, supra, and see also Building Service Employees Union v. Gazzam, supra). (23) If the compulsive features inherent in picketing go beyond the aspect of mere communication as an appeal to reason, it may be enjoined (Hughes v. Superior Court, supra). (24) If the picketing is a "signal" for the invocation of economic power, it is enjoinable (Giboney v. Empire Storage and Ice Co., supra; N.L.R.B. v. Denver Building and Construction Trades Council, supra; I.B.E.W., Local 501, A.F. of L., v. N.L.R.B., supra). (25) Signal picketing is not an "appeal to reason `by the expressing of any views, argument, or opinion'" (I.B.E.W., Local 501, A.F. of L., v. N.L.R.B., supra). Such picketing is not the exercise of free speech. Instead, the picketers are exercising their economic power together with that of their allies to compel compliance with their dictates (Giboney v. Empire Storage and Ice Co., supra).
Bartley Bartley for respondents Jesse K. Keller and Joseph Brown; Wiley, Craig Armbruster for respondents Howard McVey and Patrick J. Burke; Claude W. McElwee for respondents Kitty Amsler, Ethel Taylor and Joseph Celeslie.
(1) The First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States and Section Eight of Article One of the Constitution of Missouri, 1945, guarantees to defendants the right to engage in organizational picketing of plaintiffs' cafeterias subject only to the requirement that the purpose of the picketing be lawful and the manner of picketing peaceful. Ex parte Hunn, 207 S.W.2d 468, 357 Mo. 256; Caldwell v. Anderson, 212 S.W.2d 784, 357 Mo. 1199; Gruet Motor Car Co. v. Briner, 229 S.W.2d 259; Thornhill v. Alabama, 310 U.S. 88, 60 S.Ct. 736; Carlson v. California, 310 U.S. 106, 60 S.Ct. 746; American Federation of Labor v. Swing, 312 U.S. 321, 61 S.Ct. 568; Bakery Pastry Drivers Local Union v. Wohl, 315 U.S. 769, 62 S.Ct. 816; Cafeteria Employees Union v. Angelos, 320 U.S. 293, 64 S.Ct. 126. (2) Where Interstate Commerce is not involved, it is not unlawful in Missouri to picket to induce an employer to sign a contract containing compulsory union membership provisions even though the employees of such employer are not members of the union and have not chosen the union as their collective bargaining representative. Caldwell v. Anderson, supra. Gruet Motor Car Co. v. Briner, supra. Riviello v. Journeymen Barbers International Union, 199 P.2d 400, 15 CCH Lab. Cas. 64858; Whitehead v. Miami Laundry Co., 36 So.2d 382; Caneer v. Retail Clerks, 17 CCH Lab. Cases 65582. (3) A decree of injunction must be specific and not vague or confusing; it must be so framed as to clearly and specifically advise those against whom it is directed of the things they may not lawfully do; and it must not be so broad and sweeping as to restrain the exercise of legitimate, constitutional rights along with unlawful activities; in labor cases injunctions must be "tailored" to restrain future commission of unlawful activities while, at the same time, permitting the engagement in lawful activities. Commission Row Club v. Lambert, 161 S.W.2d 732; Ewing v. Kansas City, 180 S.W.2d 234, 238 Mo. App. 266; Rogers v. Poteet, 199 S.W.2d 378, 335 Mo. 986; Lauf v. E.G. Skinner Co., Inc., 303 U.S. 323, 58 S.Ct. 578; Wolferman, Inc. v. Root, 204 S.W.2d 733, 356 Mo. 976; Empire Storage Ice Co. v. Giboney, 210 S.W.2d 55, 357 Mo. 671, affirmed, 69 S.Ct. 684; Construction General Labor Union v. Stephenson, 225 S.W.2d 958, 17 CCH Lab. Cas. 65,530; Building Service Employees, Local 262 v. Gazzam, 70 S.Ct. 784, 18 CCH Lab. Cas. 65,764; Dickson v. International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, 14 CCH Lab. Cas. 64,351. (4) Equity does not lie to restrain acts already committed, nor conduct which has been withdrawn or abandoned, and concerning which there is no reasonable probability of recurrence or continuation. In view of the Stipulation entered into between the parties on October 27, 1949, of the Renunciations executed by the defendants and filed of record on the same date, of the renunciations contained in the pleadings of the defendants and in their statement to the court at trial, of the evidence of defendants' conduct from and after the 27th day of October, 1949, and of the court's finding of fact thereon, it would be error to grant any injunctive relief in this case. Commission Row Club v. Lambert, supra; 43 C.J.S., "Injunctions", secs. 21, 22 (c); Gruet Motor Car Co. v. Briner, supra; Wolferman, Inc. v. Root, supra; Armour Co. v. United Packing House Workers, C.I.O., 15 CCH Lab. Cas. 64,566. (5) The judgment dismissing plaintiffs' cause of action, which was entered on the defendants' motions to dismiss, made at the close of plaintiffs' case in chief, had the effect of deciding the case on its merits. Sec. 100, Civil Code, Sec. 847.100, Mo. R.S.A.; Fullerton v. Fullerton, 345 Mo. 316, 132 S.W.2d 966; Cottonseed Delinting Corp. v. Roberts Bros., 218 S.W.2d 592; Teutenberg v. Hoover, 250 S.W. 561. (6) When plaintiffs called defendant Amsler to the stand, she became their witness for all purposes, and the court properly permitted defendants to cross-examine said witness on the whole case. Arnold v. Manzella, 186 S.W.2d 882; Walter v. Hoeffner, 51 Mo. App. 46. (7) No error can be assigned to the court for refusing to admit in evidence testimony and documents offered to show the reason suppliers ceased making deliveries to plaintiffs, together with newspaper articles and photographs, in view of the hearsay and, therefore, incompetent character of these offerings. United Factories, Inc. v. Brigham, 117 S.W.2d 662; State ex rel. United Factories, Inc. v. Hostetter, 126 S.W.2d 1173, 344 Mo. 386; Home Exchange Bank of Jamesport v. Koch, 32 S.W.2d 86, 326 Mo. 369; Caldwell v. Anderson, supra; 20 Am. Jur. 812, sec. 964; Louisiana Purchase Exposition Co. v. Emerson, 129 S.W. 753, 149 Mo. App. 594; Esty v. Walker, 3 S.W.2d 744.
The plaintiffs-appellants are two Missouri corporations under the same management, one named Missouri Cafeteria, Inc., and the other Miss Hulling's Cafeteria, Inc. Each operates a restaurant and bakery shop on a non-union basis in St. Louis known as "Miss Hulling's", their respective locations being 1103 Locust Street and 725 Olive Street. The defendant-respondents [except Burke] are officers and agents of the Hotel Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union, A.F. of L., or the subordinate local unions thereof sometimes called the "Waitresses Local" and the "Cooks Local." Defendant McVey was the president of the St. Louis Local Joint Executive Board of said International Union. Other defendants were officers of said locals and two were also officers of said Joint Executive Board. Defendant Burke was an officer of another union sometimes called the Milkwagon Drivers, and was assisting the other defendants.
Plaintiffs brought this suit to enjoin an alleged conspiracy between the defendants charged to be in violation of the common law and the Missouri anti-trust laws, which included picketing claimed to be illegal. [551] At the close of plaintiffs' case, the defendants' motion to dismiss was sustained and a judgment entered against plaintiffs, from which they appealed. Our appellate jurisdiction is invoked on the ground that constitutional questions are involved under the First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, Const. U.S., and Sec's 2, 8, 9 and 10, Art. I, Const. Mo. 1945. Respondents concede such issues are in the case. We have reached the conclusion that the plaintiffs' evidence did not establish the right to an injunction against picketing at the time of the trial but did show that defendants had been engaged in an illegal boycott before and when the suit was filed, and therefore the judgment dismissing plaintiffs' action should be set aside and the case remanded for further proceedings.
When plaintiffs refused to enter into a contract with the union, defendants set up pickets at the customers' entrance and also at the service entrance of both restaurants, the pickets at the latter entrance being aimed at union truck drivers of other employers making deliveries of supplies. On the first day the signs carried by the pickets had the false statement that the pickets were "on strike", or the charge that the cafeteria was "unfair", which is claimed to be false. Thereafter, both before and after the suit was filed, the signs carried only the true statement: "This Cafeteria is Non-Union."
On October 17, 1949, the date the picket line was set up, defendant Burke threatened an official of a dairy company that supplied milk to plaintiffs that the dairy plant would be closed if any deliveries were made to plaintiffs. For a period of about nine or ten days said dairy company made no deliveries to plaintiffs, including a refusal to deliver milk to a truck sent by plaintiffs to the dairy plant. Another dairy company made a similar refusal, and the cafeterias were without milk for that period. On October 27, 1949, two days after suit was filed, a stipulation was entered into governing the conduct of defendants pending the hearing on the merits. This stipulation provided that no demands or requests would be made against suppliers not to sell or deliver to plaintiffs and that no threats or reprisals would be made against such suppliers. Thereafter, plaintiffs were able to pick up milk at the dairies with their own truck, but the dairies' truck drivers would not run the picket line to make deliveries as had previously been done.
Defendant McVey, a few days before suit was filed, threatened plaintiffs' regular egg supplier with heavy loss if he made any more deliveries to plaintiffs, and he agreed not to do so. After the stipulation was signed six days later, he made deliveries to plaintiffs' truck.
Cumulative, but less direct, evidence of similar action against other suppliers was rejected, plaintiffs claiming error in such rejection. Copies of minutes of the Joint Executive Board afford further evidence that defendants acted together for a common purpose. After October 27, 1949, the date of the stipulation, union truck drivers refused to cross the picket lines and most suppliers did not make deliveries into the cafeterias, although a few made curb deliveries. But plaintiffs, with minor exceptions, and at considerable expense and inconvenience, were able to pick up in their own truck the supplies required for the operation of their cafeterias.
The picketing must be regarded as substantially peaceful. The general pattern was a single picket at each entrance. Plaintiffs claim that the following isolated incidents rendered the picketing non-peaceful; intervention by the police on one occasion to prevent possible violence when tempers had flared up and a crowd had gathered; a picket being joined by several allies, who may or may not have been reserve pickets, in a peaceful, though pungent, argument with a truck driver who ran the picket line; the use of the word "scab" on one occasion; a disrespectful remark concerning the circuit court; a warning to a truck driver that he might get into trouble with his union if he ran the picket line (presumably this "trouble" did not mean physical violence, but merely that he would be charged with union disloyalty or possibly fined for crossing the picket line). Under the Federal decisions which will be discussed later, these incidents fall short of what is required to forfeit constitutional rights of free speech so as to justify an injunction against picketing.
[552] The stipulation provided the pickets would not suggest to any delivery man crossing a picket line that he was or might be violating a rule or by-law of his own union by so doing. This clause was not complied with by defendants. Union truck drivers who had been notified of the stipulation and thought they could properly cross the picket line were told a strike was on; that they might get in trouble with their union; that they were "a hell of a union man" to run the picket line; or to call up their business agent to see if they had the right to cross the line. However, this did not transgress peaceful persuasion under the decisions hereinafter cited.
On the day the stipulation was filed defendants also filed a written "renunciation" in which they renounced any intention of being guilty of any conduct in the future which would not conform in substance to the standards set in the stipulation. Both included elimination of the words "on strike" or "unfair" from their signs and from verbal statements of pickets. This renunciation was filed in the case.
If we ignore the first ten days, including eight days before the suit was filed, then the trial court was clearly right in dismissing the petition. As to the period subsequent to October 27, 1949, the date of the stipulation, the case should be ruled by Caldwell v. Anderson, 357 Mo. 1199, 1205, 212 S.W.2d 784, 787(3). In that case defendants were seeking to force a non-union building firm to sign a closed shop contract. They set up a picket line stating that plaintiffs were "unfair". Union truck drivers would not cross it. So plaintiffs were required to do their own hauling of building supplies and were thereby subjected to much inconvenience and some delay. Gas and electricity could not be installed in the houses until after they were sold, the pickets being then withdrawn. This was held to be legal picketing for a lawful purpose. The only added factors in the present case [aside from the conduct during the first ten days] were the arguments with truck drivers mentioned in the third preceding paragraph.
Merely verbally reminding a union truck driver of what he already knows is an exercise of the right of free speech through peaceful persuasion. Once it is conceded that under the circumstances of this case and the Caldwell case a picket line aimed at preventing deliveries of supplies by union truck drivers is legal, the added factor of the use of free speech by the pickets does not make the picket line illegal.
A single isolated false statement to a truck driver that the pickets were on strike would not justify an injunction against peaceful picketing. Nor would the claimed isolated acts of intimidation previously referred to. In Cafeteria Employees Union v. Angelos, 320 U.S. 293, 296, 64 S.Ct. 126, 88 L.Ed. 58, the plaintiffs were restaurant proprietors and the defendant union officials sought to compel them to employ union labor through picketing, including charges that they were "unfair". The United States Supreme Court held that the right to free speech in the future cannot be forfeited because of disassociated acts of past violence, and still less because of isolated incidents of abuse falling far short of violence. The injunctions of the state court were held to violate the 14th Amendment. On the other hand in Milk Wagon Drivers Union v. Meadowmoor Dairies, Inc., 312 U.S. 287, 291-295, 61 S.Ct. 552, 85 L.Ed. 836, where the strikers were guilty of repeated acts of violence injunctive relief was granted to the employer against the Union.
The case of Fred Wolferman, Inc. v. Root, 356 Mo. 976, 204 S.W.2d 733, where a picket line aimed at truck drivers of suppliers was enjoined, is not in point. The plaintiff there was engaged in interstate commerce and it appeared that defendants were picketing for the unlawful purpose of inducing an employer to coerce his non-union employees into joining a union contrary to their desires. This was found to be a violation of the National Labor Relations Act. Said Act has no application to a local restaurant supplied by local suppliers.
Plaintiffs urge that the case of Empire Storage and Ice Co. v. Giboney, 357 Mo. 671, 210 S.W.2d 55, affirmed Giboney v. Empire Storage and Ice Co., 336 U.S. 490, 69 S.Ct. 684, [553] 93 L.Ed. 834, would authorize an injunction against picketing at the time of the trial, but we think the case may be clearly distinguished. In that case the defendant union officials were attempting to organize non-union ice peddlers and sought to induce every wholesale ice dealer in Kansas City to refrain from selling ice to such peddlers. This was held to be a combination in violation of the Missouri anti-trust laws. Plaintiff ice company refused to join the conspiracy and was picketed by defendants, causing substantial damage to plaintiff's business. An injunction against picketing was upheld on the ground that the picketing, though peaceful, was for an illegal purpose in violation of the Missouri anti-trust laws. In the instant case there are two fundamental distinctions: first, the illegal combination was abandoned before trial and the picketing at the time of the trial was for a lawful purpose; and, second, the picket line in the instant case was not placed at the plant of the supplier, as in the Giboney case, but at the business establishments which defendants were attempting to organize.
We stated in the beginning we had reached the conclusion that the trial court did not err in denying plaintiffs' injunction against picketing at the time of the trial on November 30, 1949, but did think it erred in dismissing the plaintiffs' suit. The basis for that conclusion is that while the picketing alone during the first ten days [before the stipulation was filed] was not itself so aggravated as to be subject to restraint by injunction, yet it was so intermingled with an illegal boycott conspiracy that it became a part thereof and both were subject to injunctive restraint. The evidence is clear and convincing that there was a combination intended to cut off plaintiffs' sources of supplies by threatening to close down the plants or cause other serious economic harm to suppliers who sold or delivered supplies to plaintiffs. This was effective as to at least two suppliers, and evidence rejected as hearsay indicated that probably the conspiracy was effective as to additional suppliers.
This was an unlawful secondary boycott under Lohse Patent Door Co. v. Fuelle, 215 Mo. 421, 114 S.W. 997. The illegal boycott in the Lohse case was directed against the customers instead of the suppliers of the non-union plaintiffs. But this does not distinguish the case in principle. The general rule is thus announced at 215 Mo. l.c. 446: "All the authorities hold that a combination to injure or destroy the trade, business or occupation of another by threatening or producing injury to the trade, business or occupation of those who have business relations with him is an unlawful conspiracy regardless of the name by which it is known, and may be restrained by injunction." This Lohse case has been discussed and its principles reaffirmed in the recent cases of Rogers v. Poteet, 355 Mo. 986, 1000-3, 199 S.W.2d 378, 387-9, certiorari denied 331 U.S. 847, 67 S.Ct. 1732, 91 L.Ed. 1856, and Wolferman, Inc. v. Root, 356 Mo. 976, 981, 204 S.W.2d 733, 735, 174 A.L.R. 585, 593; certiorari denied 333 U.S. 837, 68 S.Ct. 608, 92 L.Ed. 1122. However, the illegal boycott conspiracy was abandoned after ten days, and two days after this suit was filed. Thereafter, plaintiffs were able to pick up supplies with their own truck, and the picketing became legal picketing which could not be enjoined without violating defendants' rights of free speech.
The fact that an injunction against picketing was not justified at the time of the trial does not mean that the trial court could properly sustain defendants' motion to dismiss at the close of plaintiffs' case since plaintiffs' evidence clearly showed that plaintiffs were entitled to injunctive relief on the day the suit was filed. A court of equity having once acquired jurisdiction, will retain it until full justice has been done the parties. [Miller v. Haberman, 359 Mo. 1012, 224 S.W.2d 1002; De Tienne v. Peters, 354 Mo. 166, 188 S.W.2d 954; McKay v. Snider, 354 Mo. 674, 190 S.W.2d 886; Phelps v. Scott, 325 Mo. 711, 30 S.W.2d 71.] Such relief will be granted even though it involves adjudicating matters of law or rendering a money judgment. [Waugh v. Williams, 342 Mo. 903, [554] 119 S.W.2d 223; Rockhill Tennis Club v. Volker, 331 Mo. 947, 56 S.W.2d 9; Waddle v. Frazier, 245 Mo. 391, 151 S.W. 87.]
The filing of the renunciation by defendants did not deprive the trial court of the equitable jurisdiction it had acquired the day the suit was filed, and it was the duty of the court to award such damages and such injunctive relief, if any, as the evidence at the close of the entire case might indicate. [Champion Spark Plug Co. v. Reich, 121 F.2d 769, C.C.A. 8]. That was an action to enjoin unfair competition and trade mark infringement and defendant, during the pendency of the action, voluntarily changed his business practices. The trial court denied the injunction but entered a decree for damages which had occurred before the change. On appeal the judgment of the trial court was modified so as to require that an injunction be entered as to certain designated items of infringement which had not been abandoned by defendants.
Considerably more than a year has elapsed since the trial was concluded. The conduct of defendants may have continued peaceful and lawful as it was at the time of the trial. On the other hand, there may have been acts of violence or other unlawful conduct since the trial. Therefore, the ultimate question of whether an injunction should be issued, including even an injunction against picketing, will depend upon the state of the record at the close of the entire case after plaintiffs have had an opportunity to present additional evidence to supplement the evidence at the first trial and defendants have presented evidence covering their side of the case. If the evidence at the close of the whole case does not justify injunctive relief, but still shows that there was an illegal boycott for a short period prior to the stipulation and renunciation, then the trial court should award plaintiffs such damages as they may have suffered on account of the illegal boycott conspiracy.
Plaintiffs further contend that the illegal boycott conspiracy also was a combination in restraint of trade in violation of the Missouri anti-trust law, Sec. 416.010, R.S. 1949, citing Empire Storage and Ice Co. v. Giboney, supra, and Rogers v. Poteet, supra. The facts in both of those cases were more extreme than in the instant case, and we find it unnecessary to decide whether plaintiffs' evidence, if taken as true, would show a violation of the statute cited. Plaintiffs' rights as to injunction and damages would not be affected by the question of whether an illegal boycott conspiracy also constituted a combination in restraint of trade which was prohibited by the Missouri anti-trust laws.
Plaintiffs' Exhibits A, B, C, D and E were all letters from suppliers stating why they were not making deliveries in spite of the stipulation having been signed and a copy sent to them. There was no issue as to the authenticity of the letters, but they were excluded by the trial court on the ground that they were hearsay. We think these letters come within a well-recognized exception to the hearsay rule — that contemporary statements of motive are admissible. In Lawlor v. Loewe, 235 U.S. 522, 35 S.Ct. 170, 59 L.Ed. 341, a judgment for damages had been entered against labor union defendants on account of an illegal boycott, and the opinion of Mr. Justice Holmes (235 U.S. l.c. 536), stated: "The reason given by customers for ceasing to deal with sellers of the Loewe hats, including letters from dealers to Loewe Co., were admissible. 3 Wigmore, Evidence, Sec. 1729(2)."
In the 3rd Edition of Wigmore on Evidence, the rule is stated at Sec. 1729(2) as follows: "A declaration of present existing motive or reason for action is admissible, — assuming, of course, that the declarant's motive is relevant.
"So far as concerns accused persons, this use is later considered ( post, sec. 1732). In other cases, the typical instances in which motive becomes material are actions for loss of service or of custom, in which it is necessary to show that the customer's or servant's abandonment of the plaintiff was motivated by the defendant's persuasion or threats; and actions in which the reliance of a person on another's representations becomes a part of the issue. The use of declarations of this sort is fully recognized in numerous precedents."
[555] The above-mentioned letters clearly come within the above rule. They were contemporaneous statements of motive giving the reason why these suppliers were not making their customary deliveries, said reason being that their truck drivers would not cross the picket line. Of course, these letters are admissible only for the limited purpose of showing the motive of the suppliers, that is, the reason why they did not make the deliveries. These letters contain other hearsay statements, and are not admissible for the purpose of proving the truth of such other statements. For example, Exhibit D contained a statement that one of their truck drivers told them that four men made threats that "if he unloaded, they would see that he was taken care of." This letter may not be considered as proof that such threats were in fact made, but it is admissible to show the writer's motive in not making deliveries.
For the same reason David Roman, who was in charge of butter sales of the Beatrice Foods Company, should have been permitted to testify what reason he gave plaintiffs during the period of the boycott conspiracy for not permitting plaintiffs to pick up anything or to deliver anything. The same applies to the rejected testimony of R.R. Klauke, sales manager of the Krey Packing Company, as to what reason he gave a representative of plaintiffs for not making deliveries to them. And Harold Plengemeier, assistant general manager of plaintiffs, should have been permitted to testify as to the reasons given by suppliers to him for the failure to make deliveries or the cessation of business relations.
Defendants have cited several cases involving the usual rule that the admission of letters would violate the hearsay rule, but none of these cases involved comparable facts or discussed this well-established exception to the hearsay rule. Caldwell v. Anderson, supra, has no application, as it merely holds a boycott cannot be proved by a threat from a person whose connection with the union defendants was not shown and which threat did not prove effective. It has nothing to do with declarations by a supplier as to his motives in discontinuing business relations.
Plaintiffs offered Exhibits R and S, which were two issues of the St. Louis Labor Tribune, describing the organization campaign against plaintiffs which was being directed by defendant McVey. In Lawlor v. Loewe, supra, the opinion states "The introduction of newspapers, etc., was proper in large part to show publicity in places and directions where the facts were likely to be brought home to the defendants, and also to prove an intended and detrimental consequence of the principal acts, not to speak of other grounds." That case involved a widespread conspiracy extending over several states, and the degree of publicity was considered an element in the damages. The illegal boycott in the present case was very restricted in nature, and we therefore feel that the ruling in Lawlor v. Loewe, supra, may be sufficiently distinguished. In the absence of a showing that the publication was authorized by one or more of the defendants or that the statements in the articles attributed to defendant McVey were actually made by him to a representative of the paper, these exhibits should not be admitted.
Defendant Kitty Amsler was called as a witness by plaintiffs for the limited purpose of showing a certain conversation she had had with defendant Burke relative to establishing the picket line. Over the objection of plaintiffs, counsel for defendants were permitted to cross-examine defendant Amsler generally on matters not involved in her direct examination. This was not error. Whatever may be the general rule in other states, the question is covered in Missouri by Sec. 491.030 R.S. 1949, which provides that an adverse party called as a witness may be examined by the opposite party under the rules applicable to cross-examination of witnesses. Defendants' cross-examination would therefore be permitted the same scope as though the witness were not a party. However, plaintiffs are not bound by the entire testimony of defendant Amsler. In Lolordo v. Lacy, 337 Mo. 1097, 88 S.W.2d 353, which construed the corresponding [556] Section 1725, R.S. 1929, the rule is stated as follows: "In any case where a party desires to prove an essential part of his case by his opponent, he is permitted to do so, and he is only bound by the part of his adversary's testimony which he himself offers and vouches for as the truth."
On the retrial of the case the present record shall be considered part of the record in the case, and both plaintiffs and defendants may offer such additional evidence as they may see fit. Evidence erroneously excluded may be reoffered. The trial court should permit amendment of the pleadings to cover anything within the scope of this opinion or any event relative to the labor controversy which has occurred since the first trial. Any party should be permitted interrogatories or additional depositions if desired.
Since appellants failed to establish their major contention that the picketing was unlawful at the time of the trial, the costs of this appeal should be paid one-half by appellants and one-half by respondents.
The cause is hereby reversed and remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion. All concur, except Conkling, J., who dissents.