Golden State Transit Corp., a California Corporation, D/B/A Yellow Cab of Los Angeles v. City of Los Angeles, a Municipal Corporation

concurring.

I concur in the majority’s opinion under compulsion of our decision in White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Williams (White Mountain), 810 F.2d 844 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 1060 , 107 S.Ct. 940 , 93 L.Ed.2d 990 (1987). In White Mountain we held that under Supreme Court precedent, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 “enforces federal statutory rights only against direct violations of the federal statute in question[,]” id. at 851 n. 9 (emphasis added). Thus, the law of the circuit compels us to hold that section 1983 damages are not available because the City of Los Angeles did not directly violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). I write separately on the issues discussed in Rubric 11(A)(1), because I believe that White Mountain is inconsistent with the reasoning of the Supreme Court in Wright v. Roanoke Redev. & Housing, 479 U.S. 418 , 107 S.Ct. 766 , 93 L.Ed.2d 781 (1987).

I

Section 1983 reads as follows:

(Emphasis added). One month before the final decision in White Mountain was filed, the Supreme Court, in Wright, 107 S.Ct. at 771 , said that under its prior rulings, “if there is a state deprivation of a ‘right’ secured by a federal statute, § 1983 provides a remedial…

In Golden State Transit Corp. v. City of Los Angeles, 475 U.S. 608, 618 , 106 S.Ct. 1395, 1401 , 89 L.Ed.2d 616 (1986), the Supreme Court held that the City of Los Angeles (“City”) could not condition renewal of a taxi company’s franchise on settlement of a labor dispute. The Court observed that such an action “destroyed the balance of power designed by Congress [in the National Labor Relations Act], and frustrated Congress’ decision to leave open the use of economic weapons.” Id. at 619 , 106 S.Ct. at 1401 . The Court concluded that Congress had preempted intrusion by “a local government” into the collective bargaining process by enacting the NLRA, section 8(d), as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 158 (d). The case was remanded to the district court for further proceedings.

On remand, appellant Golden State Transit Corporation (“Golden State”) sought damages from the City for nonrenewal of its franchise. The district court concluded that it had the authority to grant injunctive relief and also ancillary monetary relief, but that it did not have the authority to grant compensatory damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 , based on an alleged NLRA violation or Supremacy Clause preemption. The Court…

857 F.2d 631 129 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2401 , 57 USLW 2263 , 110 Lab.Cas. P 10,763 GOLDEN STATE TRANSIT CORP., a California corporation, d/b/a Yellow Cab of Los Angeles, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CITY OF LOS ANGELES, a municipal corporation, Defendant-Appellee. No. 87-6074. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Feb. 2, 1988. Decided Sept. 15, 1988. Zachary D. Fasman, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, Washington, D.C., for plaintiff-appellant. John F. Haggerty, Asst. City Atty., Los Angeles, Cal., for defendant-appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Before WALLACE, ALARCON and BEEZER, Circuit Judges. BEEZER, Circuit Judge: 1 In Golden State Transit Corp. v. City of Los Angeles, 475 U.S. 608, 618 , 106 S.Ct. 1395, 1401 , 89 L.Ed.2d 616 (1986), the Supreme Court held that the City of Los Angeles ("City") could not condition renewal of a taxi company's franchise on settlement of a labor dispute. The Court observed that such an action "destroyed the balance of power designed by Congress [in the National Labor Relations Act], and frustrated Congress' decision to leave open the use of economic weapons." Id.…