Donald Cowger v. Donald Rohrbach
Opinion
Opinion
Thompson, J.
Appellant Donald Cowger (“Cowger”) appeals the district court’s denial of his ex parte application for leave of court to file a complaint against appellee Donald Rohr-bach (“Rohrbach”) pursuant to section 501 of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (“LMRDA”), 29 U.S.C. § 501 (b). Cowger contends the district court erred in requiring exhaustion of internal union remedies prior to the filing of a section 501(b) complaint, and in finding that good cause for the complaint was not established. We reverse.
FACTS
Cowger is a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Local 80 ("Local 80”). Rohrbach is the elected business representative of Local 80 and is an officer and representative of the union as defined in 29 U.S.C. § 402 (q). From January through May 1987, Cowger filed internal union charges alleging Rohr-bach breached his fiduciary obligations to Local 80. These charges were filed with the Executive Board of Local 80 (“Board”), the governing body of the union. The Board took no action on these charges.
On July 9, 1987, Cowger delivered to each member of the Board a letter dated July 2, 1987, requesting reexamination of the charges of breach…